Archive for the ‘Xbox360 Kinect’ Category

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Microsoft Xbox 360: A record-breaking Sales Result

Monday, March 12th, 2012

Microsoft announced that last week in seven days time, Microsoft Xbox 360 sold more than 960,000 Xbox 360 consoles in the U.S. alone in the U.S. during the week of Black Frida, of which more than 800,000 were sold within a period of 24 hours – the biggest week of sales in Xbox history. More than 750,000 Xbox 360 Kinect sensors were sold in the U.S. – standalone and bundled.

Microsoft’s retail partners are equally excited about our sales performance this holiday.

“We have seen tremendous excitement from customers for our hot holiday gaming offers,” said Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager of Home Entertainment at Best Buy. “Xbox 360 was among the best-sellers at Best Buy this Black Friday, and is a testament to the continued popularity of the gaming category this holiday.”

Besides, Nintendo also previously pubilshed their sales results in black Friday, on last Friday more than 500000 nintendo’s Wii console were sold in one day.

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Microsoft Kinect 2 Can Read Lips, Recognize Emotions

Monday, March 12th, 2012

Xbox 720 isn’t the only new Microsoft hardware on the horizon. Kinect 2 is on the way, and the first rumored details suggest a system powerful enough to read lips！

When Microsoft finally does make the move to the next generation, it won’t be with just a new Xbox console. Xbox 360 Kinect has been a huge success for the company, and when the Xbox 720 is released to the public, expect a revised version of the motion control peripheral to launch along side it.

Now, the first rumored Kinect 2 details have emerged and paint a picture of a device significantly more powerful than the current hardware.

Xbox 360 Kinect games have gained a significant amount of sophistication over the past year, best exemplified by the peerless gestural mechanics of Kinect Sports: Season Two. Kinect voice recognition has seen improvement, too, and is set to be a major feature of the December 6th Xbox 360 dashboard update — players will be able to use Kinect-powered voice search for marketplace items, Netflix and Hulu content, and more. Despite the strides made with Kinect over the past year, Kinect 2 promises to take the technology to bold new places.

Chief among Kinect 2 claims is that the device is so powerful and accurate that it can read players’ lips. As current Kinect owners are well aware, if the games get too loud, Kinect doesn’t always respond to voice commands. With Kinect 2′s ability to read lips, that should no longer be a problem. But there is more than that: using a combination of facial and voice recognition, Kinect 2 can allegedly determine player emotions. Feeling frustrated by a particularly challenging boss encounter in, say, the Gears of War prequel? Kinect 2 will be able to tell — a feature that developers could take advantage of, for instance, to balance the encounter’s difficulty on the fly.The Kinect 2 rumors, as reported by Eurogamer, come from an unnamed “development source

” who singles out the current Kinect’s USB interface as a major bottleneck for the hardware — one that won’t be shared by Kinect 2.

“It can be cabled straight through on any number of technologies that just take phenomenally high res data straight to the main processor and straight to the main RAM and ask, what do you want to do with it?”

Kinect 2 is expected to be bundled with the Xbox 720. Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced an early 2012 launch window for Kinect for Windows, which will feature a PC-specific version of the Kinect hardware. Clearly, Microsoft considers Kinect a vital element of its plans going forward. The question is whether gamers who have so far held off on purchasing Kinect will be swayed by more powerful hardware.

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Microsoft details plans to open up its Kinect controller for business use

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Microsoft announced on Monday that it plans to open up the use of its Kinect software development kit (SDK) for commercial applications.

The software giant originally opened up its Kinect accessory for use on the PC back in June. The original Kinect for Windows SDK beta was aimed at academic research and enthusiast communities to create new experiences using Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 accessory. Microsoft promised a commercial SDK at the time and outlined its plans on Monday to sell a commercial version of the Kinect for Windows SDK to businesses. The software maker is expected to deliver updated SDK bits in early 2012.

Microsoft has been working with over 200 companies during a pilot of the commercial Kinect SDK across 25 industries. Dennis Durkin, Xbox chief financial officer, revealed in an interview with the Financial Times that the key part of Kinect was reducing its cost for mass production. “Once you bring down that price point, all of a sudden it opens up a bunch of new developer opportunities,” said Durkin. Speaking of the potential for Kinect business apps, Durkin added that there will be a number of “killer apps” within their respective fields. Toyota has developed a virtual showroom for its cars and Spanish tech group Tedesys has created an application to allow surgeons to page through a patients records during operations.

 

Microsoft’s Kinect sensor has been a phenomenal success story for the company. The console accessory sold out across a number of retailers during last year’s festive season and Microsoft smashed its own estimates of 5 million units in 2010 by shipping 10 million devices. Microsoft’s Kinect accessory has also broken a Guinness World Record. Guinness World Records officially named Kinect for Xbox 360 the fastest-selling consumer electronics device, which sold an average of 133,333 units per day for a total of eight million units in its first 60 days between November 4, 2010 and January 3, 2011.

Microsoft launched its controller-less console accessory for the Xbox 360 across the world nearly a year ago. The Xbox 360 Kinect sensor is a horizontal bar that sits at the base of your TV. The device has an RGB camera, depth sensor and multi-array microphone which runs proprietary software. Kinect allows for full-body 3D motion capture, facial recognition, and voice recognition. Owners will be able to interact with games titles using just their body. Pausing TV and fast forwarding movies can be achieved using a mix of hand movements and voice control.

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Christmas Dinnerware Sets Just What Is The New Microsoft Xbox Kinect?

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

The Xbox Kinect looks a likely candidate to be one of the best Christmas gifts for 2010. Read on to learn more.

The Microsoft Xbox360 Kinect is the newest big release from the team at Xbox 360. It is the advent of Xbox360 controller free games and immersive game play like never before. You don’t need a controller, your body becomes your controller via an avatar. With this new dimension in video gaming, you are taken deeper and deeper into the gaming experience. The way you interact with a game will change the way you look at motion control forever.

 

It moves with self tracking, through its infrared; and red, blue, and green camera. It makes every game you play so much more enjoyable, and a real experience like no other. If friends come over while you’re playing this, they can jump right in, no restarting necessary. With its 48 point tracking and it’s amazing facial recognition software, it is further blurring the line between the gaming world and the real one.

1If you and some friends feel like staying in and watching a movie, you can just say “Netflix” out loud, and the Kinect will load your Netflix right on your Xbox, letting you choose what movie you want with a simple wave of your hand, or just saying the title of the movie you wish to see.

Xbox Kinect biggest serious contender is the already very well established Nintendo Wii. Where Xbox wins over the Wii is that the Wii requires will controllers to be used, the Kinect doesn’t. The Xbox Kinect sensor offers much more freedom of movement than the Wii as you are not restricted by the limitations of movement of a controller. You actually feel as though you are part the game, as opposed to just being beside it.

The Xbox Kinect is changing the home entertainment experience in new and innovative ways. It’s not just for the younger crowd, either. It even appeals to people of all ages by getting them off the couch and into the game. This is the kind of thing that people see, then just have to try for themselves.

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How to Lose Weight by Using Xbox 360 Kinect

Monday, February 6th, 2012

        How to Lose Weight by Using Xbox 360 Kinect 

When you decided to buy Xbox 360 Kinect for playing, and have noticed that the games increase your heart rate work up a sweat, while also being a lot of fun. Could you use the Xbox 360 Kinect for some real exercise instead of just playing the games?  There are a lot of Xbox 360 Kinect games or Xbox 360 Kinect bundles that include fitness games. Increase your weight loss workout sessions by buying the Xbox 360 Kinect games that have targeted workouts.  

Here are some instructions:

1. Look at the Xbox 360 Kinect games that you already have to see if they have a setting called ‘workout’. For example, Xbox 360 Kinect Dance Central has a ‘workout’ setting that changes the dancing into an aerobic workout. Xbox360 Kinect Sports and EA’s Adventures both have activities that can keep your heartrate up for an extended period of time. While these are aerobic exercise, they do not include targeted workouts, personal trainers that correct your moves or progressively harder workouts. 

2. Buy an Xbox 360 Kinect Fitness game. There are a number that are on the market with mixed results. The ones that were built specifically to take advantage of the Xbox 360 Kinect camera are receiving better reviews than the ones that were made for multiple platforms. The best reviews are going to EA Active, Eye Toy Kinect by Sony, Your Shape Fitness Evolved by UBI Soft, and The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout by THQ. The most consistent reasons that the reviewers give high ratings to these Xbox 360 Kinect fitness games is that they take advantage of the Kinect’s full body camera. The timing of your movements are detected consistently by the camera and the game will correct you if your movements are not correct.

The Xbox 360 Kinect fitness games that are receiving low reviews are, Zumba Fitness by Majesco and EA Sports Active 2. The reviewers point out that the camera syncronization does not detect some movements, requires repeated re-calibration and has problems storing previous workout sessions which require the user to go back to the beginning.

3. Once you buy an Xbox 360 Kinect fitness game, allow yourself at least 30 minutes the first time you use it.  There will be some setup and callibration. You will need to get used to the menu’s and learn how to store customized fitness routines that will make it easier and faster for future Kinect workoutS.

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EA Closes ‘Harry Potter’ Developer Bright Light

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Electronic Arts has officially closed their Bright Light studio in the UK – the developer of several ‘Harry Potter’ movie tie-in games as well as ‘Create’ and ‘Zubo.’

Following the conclusion of one of the most successful movie franchises of all time, Electronic Arts has shuttered the doors of Harry Potter game developer, Bright Light.

While the UK studio definitely found success with Harry Potter franchise brand recognition, the actually quality of the games leaves a somewhat mixed legacy for the developers.

Movie tie-in titles are notoriously difficult prospects – even for studios that enjoy a lengthy lead time in production. However, the Harry Potter video game franchise showcased an especially bizarre evolution – as the games, like the movies, attempted to mature with their audience. The result is a mishmash of game experiences ranging from semi-open world Hogwarts exploration to  third-person action shooters with Xbox 360 Kinect and PlayStation 3 Move support. It should be mentioned that the Bright Light closure will not affect future installments of the LEGO: Harry Potter games – as those titles are handled by Warner Bros. Interactive.

 

Develop reports that EA has confirmed the closing but likely initiated the shuttering process in mid-November (which makes sense given that the final Harry Potter game released months prior) and that various employees have been shifted to other EA studios (such as Criterion and Playfish). That said, it doesn’t sound as though EA simply closed the studio and redistributed resources (which, as of 2007, housed around 100 people) – since a number of employees also appear to have taken jobs outside of the EA system or remain unemployed.

Sadly, this kind of thing happens a lot in the industry – as the over-arcing creativity of a studio is relegated to churning out IP tie-ins. Without any recognizable franchises to call its own and no more Harry Potter installments on the horizon, Bright Light was no doubt an easy studio for a large publisher like EA to throw under the bus.

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Best Extension Cable for Xbox 360 Kinect sale at link4game

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

Recently I was able to get my hands on one of the new Xbox 360 Kinect. For those who don’t know the Xbox Kinect is Microsoft’s rejoinder to the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation PS3 Move. The Xbox Kinect comes out of the box with a 10 foot cable. I greatly recommend this item.
The Cable Extension for the Xbox 360 Kinect will allow you to extend your connection by 10 feet, allowing you to place your Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor virtually anywhere in your living space. The Cable Extension for Xbox 360 Kinect is great for all but will best appeal to consumers with large living spaces and entertainment centers.


Features:
Provides additional 10 feet range
Carries both data signal and power
Officially licensed by Microsoft
No additional AC adapters needed


The officially licensed Kinect Extension Cable allows for expanded placement of the Kinect camera in a variety of settings. The big difference is that the Xbox 360 Kinect cable is designed to plug into the special port on the back of the Xbox 360 slim and provide additional power. It will come with a USB converter cable that turns the special Kinect cable into a USB connection when you buy the Xbox 360 Kinect on its own. So I started trying out a few different extension cables that I had ready to me.

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Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect Demo Weighs Astronauts in Microgravity

Friday, December 30th, 2011

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 accessories 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.

“Something that you could easily put inside the walls of the space station would free up the space for other equipment or experiments,” Eurécom computer scientist Carmelo Velardo told New Scientist in an interview.

The researchers claim the Xbox 360 Kinect system is capable of making estimates with a margin of error of approximately 2.7 kg (~6 lbs.). The accuracy is said to be comparable to the existing alternative, which uses a stool connected to oscillating springs.

Velardo suggests the Kinect tool will be tested aboard a parabolic aircraft flight that replicates the conditions found in orbit. It remains unclear if the technology will be used aboard the International Space Station or other space-bound missions.

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Review for XBox 360 Kinect Sports: Season 2

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

It is proved that the first year for Microsoft s Xbox 360 Kinect is very popular, and Microsoft hope that things will be even better this year. It’s for this reason why they hope that Kinect Sports: Season 2 gets a positive review. One thing we do know, if it’s anything like the previous version then it will be one of the best games to play at a party.

So why would you want to choose Kinect Sports: Season Two instead of other Kinect games? That answer is a tough one, as it all comes down to personal taste. However, Game Rant will do their best to help you deiced if this sequel should be your next buy for the Xbox 360 – well after Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 that is.

Microsoft knows that they need to add something extra to the second outing for Kinect Sports, which is why they have now adding six new sports. However, some are better than others but the good ones more than make up for the others shortcomings.

For those of you who have never tried Xbox 360 Kinect games, then try not to associate them with the Nintendo Wii, as the graphics are far more advanced. The game should certainly be on your Christmas list, but it has not evolved as much as we would have hoped.

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Joseph Dumary’s new design concepts about the next Xbox

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

With the upcoming new Xbox 360 console news spread, the media and the community began to report the rumors about the next-generation Xbox 360 hardware, from its new name will be “Xbox 720″ to Microsoft will sign an agreement with TV manufacturers, make the Xbox Kinect sensor integrated inside the screen, remove the sensor device, and then no controller gaming will be come true. Recently, another burst of foreign-related rumors, but it’s about the designer Joseph Dumary vision for next-generation Xbox.


Joseph Dumary is a designer of Yanko Design, he dreamed up this interpretation of the next Xbox console, which he calls the “Xbox Prestige.” It’s slightly curvier than the Xbox 360 Slim, suggesting it’s from the future. His “Xbox Prestige” envisages a case design similar to that of the current console, only this one includes a 2TB Xbox 360 hard drive, and 8-core processor, perhaps most importantly, packs Kinect right into the main package, the lens peering out at you from where the USB ports are on the older Xbox 360.


If real, the Xbox Prestige would have an eight-core processor, it would be 3D, bear 4KDK resolutions, would have GPS and multi-TV. By the way we can pretend it would also have the best graphics card around the world.
Finally, we still have to remind you, before your plan to rush out of the room, sell your current Xbox 360 kinect and pay for this item, please remember that this is just a concept, no matter what Microsoft eventually released, there may be great different from Xbox Prestige.

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