Kinect 2.0 on Xbox One

Even in its present form, with primitive tech demos comprising its software showcase, the next generation Kinect represents the partially fulfilled potential of the originals expectation. Following the Xbox One announcement much has been said about the body tracking hardware and this motion devise impressed me more than I ever imagined.

Kinect (1) is used by speaking in a simplistic manner or but giving large ‘over-the-top’ gestures. Now Kinect 2.0 understands the entirety of your body, from head to toe, and creates a fresh opportunity for full tracking. This can enhance on the experiences within the commonly themed fitness simulators and dance games as well as attract new players through fresh innovations for ‘hardcore’ titles we have been waiting for.

The hardware now detects numerous portions of your skeleton and analyses everything from the weight of your limbs to the speed of you movements. It can even precisely identify angles in your hands and track up to six people at any time. Probably my favourite addition is the facial recognition system (that will sign in your Gamertag – if it works this time) which is able to identify your mood.

Even better the Kinect, which will come bundled with the Xbox One system, displays in 1080p and even goes as far as understanding the depth of your room to configure playing room and can see the creases in your shirt and curtains.

Microsoft were also keen to confirm that Kinect can detect you perfectly in complete darkness (which sounds as impractical as it is impressive).

Voice control is perhaps the strongest of the current devices features and this was evidenced by the lacklustre hatred posted on various forums and websites. Even the most steadfast haters could see that this was easy to use and capable of quick navigation. The new hardware though even goes as far as changing the operating system to games, to services and then onto TV. Commanding your Xbox One within games seems to be on the right track too. Some leaked footage has shown the device is able to pick up your voice directions amid the chaos of, say, a first-person war game, whether that’s in issuing squad orders or pausing to answer an HD Skype video conference call. Not bad at all.

This all points towards continued commitment of the Kinect hardware and also to the company’s awareness that its current device is a little flawed. The potential is in place for key software features that works as intended and excels over the previous iteration in almost every way. It’s good news considering that this will be force on consumers purchasing the Xbox One console.

Obviously we still haven’t heard much of the developer’s activity but with E3 only a few days away we can surely expect to see some sort of new creation. Ryse is still expected to be released somewhere down the line and studios definitely appear to be on board.