The new Kinect will eventually watch you from a PC

By Michael Rougeau May 22, 2013

The Xbox One‘s next-gen Kinect sensor, referred to so far only as the new Kinect, will eventually arrive on PC, Microsoft executives confirmed. Microsoft corporate vice president of interactive entertainment business Ben Kilgore told Polygon that the new Kinect will hit PC “at some point down the line,” and Kinect program manager Scott Evans said much the same to Shacknews.

At the moment details are nonexistent – not surprising since the new Kinect has been in the public’s eye for just over a day at this point – but Evans said more information will arrive “soon.”

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The next-gen Kinect will be be included with every Xbox One bundle, guaranteeing its entry into millions of homes (assuming the Xbox One is a success, of course). It features a 1080p camera with a wider viewing angle than its predecessor, facial recognition, heartbeat sensing, night vision, and more new features. Most importantly though, it allows for a degree of precision not possible on the previous generation.

Following its release for the Xbox 360 in 2010, the original Kinect sensor was released for Windows PC in 2012 and has proved useful in a number of unusual settings, such as hospitals. The 360 and PC versions have gone on to sell more than 24 million units worldwide.

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Michael Rougeau

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mike Rougeau is a journalist and writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs. He specializes in video…

Gaming

You can’t share Xbox screenshots or videos directly to Twitter anymore

The Xbox Series S console on its side with controller.

It is no longer possible to upload and share screenshots and videos to Twitter from Xbox consoles or the Xbox Game Bar on PC. The move comes amid growing tensions between Microsoft and Twitter owner Elon Musk, who recently made a controversial change to the platform's API rules.
While Microsoft has not confirmed if this change is permanent, this disabling comes after Twitter rolled out new access tiers for its API, including an Enterprise tier that reportedly costs $42,000 a month. It seems that Microsoft has opted not to foot that bill, instead disabling Twitter's integration with Xbox on console and PC altogether.
Shortly after the feature was disabled, the official Xbox Twitter account posted a step-by-step process of how players could still get their Xbox screenshots and clips on Twitter by sharing them from the Captures menu in the Xbox mobile app. When asked by fans why the change occurred, all Microsoft would say is that "we've had to disable the ability to share game uploads directly to Twitter."
https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1649198865961332737
So far, Xbox is the only console manufacturer to disable this feature, so we'll have to wait and see if Nintendo or PlayStation follow suit. Still, considering how common sharing screenshots and videos taken while playing a game has become on social media, it's a surprising change for Xbox to make.
If this is an intentional, permanent change, it also seems to indicate that Microsoft won't be playing ball with Elon Musk's Twitter changes. The two are currently in a social media war, as Microsoft will also be ending Twitter support on its advertising platform, while Musk teased that he might sue Microsoft. No longer being able to share screenshots or clips from one's Xbox to Twitter comes as a consequence of this feud.

Gaming

The best Xbox One games to play right now

Newcastle raises his shield in Apex Legends.

The Xbox One might not have the same selection of exclusives as the PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch, but the handful it does have are worth checking out. Some of the best Xbox One games are first-party titles, but you'll find loads of other quality games from the likes of Electronic Arts, Bethesda, and Ubisoft that compose a huge library of games worth playing.

A lot of them are available on Xbox Game Pass as well, so you can try out the best games on the system without shelling out $60 left and right. If you've already upgraded to the Xbox Series X, don't worry: The vast majority of Xbox One games work on the Series X and Series S with Microsoft's Smart Delivery program.

Gaming

5 big details from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s new trailer that you may have missed

Link stands near allied humans and Gorons in Tears of the Kingdom.

The final trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has arrived, and it's full of new information about the upcoming Switch game. We got a better look at its open world, saw many new characters, and got another peek at all kinds of vehicles that players can make. In fact, the trailer was so crowded with new information -- and Tears of the Kingdom's mechanics and story are still so shrouded in mystery -- that there are some things that you might have missed, leaving a ton to speculate on.
When watching it again, we found a ton of curious details that had us wondering about unannounced features. We've rounded up five details in particular that could have some major implications for the gameplay and story of Tears of the Kingdom.
Link has companions

One of the most surprising things about this new trailer is that it seems to confirm a companion system, or at least NPCs that are way more active than they ever were in Breath of the Wild. During a montage around the 1:38 mark, we see Link riding a horse through an active battle between humans and Ganondorf's forces. Later on, after the three-minute mark, we see new Rito, Human, Zora, Goron, and Garudo working with Link. The Zora soldier specifically helps Link fight an enemy in a two-on-one encounter.
Companions aren't a new feature to open-world games; titles like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim have it. Still, these more active NPCs and an entire potential companion mechanic highlight just how deeply core gameplay systems have been modified for Tears of the Kingdom.
New characters and enemies