Xbox has killed the Kinect for good, announcing it’ll be ceasing production of the Azure Kinect developer kit.
Arguably one of the worst decisions Xbox has ever made, the Kinect was the company’s attempt to capitalise on the casual audience of gamers, which failed spectacularly.
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Using a peripheral camera, the device allowed Xbox 360, and later Xbox One, users to control their console with voice commands and hand movements, with no controller needed.
It also had functionality with several games, some of which were specifically made for the Kinect, like Kinect Star Wars, Kinect Adventures and Kinect: Disneyland Adventures. Other Xbox games that used controllers also had functionality, usually voice-activated commands that would trigger something in-game.
While it was a good idea, it suffered from poor execution, with many believing Xbox’s focus on the Kinect was one of the sole reasons the Xbox One was so poorly received compared to the PlayStation 4.
The peripheral was discontinued in 2017, with future consoles no longer having Kinect functionality, though, in 2019, Microsoft started selling a new iteration, the Kinect Azure. This was a developer kit used for enterprise software and AI.
Recently though, Microsoft announced they’d be shelving the Azure, thus killing the Kinect line for good. The statement read: “As the needs of our customers and partners evolve, we regularly update our products to best support them. From time to time, this includes introducing new opportunities, as well as retiring products. We have made the decision to end production of Azure Kinect Developer Kit, but this is far from the end of this technology as it will continue to be available through our partner ecosystem.”
The company has promised they’ll continue to supply the technology used in the Kinect to third-party partners, so they can create their own products and services.
Production on the Azure Kinect will cease in October this year.