Kinect
Microsoft ended production of Kinect in October 2017 after a seven-year run that began with its November 2010 launch.
“In our view, Microsoft spent millions turning players into controllers only to discover that waving your arms at a television is much more exhausting than pressing buttons on a gamepad.”
Our takeMicrosoft launched Kinect in November 2010 as a controller-free motion and voice sensing peripheral for the Xbox 360, selling approximately 35 million units before halting manufacturing in October 2017.
- Hype · our take
- 4/5 promised → 2/5 delivered
- Lifespan
- 2547 days
- Timing · our take
- market never came
- Dates
- announced · shipped · discontinued
- Where
- US · Incumbent Product · Public
The Pitch
Kinect for Xbox 360 was a hands-free motion sensing peripheral developed by Microsoft to make the player the controller E4E2. The hardware plugged directly into an Xbox 360 console and combined a video camera, an infrared sensor, and a multi-array microphone to track full-body physical movement and listen to voice commands E4E2E2. Stepping in front of the sensor allowed the system to recognise a user's face, respond to physical gestures, and hear spoken instructions without requiring any handheld hardware E4. Microsoft designed the device to appeal broadly to casual players, newcomers, and families rather than traditional hardcore gaming audiences E4E2. Users navigated the Xbox LIVE dashboard interface through physical hand waves and logged into their accounts automatically via facial recognition without touching a button E4E2E2. The system launched with games spanning multiple genres, including athletics simulations with hurdles and javelin, yoga exercises, white-water rafting, pop dance instruction, and animal training in Kinectimals E4. Several Kinect games integrated with social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, enabling players to post gameplay screenshots to friends and family E2. Controller-free entertainment was central to the concept, allowing users to browse movies, television, music, and live sports through the Kinect Hub E4. Microsoft initially scheduled the sensor for an autumn launch across North America and global markets while withholding retail pricing at its initial unveiling E2.
What Happened
Microsoft officially revealed Kinect for Xbox 360 on June 14, 2010, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles during E3, having previously developed the technology under the code name Project Natal E4E4E2E4E2E4. The unveiling featured an elaborate Cirque du Soleil performance attended by Hollywood figures to position the technology as a transformative home entertainment platform E4E4E2E4E2E4. Hours prior to the official event, an Italian advertisement leaked online and spoiled the official name across social media platforms E2. Microsoft positioned the product to compete directly with the Nintendo Wii, which had captured over 70 million console sales, and against Sony's upcoming PlayStation Move motion controller E2E2. The company prepared a multi-million pound marketing blitz ahead of the holiday shopping season while withholding the initial launch price at its June presentation E2. Kinect officially launched in North America on November 4, 2010, alongside fifteen dedicated software titles and a newly redesigned slimline Xbox 360 console E4E4E4E2. Microsoft also partnered with LucasArts to showcase a Star Wars lightsabre experience planned for 2011 to sustain player interest E4E4E2E4E2E4. Early media coverage noted the ambitious scope of full-body capture, highlighting the system as a controller-free leap forward in motion gaming E4. Over its operational lifespan across the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows personal computers, Microsoft sold approximately 35 million Kinect units worldwide E4. Despite strong initial unit adoption, ongoing demand for hands-free living room gaming declined as core players remained attached to traditional controllers E4. On October 25, 2017, Microsoft confirmed it had stopped manufacturing the Kinect sensor, announcing that retail availability would cease once existing store inventory depleted E4. While the standalone consumer hardware line was permanently discontinued, Microsoft retained the underlying depth-sensing technology to power subsequent hardware initiatives, including its HoloLens augmented reality headset E4.
Why It FailedOur take
In our view, Kinect failed primarily because novelty wore off once the initial excitement of controller-free play encountered the physical realities of living-room gaming. Microsoft successfully targeted casual households drawn to motion gimmicks, but jumping, kicking, and waving arms in front of a television proved exhausting for everyday entertainment. Without tactile feedback or physical buttons, complex games felt imprecise and unresponsive, leaving core gamers alienated. In our view, the underlying hardware was not ready to deliver the latency and spatial precision required for fast-paced gameplay, while requiring expansive living room clearance that many homes lacked. Furthermore, the market moved away from dedicated motion peripherals as smartphones and mobile apps absorbed casual gaming attention, leaving Kinect stranded between uninterested hardcore console owners and fleeting family novelties.
Lessons and What Would Have Worked
- In our opinion, removing a physical input device is only an upgrade if the replacement improves precision, latency, and ergonomic comfort over long sessions.
- Founders targeting casual consumer audiences on top of dedicated enthusiast hardware must verify whether the mainstream novelty will convert into persistent weekly engagement.
- If a hardware experience requires users to radically reorganize their physical living space, mass-market retention will collapse once the initial curiosity subsides.
Timeline
- Microsoft officially unveils Kinect at E3 in Los Angeles with a Cirque du Soleil performance and confirms an autumn release window.E4
- Microsoft launches Kinect in North America alongside 15 launch titles.E4
- Microsoft confirms the shutdown of Kinect manufacturing after selling approximately 35 million units.E4
What happened to Kinect?
- What was Kinect?
- Microsoft launched Kinect in November 2010 as a controller-free motion and voice sensing peripheral for the Xbox 360, selling approximately 35 million units before halting manufacturing in October 2017.
- What happened to Kinect?
- Microsoft officially revealed Kinect for Xbox 360 on June 14, 2010, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles during E3, having previously developed the technology under the code name Project Natal .
- Why did Kinect fail?
- In our view, Kinect failed primarily because novelty wore off once the initial excitement of controller-free play encountered the physical realities of living-room gaming.
Receipts
- E4Kinect for Xbox 360 Sets the Future in Motion — No Controller Required - Source
Supporting quote
LOS ANGELES — June 14, 2010 — Get ready to Kinect to fun entertainment for everyone. Microsoft Corp. today capped off a two-day world premiere, complete with celebrities, stunning physical dexterity, and news from a galaxy far, far away, to reveal experiences that will transform living rooms in North America, beginning Nov. 4. Kinect will roll out to the rest of the world thereafter. Opening with a magical Cirque du Soleil performance on Sunday night attended by Hollywood’s freshest faces, Microsoft gave the transformation of home entertainment a name: Kinect for Xbox 360.
- E4Microsoft 'Kinect,' Controller-Free Gaming System, Senses Players' Motions - ABC News
Supporting quote
Microsoft today unveiled \"Kinect,\" its latest technological creation for game systems, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. Kinect [recognizes player's movements and voices](http://abcnews.com/Technology/GameOn/story?id=7733966&page=1), and enables users to interact with their existing Xbox 360s and some games without a handheld controller. \"You are the controller,\" said Mike Delman, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business. \"You simply step in front of the sensor and Kinect sees you move, hears your voice and recognizes your face.\" Using full body motion capture, voice recognition and facial recognition, the device offers a new level of interaction that goes beyond immersive motion-controlled video games. Facial and voice recognition will allow users to log into their Xbox LIVE accounts without ever pressing a button, and interacting with the system's interface can be done with a wave of the hand. Think \"Minority Report\" without the gloves (and psychics). At a press conference Monday, Microsoft announced that Kinect would be available Nov. 4, with 15 launch titles. One game, Kinectimals, lets users pretend to train some of the world's most exotic animals, such as Bengal tigers. Another fitness game, called Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, guides users through various exercises, using the motion capture feature to give users feedback on each move. The company did not disclose a price for the new hands-free gaming device. Microsoft also announced Monday that it would start shipping a newer, sleeker version of the Xbox today. The new Xbox includes a 250 GB hard drive and built-in Wi-Fi. It will cost $299, the same price as the current Xbox.
- E2Kinect unveiled at Microsoft E3 preview | E3 | The Guardian
Supporting quote
Microsoft has finally unveiled the real name of its motion sensing video game device, previously known as Project Natal: Kinect. Kinect, which plugs into the Xbox 360 console, uses a video camera and an infrared sensor to track the players' actions and convert them into onscreen movement. Microsoft showed clips from several Kinect games during a lavish pre-E3 2010 event at The University of California's enormous Galen Center, including an athletics sim in which participants run and jump to compete in the hurdles, throw an imaginary javelin, and play football with kicking actions. There was also a yoga simulation, some white-water rafting, and a dancing tuition game, which gets users to perform a series of steps and moves in time with licensed pop tracks. Several Kinect games will be closely compatible with social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, allowing users to send screenshots of themselves playing the games to friends and family members. Microsoft has so far delayed providing a retail price for the device, but has scheduled a release date for this autumn, and is expected to support the launch with a redesigned slimline version of the Xbox 360 console. Kinect is an attempt to complete directly with the massively successful Nintendo Wii console, which has now sold around 70m units, 30m more than the Xbox 360. Wii technology allows players to control games by waving and shaking a special controller, but Kinect goes one step further, by removing the need for any sort of handheld input. Once considered a transitory pursuit for teenage boys, gaming has now become a mainstream entertainment medium, with games like Wii Fit, Rock Band and Professor Layton and the Curious Village attracting a vast new family audience. So far, however, these so-called casual gamers have been put off by the Xbox, with its reliance on hardcore shooters like Gears of War and Halo. But Microsoft didn't completely ignore its traditional audience at the event; perhaps the loudest cheer of the night erupted when a demo was shown of a Kinect-compatible Star Wars game, in which players will be able to flail their arms around in order to compete in lightsabre duels with Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers. Kinect is likely to enjoy a multi-million pound marketing push in the run up to Christmas – but Microsoft is not alone in its desire to steal Nintendo's audience. Sony is set to provide the PlayStation 3 console with its own motion controller, named PlayStation Move. The wand-like device, which more closely resembles the Wii's remote controller, is also due out in the autumn, putting it in direct competition with Kinect. The Kinect announcement is also set to be only one of many video game revelations this week. Today sees the beginning of the E3 games exhibition at the LA Convention centre, an annual event in which all the major games industry companies show off their new releases to thousands of journalists, bloggers and game fans who've been able to blag their way into the trade-only bonanza. The big games are likely to be first-person shooters Halo: Reach and Killzone 3, historical assassination adventure Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and the intriguingly dark Disney title, Epic Mickey. Some pundits, however, reckon the focus of the three-day exhibition could be another emerging technology: 3D visuals. Nintendo will be showing its new 3D capable handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS, while Sony is expected to have a selection of 3D-compatible PlayStation titles on show, including the long-awaited driving sim, Gran Turismo 5. This year, it's perhaps not about what we're going to play, it's about HOW we're going to play: by jumping about, or by putting on a pair of special glasses and revelling in three-dimensional graphics. One thing is clear, after the massive investment Sony and Microsoft have put into their respective consoles, neither is in a hurry to announce a new platform just yet. The audience at the launch event was also treated to an astonishing performance by Cirque du Soleil, who used dance, lights and special effects to communicate Microsoft's brand vision – a far cry from the usual recipe of awkward upper ranking execs lurking on stage while game demos play to deafening rock music. Unfortunately, the impact of the event was slightly undermined when an Italian advert for the Xbox 360 was put online too early, revealing the new name for Natal hours before the official announcement. Although the ad was quickly withdrawn, news of the blunder spread across Twitter in a matter of minutes.
- E4Kinect Introduced at E3 - The Official Microsoft Blog
Supporting quote
This week at the 2010 E3, we’ve announced a pile of news around Natal. First, of course, is the official name – Kinect for Xbox 360. We have a slew of games on the way to take advantage of Kinect’s other-worldly ability to recognize users and make them part of a game’s action. Pricing and retail availability also are being announced. And we even have a new Xbox 360 console, in stores this week.
- E2Wave hello to Microsoft's Kinect | Microsoft | The Guardian
Supporting quote
Microsoft's latest attempt to take over the video game market was revealed in Los Angeles yesterday with the launch of Kinect, a completely hands-free device designed to woo gamers away from the hugely successful Wii.
- E4Microsoft has stopped making the Kinect | HardwareZone Singapore
Supporting quote
Manufacturing of the Kinect has shut down. Originally created for the Xbox 360, Microsoft’s watershed depth camera and voice recognition microphone sold ~35 million units since its debut in 2010, but Microsoft will no longer produce it when retailers sell off their existing stock. The company will continue to support Kinect for customers on Xbox, but ongoing developer tools remain unclear.
Sentiment
At launch +1 / −2…+2
The audience at the launch event was also treated to an astonishing performance by Cirque du Soleil, who used dance, lights and special effects to communicate Microsoft's brand vision – a far cry from the usual recipe of awkward upper ranking execs lurking on stage while game demos play to deafening rock music.
Microsoft's latest attempt to take over the video game market was revealed in Los Angeles yesterday with the launch of Kinect, a completely hands-free device designed to woo gamers away from the hugely successful Wii.
At death
No death coverage quote recorded.
Last updated · Phil · How we source entries
Changelog
- — Published Kinect.