Kinect never turned out to be the killer app for the Xbox 360 or One, but it has maintained a fair amount of interest in less entertainment-focused areas, including military and scientific applications. Still, Microsoft isn’t super-keen to prop up two separate SKUs — console and PC — and has decided to nix the desk-bound version in favour of an adaptor.
You might be asking why Microsoft didn’t just do this in the first place. Well, your guess is as good as mine. In a blog post on Microsoft’s Developer Network (MSDN), the company announced its plans to “simplify and create consistency for developers” by doing away with the Windows v2 model.
Instead, developers can pick up a console Kinect model and hook it up via another piece of kit. According to Microsoft, high demand is the main reason for the change:
Over the past several months, we have seen unprecedented demand from the developer community for Kinect sensors and have experienced difficulty keeping up with requests in some markets. At the same time, we have seen the developer community respond positively to being able to use the Kinect for Xbox One sensor for Kinect for Windows app development, and we are happy to report that Kinect for Xbox One sensors and Kinect Adapter for Windows units are now readily available in most markets.
It goes on to mention that current Windows v2 sensors will continue to be supported, so there’s no need for developers to switch for now.
Microsoft to consolidate the Kinect for Windows experience around a single sensor [MSDN, via Eurogamer]
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3 responses to “Kinect For Windows Is Dead, Long Live Kinect For Windows”
“Kinect For Windows Is Dead, Long Live Kinect For Windows”
Am I misunderstanding this, or was the title supposed to be “Kinect For Xbox Is Dead, Long Live Kinect For Windows”?
Microsoft are no longer making a Kinect for Windows. Instead they suggest you buy, or use your existing Xbox One Kinect, and buy the adapter kit. The kit they don’t seem to ever have in stock.
The bloody Kinect for Windows adapter has been unavailable in Australia since this announcement. Pretty poor. I have a second Kinect I’m wanting to play with 3D capture with that’s useless for now.