Have We Forgotten About the Kinect?

I keep my Kinect in a drawer.  Why?  I can’t find a use for it; there is no reason for me to plug it into the back of my One.  Aside from my random recording sessions or Netflix binges, my Kinect is pretty much gathering dust.Don’t get me wrong, the Kinect is great for voice commands, but the last time I used it for gaming was Ryse: Son of Rome.  The interactive commands that popped up when you’re leading the Roman legions was amazing, and sadly that has yet to be found in any new game.

Now, the Xbox One has sold a little over 10 million units. While it has been a successful hit, there has been a issue  of whether or not  the company should continue to sell the Kinect. As more and more games are released for the Xbox One, the absence of the Kinect is noticeable.  And since the One’s release, not much has been done with the Kinect in the area of gaming.   The few games that still utilize the Kinect range from Kinect Sport Rivals to Dance Central Spotlight.  This begs the question, “Have we forgotten about the Kinect?’

Microsoft has assured the public that the Kinect has not been forgotten.  In an interview with Edge Magazine, Phil Spencer mentioned that, “We’ll continue to build functionality to make it a valuable part of the ecosystem. That said, price point’s really important for the console – we saw that over the holidays in the UK and US, where we did well when we dropped the price, which was great. And I want to make sure consumers have choice on how much they value the functionality of Kinect when they buy a console.”

“There is lot of excitement, and there are still announcements to come about what people are doing with it. But [Kinect’s] place will be earned through the experiences that are out there and the developers that show interest. We will continue to build functionality through voice and using the RGB and depth cameras, and we’ll stay focused on that, but giving the consumers choice is pretty critical.”  More on this interview can be found on Gamesradar.

Microsoft should focus on integrating the Kinect with some of the newer games coming out this year. Rather than focus on making app usage more enjoyable, there needs to be a game that allows player to control a character with nothing more than a flick of the wrist.  However, until such a game comes out, my Kinect will just be a paper weight that I talk to on the weekends.