Microsoft: Legit Kinect Hacks Coming in April

[Greg Tito]

Microsoft: Legit Kinect Hacks Coming in April

The company from Redmond plans to release Kinect drivers for use with PCs in April.

Back when Kinect launched on November 4th, the Internet was abuzz with hackers trying to bust it open and get to the creamy depth-percepting center. stating that the USB interface of the Kinect device was meant to be open [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105201-Hacker-Releases-Open-Source-Driver-for-Kinect-Wins-Money]. Now it appears that Microsoft is making good on its pledge to support engineers fiddling with Kinect by announcing its official Kinect software developer kit (SDK) coming in April. The new drivers will allow tinkerers to interact with the motion sensor, video, voice recognition and depth perception of the Kinect at a much "higher level" than what is possible with the hack.

"We think we're going to see a huge explosion in interest," said Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer. "We welcome that and will support it."

Of the switch in policy on Kinect and its hacks, the head of Interactive Entertainment, Don Mattrick said, "This seemed like a great way to build on the momentum, intellect and creativity of that community."

At first, the SDK will be available only for people who don't immediately plan to use the Kinect for commercial purposes, that is, people who expect to make money of Microsoft's invention. A commercial license will be available at a later date, for possible integration into all kinds of applications from general computing to games and, of course, sex simulators [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106180-First-Kinect-Sex-Game-Prototype-Pops-Up-NSFW].

Well, maybe those guys won't get a license... [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106259-Microsoft-Ready-to-Crush-Kinect-Porn-Game]

Source: Smarthouse [http://smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Industry/E4X6L4H8]

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[Wicky_42]

You watching, Sony? That's how you respond maturely

(Ok, so it's a completely different situation, but meh

 

[Veloxe]

Very smart move. The stuff coming out of the homebrew community is about 400x more interesting then anything coming out of the mainstream for kinect, hopefully this opens it even further and we start to see some great stuff out of it.

 

[LavaLampBamboo]

I think we could see an awesome range of stuff coming out of this. Good on you, Microsoft.

 

[Les Awesome]

can't beat em
join em

 

[PixelKing]

No microsoft I wont get kinect just to hack.

Made me laugh when I saw "legit" and "hacks" in the same sentence. I thought it was about .

 

[teh_Canape]

can't beat em
join em

your avatar fits your text gloriously

OT: to be honest, if I want a motion controller on my PC, I'll go for the wiimote looking one by sixense or something like that

that one looks pretty badass AND looks like it works pretty well

 

[vxicepickxv]

Real smart on Microsoft's part, as they make money with every Kinect sold.

 

[llamastorm.games]

This makes no sense to me at all
They release an SDK for average joes to be able to tinker with kinect on a whole new level but for what end?
I suppose they can have a bit of a laugh and such but what then?
Buy a commercial license?
Surely most people wont have the money for such things unless they are a game studio and then such a thing isn't needed to them. Unless the commercial license is reasonably priced but then most people aren't going to making games with this SDK so what is the point?
All i can think of is some kind of kinect app store.

 

[stabnex]

Microsoft has really turned around these last few years.

Kudos, my Microsoftian Overlords.

 

[Low Key]

This makes no sense to me at all
They release an SDK for average joes to be able to tinker with kinect on a whole new level but for what end?
I suppose they can have a bit of a laugh and such but what then?
Buy a commercial license?
Surely most people wont have the money for such things unless they are a game studio and then such a thing isn't needed to them. Unless the commercial license is reasonably priced but then most people aren't going to making games with this SDK so what is the point?
All i can think of is some kind of kinect app store.

The grace period between the homebrewers and the commercial license I think is to give people time to find a unique way to use the device and gauge the reaction to different mods before they try and sell it to the masses. If something really interesting pops up, MS themselves might want to buy the IP.

 

[BoredPixel]

That's pretty nice. Can't wait to see more awesome Kinect shenanigans.
Funny thing is I'm more looking forwards to the shenanigans than the games. Well I'm not looking forwards to the games at all .. the concept of jumping around in front of my tv doesn't really sound like the gaming experience I'd like.

 

[Calcium]

Well they can't stop modding, so supporting it, and thus supporting some innovation can only be a good move. Personally there's no kinect titles that appeal to me at the moment. I need to see some good software before buying the hardware.

 

[twaddle]

I'm working on game and i'm looking forward to this package. I want that cheap motion capture so i can rig together 3-4 kinects!! Go Jasper Brekelmans!!
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106666-Software-Designer-Turns-Kinect-into-Cheap-Motion-Capture-Rig

 

[Optimystic]

$10 says Microsoft's "legitimate hacks" don't work as well as the ones already available.

 

[Chamale]

I'm hoping to hack my Kinect by hooking it up to a laptop running Pokemon on an emulator (no worries, I own it legit) and hooking up said laptop to my TV. I doubt Microsoft would let me do that, but I think their legit hacks will have a lot to offer.

The things been sitting on the shelf since I got bored of Kinect Adventures, so these hacks will be a great way to breathe life into the system.