kurtsh
@kurtsh.bsky.social
Technology Strategist for Microsoft Corp. Posts about #dogs, #sushi, #Xbox, #StarWars, #Hawaii, #sake, #Azure, #Microsoft, #squirrels, #UCLA, #LasVegas, #LosAngeles, #GalaxysEdge, #Disney, #StarTrek & #Family. #Browncoat, #Amity, #Resistance & #Hufflepuff.
Yeah, Don Mattrick miscalculated the value of Kinect & thought gamers would pay an extra $100 for motion control.
They didn't & Xbox never recovered. Critics say the push for 'online purchases' over 'disc' was what hurt us but rly, it was the Kinect bundle that set us on the path we're on today.
They didn't & Xbox never recovered. Critics say the push for 'online purchases' over 'disc' was what hurt us but rly, it was the Kinect bundle that set us on the path we're on today.
November 28, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Yeah, Don Mattrick miscalculated the value of Kinect & thought gamers would pay an extra $100 for motion control.
They didn't & Xbox never recovered. Critics say the push for 'online purchases' over 'disc' was what hurt us but rly, it was the Kinect bundle that set us on the path we're on today.
They didn't & Xbox never recovered. Critics say the push for 'online purchases' over 'disc' was what hurt us but rly, it was the Kinect bundle that set us on the path we're on today.
Kinect does live on but not as a consumer device.
The Azure Kinect Dev Kit is used to do things like detect when a construction worker has fallen down at a job site & sends alerts. (I actually proposed this back in the 2000s with the original Xbox 360 Kinect)
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/produc...
The Azure Kinect Dev Kit is used to do things like detect when a construction worker has fallen down at a job site & sends alerts. (I actually proposed this back in the 2000s with the original Xbox 360 Kinect)
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/produc...
Azure Kinect DK – Develop AI Models | Microsoft Azure
Developers: Build advanced computer vision and speech models with a 1-MP depth sensor, 12-MP RGB camera, and 7-mic audio array in a single device.
azure.microsoft.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Kinect does live on but not as a consumer device.
The Azure Kinect Dev Kit is used to do things like detect when a construction worker has fallen down at a job site & sends alerts. (I actually proposed this back in the 2000s with the original Xbox 360 Kinect)
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/produc...
The Azure Kinect Dev Kit is used to do things like detect when a construction worker has fallen down at a job site & sends alerts. (I actually proposed this back in the 2000s with the original Xbox 360 Kinect)
azure.microsoft.com/en-us/produc...
If there was any Microsoft 'hubris', it was believing Kinect was worthy of mandatory inclusion in Xbox One & that XB1 would sell despite being a $100 more expensive than the competitor.
Consumers worldwide openly told us they skipped on XB1 because of the $100 difference from Kinect's COGs. 😢
Consumers worldwide openly told us they skipped on XB1 because of the $100 difference from Kinect's COGs. 😢
November 28, 2025 at 3:28 PM
If there was any Microsoft 'hubris', it was believing Kinect was worthy of mandatory inclusion in Xbox One & that XB1 would sell despite being a $100 more expensive than the competitor.
Consumers worldwide openly told us they skipped on XB1 because of the $100 difference from Kinect's COGs. 😢
Consumers worldwide openly told us they skipped on XB1 because of the $100 difference from Kinect's COGs. 😢
Don Mattrick made a lot of mistakes but he tried hard to elevate Kinect both strategically & monetarily - not tank it. And this support for Kinect - in alignment with his focus on interactivity for normies & non-hardcore gamers - probably cost him his job.
November 28, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Don Mattrick made a lot of mistakes but he tried hard to elevate Kinect both strategically & monetarily - not tank it. And this support for Kinect - in alignment with his focus on interactivity for normies & non-hardcore gamers - probably cost him his job.
But Kinect was a major differentiator so Don Mattrick doubled down & made it's inclusion mandatory in XB1, increasing Xbox's price by $100, & Xbox making it less competitive than PS.
Kinect became a sales boat anchor & they had to start shipping Xbox One without Kinect to remain competitive.
Kinect became a sales boat anchor & they had to start shipping Xbox One without Kinect to remain competitive.
November 28, 2025 at 3:18 PM
But Kinect was a major differentiator so Don Mattrick doubled down & made it's inclusion mandatory in XB1, increasing Xbox's price by $100, & Xbox making it less competitive than PS.
Kinect became a sales boat anchor & they had to start shipping Xbox One without Kinect to remain competitive.
Kinect became a sales boat anchor & they had to start shipping Xbox One without Kinect to remain competitive.
I wholly disagree. After investing billions in R&D & mktg - even going so far as to try to standardize it as a form of console interactivity for gaming by making its purchase mandatory in Xbox One - we learned that the demand for Kinect was simply not there. Motion control's time & had come & gone.
November 28, 2025 at 3:16 PM
I wholly disagree. After investing billions in R&D & mktg - even going so far as to try to standardize it as a form of console interactivity for gaming by making its purchase mandatory in Xbox One - we learned that the demand for Kinect was simply not there. Motion control's time & had come & gone.