Microsoft has clarified its stance on a number of controversial features of the upcoming Xbox One. The company confirmed that the game console will need a connection to the Internet every 24 hours in order to play games, as well as advising on used game sales, game rentals, and the privacy concerns for the improved Kinect sensor.
Microsoft will be releasing an updated version of its Kinect for Windows sensor next year. Following on from the launch of the Xbox One and its inclusion of a new Kinect interface, the add-on for computers will have a number of matching improvements and a new software development kit, thanks to its shared technology set with the console version.
Microsoft is looking to create a set-top box for media playback, according to one report. Continuing previous rumors, the software giant is working on a device that will allow users to sign onto Xbox Live and use its apps to view streaming video, effectively cloning the non-gaming aspects of the Xbox 360 game console into a relatively-cheap product.
A new Microsoft Xbox Live app, scheduled to launch on April 23, will allow users of the gaming and media service to order Pizza Hut products directly from the Xbox 360 console. The new app gives customers access to the restaurant's entire menu, and features full Kinect integration in addition to voice recognition, or regular game controller use.
Microsoft is expanding its subsidy for the Xbox 360 console that started with the 4GB model back in May. Now, there are three choices, with potential buyers capable of picking the 4GB console with Kinect or a 250GB console without for the same $99. The third option adds Kinect to the 250GB console but bumps the price of entry to $149.
The Kinect motion-sensing accessory for the Xbox 360 has received a $40 price drop in the US, with prices now set at $110. Other markets are due to get a similar though unspecified price drop as well, including North America, Latin America, Asia, and Pacific regions. Australians and New Zealanders won't get a price drop until October 4, however.
A leaked image suggests the Kinect 2 will work with improved depth-of-field and use more movement data than before. The image surfaced on a Twitter feed run by @superDaE, apparently showing perceived depth as seen from the sensor. The two subjects viewed appear to have a higher level of detail than the current version of the Kinect is capable of producing, suggesting the system will measure movements with higher degree of accuracy.
Microsoft later this year will roll out a new ad platform for video streaming services on its Xbox 360 console, presenting users with interactive experiences instead of the static ads seen on television. According to the Los Angeles Times, the new platform—dubbed NUads—will initially feature partnerships with Toyota, Unilever, and Samsung Mobile. The ad move is viewed as part of a larger Microsoft strategy to steal viewers from television networks and establish the 360 as the center of the living room experience.
A recently revealed patent application from Microsoft shows that the company may be working on bringing mood-based advertising to its Kinect peripheral for Xbox. The patent, filed in 2010, describes a method for serving ads based on a user's mental state as perceived by Kinect's 3D camera system or other technologies. Microsoft suggests the technology will help advertisers more accurately target their ads, which could conceivably improve their effect.
University of Virginia researchers have developed a Microsoft Kinect-based system that keeps track of items as they are moved about the home. The project, Kinsight, uses several Kinect sensor bars running in parallel to give input to the server running the software. While radio-frequency item-locator technology already exists, the researchers claim that the Kinect system was between four and 16 times cheaper than RFID equipment cost based on a same-sized area.
Startup company Übi has been showing off a tech demo utilizing Microsoft's Kinect camera to turn walls into interactive touchscreens. The Munich-based startup says that the technology can be applied to virtually any surface, allowing users to interact with presentations without the need for pointers, clickers, or mice of any kind.
Microsoft has updated the software development kit for its Kinect sensor, adding facial expression recognition and other capabilities to its 3D camera system. The update comes ahead of Microsoft's release of the Kinect for Windows SDK, which will bring the Kinect's feature set from the Xbox 360 to Windows desktops and notebooks. The update is largely in keeping with what Microsoft previously revealed as forthcoming features for Kinect.
Leap Motion has taken the covers off its new motion-tracking device for computer interaction. As the video (embedded below) demonstrates, the device maker shows off how the device could potentially replace a mouse and keyboard in a number of computing and gaming contexts. The size of a small flash drive, the Leap is said to be able to allow users to control a computer in three dimensions, tracking natural hand and finger movements down to 1/100th of a millimeter.
Microsoft is preparing an addition to its Kinect accessory for the Xbox 360 that will track a user's exercises across multiple Kinect games, The Verge learned from its sources. Called Play Fit, it will upload numbers to online storage and thereby be accessible from anywhere. A new hardware accessory will be made available as well, dubbed so far as the Joule.
The previously speculated Xbox 360 bundle deal from Microsoft has been confirmed to exist. A voucher for the bundle has appeared on the Microsoft Store website, showing a 4GB Xbox 360 complete with Kinect for $99 and a two-year, $15-per-month Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Researchers at the Human Media Lab at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario have developed a hologram-like teleconferencing model that uses Microsoft's Kinect system to enable live, 3D teleconferencing. In a manner reminiscent of Star Wars' hologram messages, users are able to get a three-dimensional view of their conferencing partner.
Microsoft is reportedly preparing to offer a $99 Xbox 360 bundle that will include the Kinect sensor, subsidizing the upfront cost and tying buyers to a two-year subscription. Unnamed sources have told The Verge the company will require an agreement that works like a cellphone contract, requiring buyers to pay a termination fee to cease monthly payments before the end of the term.
NUI Group forum member Bastian has created a touch table that uses a projector and Microsoft's Kinect sensor to make it appear as if a user is touching objects floating in space. According to Hackaday, there are also four infrared laser involved to track the hand, making for an effect of a 3D holographic display. Kinect tracks the user's head in relation to the table, allowing the projector to adjust the image accordingly.
A recent Lenovo investment, Eedoo, is drawing criticism for the upcoming launch of China's first mainstream motion gaming system, the CT510. Pitched as a family entertainment system, the system is conspicuously like Microsoft's Kinect add-on for the Xbox 360 but is intended more as a general device with HD movie playback, karaoke, and motion-driven exercise apps. At $600, however, it costs more than the $399 US price of Microsoft's most advanced Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle.
Both the look and the release date for the Xbox 360 Celebration Pack were briefly visible online today, as Amazon.co.uk accidentally posted the information online. VideoGamer.com discovered the online leak, now removed, which revealed a Union Jack-skinned console, Kinect sensor, and controller.
A Microsoft patent application revealed on Thursday could, if granted, bring automatically adjustable three-dimensional audio to Kinect gamers with surround sound systems. In addition to the possible audio benefits, the patent implies that the Kinect may be an even more capable attachment than Microsoft previously let on.
The Skype team is looking to bolster its ranks by posting a job listing which references the Xbox gaming console. Based in its London office, the position tells little about exactly how the video, voice, and text chat service will integrate into the platform hasn't been revealed. The Software Development Engineer will contribute to the development of experiences on Xbox, the listing reads.
Apple job listings have shown that Apple is still actively researching 3D visual display and capturing technology that would extend to its iOS devices. An iOS Software Engineer position is looking for a doctorate holder who can handle "cameras and surfaces in a 3D environment" as well as "multi-view stereo and 3D reconstruction." Although it's unclear how long the same technical requirements have existed for the job, employees have been mentioning work in 3D imaging for at least two years.
The next-generation Xbox console, which may or may not be called the Xbox 720, may be powered by a 16-core CPU, SlashGear reported on Friday. That CPU may be branded as IBM Power PC, and be paired with one or two GPUs that has comparable processing power to AMD's Radeon HD 7000. That power will be needed to run next-generation games and the Kinect successor, which is said to be able to read lips and fingertips as well as track multiple players and thus require at least four cores.
A currently uncertain but unusually detailed rumor Monday has Microsoft's next-generation Xbox making aggressive decisions on hardware. Multiple tips to VG24/7 supported AMD's hints of movie-quality 3D graphics with claims there would be two Radeon HD 7000 graphics cores. Rather than simply pair them up to form a single virtual card, as with AMD's usual CrossFire, it would have each core rendering separate objects in the same scene.
The rumored PlayStation Orbis, a codename for the upcoming PlayStation 4, may use a Kinect-like motion sensor to track gamers, according to images posted online at design firm Coque. The illustrations have since been pulled, but have been saved by original rumor source Kotaku and embedded below. The PlayStation Eye, an accessory for the current PS3 console, already has tracking capabilities, though it's not as advanced as the Kinect's sensors.
Microsoft has just revealed that the 1.5 release of its Kinect for Windows software is coming at the end of May. The most significant change will include what Microsoft calls "seated," or 10-joint skeletal tracking that will give the Kinect cameras the ability to track the arms, head, and neck of a user. This will work both in the near mode for seating as well as the regular, standing mode.
Microsoft took its promised Comcast Xfinity TV and HBO Go support live on the Xbox 360 Tuesday with the extra addition of MLB.tv. Akin to the ESPN app, it gives users the option of watching live and on-demand events, albeit live only for out-of-market games. Kinect owners have the extra advantage of motion and voice commands that can sometimes speed up the action.
HBO has begun its marketing push in anticipation of its April 1 introduction of support for HBO Go on the Xbox 360. As part of that campaign, the video content provider has created and uploaded a video "tease" on YouTube (below). Showcased in the video is the Xbox's ability to use Kinect voice commands to manage the service's user interface.
Andy Wilson, a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, has been busy working with colleagues on a project dubbed Beamatron. It's an augmented reality concept that uses KinectFusion, another Microsoft project, to create a 3D model of a space and build projected graphics onto it. It also gets Kinect to see the room and its many obstacles, as shown in the video below.
Vevo has brought its music video library to the Xbox 360, enabling users to access more than 45,000 titles. The content is available in HD resolution and for free, through an ad-supported app that supports Kinect navigation.
Microsoft today announced an Xbox Special Edition 4GB Kinect Family Bundle. The package features a glossy white console with matching controller and Kinect sensor. Included are two game compilations, Kinect Sports and Kinect Adventures.
Microsoft is bringing the Kinect to PCs and recently released an SDK to this effect, but now a USPTO patent suggests it has more in the works for the system. A Seekbar feature will let users watching TV navigate channels and otherwise control their TVs and video with nothing more than their hands. The Seekbar would thus let users to open a seekbar while their other hand drags along it to either fast forward or rewind to where in the video or other content they want to be.
Microsoft is internally referring to the third-generation Xbox console as Durango, Kotaku claimed to have learned from multiple sources near the project. If true, this means any future news and rumors will center around this name, though the finalized name on the console and packaging will differ and isn't yet known. Durango is the name of one of Mexico's 31 states, which follows the theme started by Natal, Microsoft's codename for Kinect and a city in Brazil.
After months of extra waiting for the game itself, Microsoft has confirmed that the Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 bundle will be available April 3. The special edition system will cost $450 and includes a 320GB Xbox 360, a Kinect motion controller, and a copy of the game in question. Both the console and the Kinect have unique R2-D2 theming, while the gamepad is patterned after C-3PO.
On schedule, Microsoft has started shipping the Kinect for Windows add-on and its matching software. The sensor lets those on Windows 7, 8, and Embedded use the motion control from the Xbox with optimizations for the PC world, such as tracking subjects as close as 15.7 inches as well as a PC-oriented USB cable. It costs $249 for anyone, although it will cost $149 for educational users later.
The upcoming notebooks with built-in Kinect will be licensed to makers such as ASUS but no other motion-sensing technology can be used in these, The Daily claimed Tuesday. Likewise, while the Windows 8 notebooks with Kinect were ASUS-branded, the Taiwanese computer maker isn't involved in testing the gear, but it will likely be a launch partner. The test units are almost always plugged in as well, suggesting the technology is heavy on energy use. A dedicated battery pack just for the Kinect camera and sensor that clips onto notebooks may be required in order to alleviate this issue.
Microsoft is not only planning to release Kinect for Windows but is aiming to make motion control a built-in feature for PCs, according to fresh leaks. Those at The Daily claim to have used two prototype Windows 8 notebooks where the Kinect sensor system replaces the normal webcam. A Microsoft insider claimed that the ASUS-branded systems are testbeds with the hint they may become real products.
Developers have demonstrated an unofficial feature for Microsoft's Kinect system that mimics holographic effects. The Programming4fun team used the Kinect beta SDK and Windows Phone to create the illusion of a holographic scene, using the Kinect sensors to track a user's position and change the perspective of the scene projected on a flat surface.
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer, during the company's last CES keynote earlier this week, has provided some statistics on Xbox 360 sales. The company claims that it has sold more than 66 million of the gaming consoles worldwide. About 10 million of the sales came just in the fall.
Microsoft's live UFC app for the Xbox that launched in December suffered a number of hiccups when trying to stream UFC 141 on December 30, BitMob's Dan Hsu reported. Microsoft sent out 30,000 promotional passes for Xbox Live members to try out the app, which likely led to the technical issues many suffered with the app not loading. Other issues included resetting, crashing, moving to an earlier point in the fight with no ability to fast forward to live broadcasting, buffering, stutteringl and switching between standard, high or very low resolutions.
Researchers at Eurécom in France and the Italian Institute of Technology's Center for Human Space Robotics have demonstrated a system that utilizes Microsoft's Xbox 360 Kinect accessory to weigh astronauts in microgravity environments. The sensor is used to make a 3D model of an astronaut's body, enabling a computer program to extrapolate mass based on volume estimates.
New leaks from within Apple's media talks have hinted that the long-rumored Apple TV set may go beyond just voice commands. The sources for the Wall Street Journal had the set responding also to "movements," hinting at a motion system like Microsoft's Kinect or the Nintendo Wii remote. Development has also supposedly been underway for uniting DVR storage with iCloud, hinting that a user might stop watching a regular broadcast TV show on the set itself and then pick it up later on an iPhone or a computer.
Apple has been working on its own, unique alternative to Kinect for Windows, a newly published patent application shows. Its design for a "three-dimensional imaging and display system" would have a device sit on the desk that would use one of multiple possible methods, such as tracking the reflection time or attenuation in light beams. It could let users get audible feedback on interacting with the environment, navigate a corresponding 3D desktop, and use head tracking for tasks like zooming in or scrolling.
In sync with the fall Xbox 360 Dashboard update, Microsoft has provided a listing of TV providers that will be ready to go this week. Along with existing access to ESPN, Hulu, and Netflix, the December 6 update will also bring EPIX authenticated video in the US, Lovefilm in the UK, MediaSet's Premium Play in Italy, Sky Go in Austria and Germany, Telefonica España's Movistar Imagenio, and MSNBC's Today in the US.
Microsoft on Tuesday marked its best week ever for gaming. The company sold over 960,000 Xbox 360 consoles during Black Friday week, getting its best one-week Xbox hardware sales ever even with a holiday. Over 800,000 of those were sold just on Black Friday itself, and it was one of the top sellers at Best Buy.
Verizon has now made public some details of its Xbox 360 Live TV service first mentioned back at the start of October. Through their Xbox 360, Xbox Live Gold members will have the ability to access up to 26 live FiOS TV channels, depending on their subscription. They also need to be FiOS TV and Internet service subscribers.
A rumor Monday claimed to have details of the next-generation Kinect. The Xbox peripheral would overcome the inherent limits of the current system and could detect facial expressions, Eurogamer was told. It would be accurate enough to detect emotional expressions and even to read lips, possibly letting it tell who was speaking a command.
A day ahead of Black Friday, Microsoft has posted a teaser page for its own online store's discounts. The company plans to give away free Windows Phones to anyone who signs up for a two-year contract, undercutting even a one-cent Amazon deal. It's not known if this includes a modern phone like the Focus S or is limited to older hardware.
Microsoft has plans to make and sell TVs with its Kinect sensor built in, according to sources speaking with The Daily. It would then no longer require the company's Xbox 360 gaming console to be connected, and would allow users to turn the TV on or off or change channels with hand gestures rather than remote controls. What would be required, however, is a connection to a PC running Windows, a feat that's already been documented.
