Kinect 2 Leak Shows Improved Detail in Motion-tracking

By Jane McEntegart
published

With all this talk of an Xbox 720, the rumor mill has finally seen fit to cough up something on the Kinect 2.

We've heard a lot of talk regarding the Xbox 720 over the last week or so. First Microsoft's Windows Live General Manager Brian Hall accidentally let slip a mention of 'the new Xbox.' Microsoft played that off as a reference to the new Xbox software, but a job posting published yesterday took the wind out that ship's sails with yet another mention of a brand new Xbox. This ad even went as far as to say it was launching in the next 18 months. Today, we're rounding out the week with an alleged Kinect 2 photo.

 

The photo you see above was posted by Twitter user Superdae, and is supposedly from a Durango development kit. Just to jog your memory, Durango is the codename for the Xbox 720. As you can see, the image, if genuine, shows that Kinect 2 will pack better body mapping with more depth than the first iteration of Kinect. Of course, it's hard to verify whether or not this picture is real or not. Microsoft hasn't commented, because the company is still pretending Durango/Xbox 720 doesn't exist, and Superdae hasn't taken down the image yet, either. Still, the Verge reports that one its own sources says it is a genuine test sample, so perhaps it is real.

The Xbox 720 is expected to be announced in June of 2013, at E3, and the launch is thought to be scheduled for the end of 2013/early 2014.

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10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • evan1715
    kinect better come with the next xbox or at have it still work on the new one instead of wasting $150 to have barely any games or do anything with it.
    Reply
  • kronos_cornelius
    The Kinetic is the greatest innovation Microsoft has had in a long time. I am not a console fan, nor a Microsoft fan, but I give credit where credit is due.
    Reply
  • Pennanen
    kronos_corneliusThe Kinetic is the greatest innovation Microsoft has had in a long time.The sad thing is, that is true.

    "this is the golden age of gaming" -some EA representive at e3
    Reply
  • kelemvor33
    Anyone checked out Leap Motion? Looks waaaaay more advanced than Kinect.
    www.leapmotion.com
    Reply
  • @kelemvor33

    leapmotion works only for hand and finger tracking, kinect is full body gesture tracking, two completely different application with different fidelity requirements
    Reply
  • Vorador2
    Kinect works pretty well but needs a lot of space to work, so i hope the next Kinect improves it.
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    I dont care about consoles, I want Kinect 2 available with proper Windows support! And I want a cheap leapmotion sensor so that I don't ahve to replace my 27" monitor for proper win8 control!
    Reply
  • alidan
    kronos_corneliusThe Kinetic is the greatest innovation Microsoft has had in a long time. I am not a console fan, nor a Microsoft fan, but I give credit where credit is due.
    microsoft bought out the company making the depth sensor. so its not even theirs
    and the application of this in gaming is only good because it drives the price of the kinect down about 100$

    other than that, kinect is the worst thing to happen to gaming, at least the wii and move work, try playing a kinect game in any setting that isn't set up specifically by microsoft.

    kelemvor33Anyone checked out Leap Motion? Looks waaaaay more advanced than Kinect.www.leapmotion.com
    its also not trying to track your whole body, just your hands over a smaller area, its not more advanced than kinect, its just about the same as kinect but applied for a different purpose.

    caedenvI dont care about consoles, I want Kinect 2 available with proper Windows support! And I want a cheap leapmotion sensor so that I don't ahve to replace my 27" monitor for proper win8 control!
    leapmotion, 70$, kinect for windows, 250$, kinect for xbox 150$
    the reason kinect isnt ported to windows properly is because microsoft doesn't want it on windows because people will buy it and they wont make money back with games.

    even if kinect 2 is hacked for the pc like 1 was, its still more expensive than leap motion by a long shot, and wont give you a compact environmental to gesture in.
    Reply
  • slabbo
    Have you guys used Kinect, especially to navigate menus and such? I own one and it's frikken HORRIBLE!!!

    Some saying that kinect is the best thing that MS has made, that's just very very sad. Kinect is now only used by my nephews/nieces for dancing games...trust me it isn't good for anything else.

    I'm not surprised that Kinect would be better, they set the bar so low with the original Kinect that it's easy to improve on it.
    Reply
  • alidan
    slabboHave you guys used Kinect, especially to navigate menus and such? I own one and it's frikken HORRIBLE!!! Some saying that kinect is the best thing that MS has made, that's just very very sad. Kinect is now only used by my nephews/nieces for dancing games...trust me it isn't good for anything else. I'm not surprised that Kinect would be better, they set the bar so low with the original Kinect that it's easy to improve on it.
    kinect out side of games is great, and if gestures could be use reliably on the pc, it could open new ways to interact with content, that said, menu navigation blows.
    Reply