Microsoft Releases Kinect For Windows

nk497 writes "Microsoft has released Kinect for Windows, featuring a new "near mode" that lets the gesture control tech be used as close as 40cm. The Kinect for Windows hardware will retail at $249 — well above the price of the version for Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft defended the price difference, saying sales of games and Xbox Live subscriptions help subsidize the console version. The new version will support Windows 7 and the Windows 8 developer preview, as well as Windows Embedded 7 devices."

Comments

fuck off

[X0563511]

Microsoft defended the price difference, saying sales of games and Xbox Live subscriptions help subsidize the console version.

Well, isn't that right? Sorry MS, I don't want to subsidize your console.

MS always late to the party

[Zaphod The 42nd]

Even with their own products. Its embarrassing that they took so long to realize the potential for this, and even then hackers beat them at it by years. Then there's the other 3rd party companies who ALSO beat them to market, and with cheaper products. Microsoft's innovation is staggering.

So wait, its more expensive? And there's going to be less games that use it. (see: none) Few if any will buy it, so nobody will waste time developing AAA games that use it, so nobody will buy it, so nobody will develop for it...

So without mainstream games, who is this supposed to appeal to? The very hackers who already got it working, because they wanted it? Whoops.

So, they're guessing people will buy it so that they can make voice commands to their computer like with the xbox? (which only works so-so)
But if that is the case, why not just add that software capability to Windows?! They can use existing microphones and webcams, gestures aren't as important since you HAVE A MOUSE that works perfectly well.

Absolute failure in marketing. I can't believe MS hasn't gone bankrupt yet, nobody likes their products. Zune sucks, Windows Live sucks, Windows Phone sucks... Oh yeah, thats right. They make their money by suing android manufacturers and by abusing their OS monopoly (7 should have been a patch to Vista, not a "new" OS to purchase, and they have completely ignored gaming on Windows, and fail to innovate. Year after year the only new features to Windows are features that have been in OSX for a few years).


INB4 "obvious MS bashing" Maybe they deserve some ridicule.