Farewell, dear sweet Kinect

Microsoft has finally killed Kinect, ending an experiment that began at E3 in 2009, meeting its final curtain call late in 2017 when Microsoft confirmed that Kinect production had been ended.

Kinect, while fun in short bursts, never really achieved the success of the motion-controlled Nintendo Wii that Microsoft had hoped to capitalize on. Though for a short a time it was the fastest selling electronic consumer device in history.

Kinect incorporated an array of cameras that could detect depth, motion, and various other nuanced data that developers could then leverage to create experiences. The second Kinect camera, armed with infra-red, was powerful enough to detect pigment fluctuations in the skin to the level of being able to accurately estimate your heart rate. Applications like Xbox Fitness combined this data to create unique exercising experiences, while game developers built all sorts of wacky and wonderful experiences, including the raunchy and violent shooter Blue Estate, and the yoga photo platformer Commander Cherry.

Kinect certainly had its fans (including myself), but a series of missteps at Microsoft, combined with a general lack of compelling experiences essentially doomed the accessory. With production of both the camera and the adapter finished, Kinect will now join Microsoft Band, Groove Music, and Windows Phone on a growing scrapheap of consumer products Microsoft failed to position properly.

This is a farewell to Kinect, gone but not forgotten (even by Microsoft).

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