The latter half of the aughts was a transitional time for gaming. Nintendo was recovering from lukewarm Gamecube sales, and Playstation 3 sales stalled due to the high price of the console. Meanwhile, the Microsoft Xbox 360 got an early start in this generation. Microsoft’s price allowed it to keep its lead, but Nintendo posed some heavy competition with its experimental Wii.
It’s clear that the Wii tapped into a family-friendly market with its motion controls. Meanwhile, Xbox typically battled with Playstation for a more mature audience, but that changed with the 2010 release of the Kinect.
The add-on was a success. In 2011, it held the Guinness World Record for fastest-selling consumer device by selling 8 million units in 60 days. Momentum was strong, and Microsoft wanted to include Kinect with the 360’s predecessor. The idea was solid, but a lot went wrong.
By 2017, the Kinect was dead.
It felt like Microsoft quickly built a success, then slowly took its shine away. Microsoft was trying to force interest in the Kinect, but each attempt diminished its potential until there was no reason to keep it alive.
Why Did The Kinect Happen?
By the end of the 2000s, Microsoft was selling more Xbox 360s than Sony was selling Playstation 3s. This was a huge victory for them, but Nintendo proved to be the dark horse in this gaming generation. The Wii was selling faster than other consoles thanks to its family-friendly games and innovative technology.
So Microsoft was going to get people moving, just like the Wii was able to get gamers off the couch. But Microsoft was going to do it better; rather than using a Wiimote, they’d use cameras and mics. The tech had to be good, because the Kinect cost $150 at the time of its release, and that’s after you bought the Xbox 360. By that point, the Wii was $200: a mere $50 difference.
In 2010 and 2011, this technology seemed to justify the cost. Microsoft had plenty of commercials, and early reviews seemed to suggest the hype was real. Games like Just Dance had you using your full body, while the Wiimote could only measure one limb. Considering tens of millions of people already had Xbox 360s, the barrier to entry wasn’t that high.
In March 2011, Microsoft saw nearly 10 million Kinects sold while the 360 itself sold 55 million units. This meant the company was approaching a 20% adoption rate, which looked good. Microsoft saw potential, but the 80% without a Kinect weren’t going to be convinced to add a camera to the console. They wanted to play Halo or Madden 2K12. Kinect served no purpose, and $150 could be put to better use. This is where the issues begin.
Better With Kinect?
When the Kinect was released, it sold fast, and people wanted to get into the games. The technology lent itself well to the sports, dance, and fitness genres, but there weren’t a whole lot of titles: only 15 launched with the camera.
When you look at a list of 360 games for Kinect, the list seems pretty long. This is because Microsoft started to incorporate the Kinect into existing franchises. Usually, the motion and voice controls were optional, but Microsoft called them “better with Kinect.”
Most of the games executed the Kinect integration poorly. Sometimes, the Kinect simply allowed gamers to use voice controls rather than the controller. Infamously, the Kinect’s mic would give FIFA 13 players a red card if they were heard swearing. Anyone who has played video games, especially in groups, knows that swearing is part of the experience. Gamers know they’re not real soccer stars, and they don’t need a penalty for dropping an f-bomb.
While this is one example, it shows that Microsoft’s long-term plan wasn’t fully fleshed out upon the Kinect’s release. Within a year, Kinect features were just tacked onto titles already in the works.
Bundled With Kinect
By the start of 2013, 24 million Kinects had been sold. Though sales had slowed since launch, Microsoft was still seeing sales of the add-on. By this point, the peripheral was reduced to $99 and it appeared the technology was easier to produce.
As numbers continued to climb, it’s important to remember that bundles were being sold with the Kinect included during the 2012 and 2013 holiday seasons. So, people would wake up to a new console, and a Kinect would be in the package. This counts as a sale for Microsoft, even if the camera never got plugged in.
Forced Kinection
In 2013, Microsoft announced their next-gen console, and it didn’t go well. Microsoft made a lot of controversial decisions like forced online connectivity, no backward compatibility, and a mandatory Kinect. Fortunately, the Kinect was included in the box. Unfortunately, the launch day price was $499. While the Xbox 360 did a lot right, its biggest asset was being considerably cheaper than the Playstation 3. Now, the Xbox One was more expensive than the PS4.
Before the release of the Xbox One, Microsoft went on an apology tour and corrected a lot of its wrongdoings. Players would no longer be required to plug in their Kinect (nor would they need to be connected to the internet), but they would still need to pay $499 for a system that came with a Kinect in the box.
Despite the changes, Microsoft insisted that Kinect would be an essential part of the Xbox One experience. Microsoft’s corporate vice president envisioned an ecosystem where the Kinect was as important as the controller or the wifi connection, and with this statement, he implied the system would never be sold without Kinect.
But numbers don’t lie, and people didn’t need the Kinect, especially if it cost an extra $100. By June of 2014, the Playstation 4’s sales had far exceeded the Xbox One sales. So Microsoft slashed the price to $399 and nixed the Kinect from the bundle. In about a month, Microsoft saw sales of the Xbox one double from its first seven months on shelves.
Clearly, people knew what they wanted in an Xbox, and it wasn’t a Kinect.
Dis-Kinected
After the sales boost, the message was sent. Microsoft wanted to make Kinect happen, and they bet a lot on the peripheral during the Xbox One launch. Eventually, they knew it was time to cut their losses.
Removing the Kinect allowed developers to use computing power in different ways, and by E3 2015 Microsoft had nothing to say about Kinect. Xbox One was finding its stride while the Kinect was dying.
Still, gamers could buy a Kinect for their systems. They’d need to buy the system and adapter separately, but it could be purchased as an add-on. But 2017 seemed to nail the coffin shut when Microsoft stopped producing the Kinect.
Occasionally, Microsoft shows a pulse of life in the Kinect when they release games that offer Kinect compatibility, like Just Dance 2022, but you’ll need to play on your old Xbox One. The current generation of Xbox (Series X and Series S) does not support the Kinect, so you’ll need to stay seated this generation.
What Really Happened to the Kinect?
The Kinect was popular for two reasons: the technology was new and it outperformed an existing trend. There’s a reason why Just Dance is the title that remains on the platform. The sensors on Kinect are designed to perfectly integrate into dance games. It was OK for exercise classes and virtual sports, but these experiences would improve with technology.
In 2010 and 2011 Kinect’s technology outpaced the Wii’s, and this made it a fun addition to the Xbox 360. It also made the system an appealing family entertainment console option, because it offered games using the technology and marketed toward kids. It was also a time when tech was rapidly changing, and video game consoles never evolve as quickly as computers or smartphones.
2010 was also the year when Apple introduced the FaceTime camera on the iPhone 4, then they introduced Siri in 2011. This proved that the Kinect, offering facial recognition and voice commands, was on-pace with the tech leaders of the time. Soon enough, the features on Kinect were easily replicated on smartphones while the Xbox didn’t innovate much. Log onto TikTok and you can play games, dance, and interact with your phone: no Kinect needed.
Eventually, Microsoft was essentially giving away the Kinect. This was the beginning of the end. The technology was no longer novel, and gamers wanted to stick to their controllers. If people want to experiment with new gaming tech, virtual and augmented reality has far exceeded anything we ever saw on the Kinect.
During 2010 and 2011, the Kinect’s success was well earned, and Microsoft should receive recognition for its innovation. As time passed, the peripheral didn’t evolve enough to stand out from competitors. As soon as Microsoft tried to force the Kinect upon gamers, it was as good as dead. There is a silver lining; when the Kinect was taken out of the bundles, gamers flocked back to the Xbox. Now, systems just come with a handheld controller, and that’s all they need.
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