Dragon's Prophet preview: how to catch your dragon
Report: Respawn Entertainment co-founder left due to personal conflict
Oculus Rift secures $16 million in venture capital
Max Payne 3 slowly dives onto Mac this week
Report: Frostbite 3 games to be 'optimized exclusively' for AMD cards
Candy Crush dev exploring IPO
Castle of Illusion preview: more than a repaint
Steel Diver sequel is Nintendo's first free-to-play game
Why Pikmin hasn't made the jump to handheld
Dark Souls 2 director says aim is to reduce 'tediousness'
Report: Next Xbox requires always-on Kinect
by Andrew Yoon, Feb 11, 2013 12:15pm PSTThe next Xbox, codenamed Durango, will not only include an updated version of Kinect--it will require it. "It must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function," a new report on Kotaku reveals.
According to the site, Microsoft will include both Kinect and a hard drive in their next-gen console (both were optional accessories on Xbox 360). By making their use mandatory, developers will be able to make games with both peripherals in mind.
The camera has been greatly improved, being able to track up to six skeletons at once, versus two in the current-gen model. In addition, the new Kinect can keep track of five additional joints per person. According to Kotaku, the improved resolution of the camera will allow it to "instantly identify a person," making "automatic player identification" a part of the Xbox experience. While the convenience of not having to log-in will be nice, it could also lead to restricting content based on who Kinect identifies--something Redmond had patented many months ago. Using this tech could restrict the "number of user views, a number of user views over time, a number of simultaneous user views, views tied to user identities, views limited to user age or any variation or combination thereof."
In terms of hardware spec, Durango has been rumored to be largely identical with Orbis, the next PlayStation. Digital Foundry offers a comparison, detailing the slight differences in approach the two companies are taking with their next consoles.
Comments
The next Xbox, codenamed Durango, will not only include an updated version of Kinect--it will require it. "It must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function."
The next Xbox, codenamed Durango, will not only include an updated version of Kinect--it will require it. "It must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function." : Shacknews
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 270 replies.
The difference is the 360 update happens in place and quickly, the PS3 says "there's an update you can't use this, go find where in the UI you can actually get the update." Another example of Sony's poor end to end experience is the multiple reports lately of people struggling to play Ni No Kuni via digital download from PSN because it lists the space required for the download, not the download + required install (which happens to be nearly all the space a launch PS3 has). Jeff Cannata had his store download fail and leave 4-5gb of temp files on the disc in an unrecoverable fashion making the game completely unplayable.
Exclusives are a matter of preference but are still important when choosing a platform to support. If there were no exclusives on 360, why would I buy it over my PS3 or PC?
I'm not saying they're completely irrelevant but they're less important than they used to be. Some of the Xbox services I outlined are exactly why I'd buy the 360 version over the PC. If my friends are on 360 and I want to play with them? If I don't want to buy another headset for my PC to do voice chat? If I want to play from my couch? If I want Kinect controls? Etc. There are reasons. Obviously you still want to have some good exclusives but as I said and you just noted as well, they're fickle from year to year.
You must be logged in to post.