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New Xbox One Experience update drops Kinect gestures; usage was "very, very low"

chadskin

Member
This week's New Xbox One Experience update will remove the option to navigate the dashboard using Kinect-based gestures, Microsoft has revealed.

The feature, which has been present in Xbox One since the console's launch, allowed Kinect owners to operate the dashboard by using their hands, physically swiping through menus and selecting options by raising their hand.

But its usage was "very, very low", Microsoft's Mike Ybarra admits, leading to the platform holder's decision to drop it in the next update.

"On gestures, when we looked at the New Xbox One Experience we wanted to prioritize features that customers were asking for, plus areas of improvement from the existing Xbox One UI," Ybarra told Windows Central. "Then, we wanted to look at the use-case model of features that take a lot of investment and say, 'is it worth continuing to invest in that area?'

"With gestures, the reality was the usage was very, very low. So for now, we've cut that from the New Xbox One Experience. So when we launch on the 12th, they won't be in the product. We'll continue to monitor and listen to feedback to see if people want them in."
http://www.videogamer.com/news/new_xbox_one_experience_update_drops_kinect_gestures.html
 
Thank god. The only time I used them was when it would decide I was doing something at the most inopportune time. It would decide that I meant to go home or something like that when I was just going for a drink.

The worst part of the Kinect.
 

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
They never really worked anyway. Completely horrible. Never forget how the first presentation of Kinect gestures in 2013 showed gestures that never even existed.

One time, Kinect even thought that the glowing Apple logo on the lid of my MacBook was my hand.
 

muzzymate

Member
The fact that this is a new revelation after the NXOE has been in public beta for two months should be telling. I love my Kinect, but have never once used the navigation gestures.
 

hawk2025

Member
Hell, and they probably can't even distinguish between purposeful usage and accidental usage.


...I would be willing to bet the latter was more common than the former. Good riddance. Gesture use was absolutely awful.
 

RiccochetJ

Gold Member
I'm not surprised. At least for me, it never worked all that well to the point I forgot they even existed. I wonder what the stats are for using voice controls though. I use that quite a bit.
 
I'm not surprised. At least for me, it never worked all that well to the point I forgot they even existed. I wonder what the stats are for using voice controls though. I use that quite a bit.

I think they will be fairly high for consoles with Kinect active. I use them every day.
 

emb

Member
I don't have a Kinect for my XBO, and if I did I'd never use this. But removing features still sits wrong with me. It's a shame for the 3 people that did actually prefer that option.
 

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
At this point, the Xbox One should just come either with a directional microphone that mounts on top of the TV or with a controller that has an embedded microphone. Voice commands are probably the only thing that at least some people really use. The camera is virtually useless for most people.
 

notworksafe

Member
Thank goodness. The only time Kinect gestures come up are when it sees my hand while I'm watching something and thinks I want to pause or stop a video. Super annoying.

Voice commands and the camera are great though. Keep those in!
 
this hurts more than the original DRM plans :(

not completely serious, but this technically hurts more paying customers than the DRM plans ever did, lol

But yeah, they never worked very well. I think I may have used it once or twice after I was already playing a Kinect game, but otherwise, meh.
 

noquarter

Member
Hmm, would have used it if it worked better, always got stuck when I was moving my hand and just go back to the previous screen.
 
I don't see why remove something even if few use it.

Probably because the underlying dash and its layout has changed significantly enough that those gestures don't make sense within it?

I have heard Don Matrick was an absolute fetishist of human motion which is why he prioritized Kinect and when he went to Zynga they bought Natural Motion. He loves the stuff.
 

Bgamer90

Banned
This didn't surprise me at all. I never used gestures for menu navigation.

Voice in many situations (starting up games, finding content in stores, etc.) is faster than using a controller for dashboard navigation. Gesture is slower than controller for dashboard navigation. Why would I use gesture?
 

Nerix

Member
No outrage? I just remember the drop of the OS feature on PS3... The user base of that was probably similar high than that for kinect gesture control.
 

Alx

Member
Er, it's quite "old" news now...
I suppose I'm one of the few who was using them from time to time, and who will miss them. I'll be voting on the uservoice to have them added later, but my hopes aren't high.
I don't remember having false positives with gestures, but if that's an issue, an option to disable them in the system settings would have been much better than removing them altogether.
 
Yeah, the gestures alwasy felt janky. Only used the kinect for voice commands and insta-sign on.

Well i take that back. i would use one gesture. I'd raise my hand so it'll know who i am LOL
 

Ridli

Member
I don't see why remove something even if few use it.

I don't know about the specifics, but I imagine if the machine had to constantly review the camera data to determine when/if gestures are being used, then eliminating the feature could free up some resources.

Or at the very least, this keeps them from having to support/implent gestures for any other new features they want to add later.
 

w0s

Member
I am usually one to stand up for xbox but I haven't had my kinect plugged in for over a year. Fucking thing never recognized me correctly (or my family members except for one), and the xbox on wouldn't work. Went through two of them and xbox support and nothing. Good riddance.
 

Wasp

Member
Gestures were always a dumb idea. It takes way longer and uses more effort to wave your hands around than it does to tilt an analogue stick a couple of millimetres.
 

BiGBoSSMk23

A company being excited for their new game is a huge slap in the face to all the fans that liked their old games.
Kinect sounds like such a fucking gimmick sometimes...

Voice activated stuff is cool but it's not there yet I don't think.

I don't wanna sit on my couch barking simple orders at my TV in a droning military voice for it to work.

I wanna command it in a casual tone, as I would address a person.
 

Fox_Mulder

Rockefellers. Skull and Bones. Microsoft. Al Qaeda. A Cabal of Bankers. The melting point of steel. What do these things have in common? Wake up sheeple, the landfill wasn't even REAL!
Class action incoming?
 

Guevara

Member
BWyGfha.png


Ah, memories.
 

Bgamer90

Banned
I LOVE the voice commands. Use them everyday, and it is quite handy. So they better not take that out.

They aren't. They are building on top of them/improving them with the upcoming Contana update.

_____________

At this point, the Xbox One should just come either with a directional microphone that mounts on top of the TV or with a controller that has an embedded microphone. Voice commands are probably the only thing that at least some people really use. The camera is virtually useless for most people.

The upcoming Contana update will work with headsets (Kinect not needed) so I wouldn't be surprised if that's a possibility.
 

Alx

Member
Love my Kinect but that just never worked. I have no clue what triggered it and it was always inconsistent.

Just raise your hand until the cursor appears... as a matter of fact the old system on 360 was better (waving to activate the cursor). It was both more natural and robust to false detections.
 

Vinc

Member
Not mad, that was actually just annoying to me, as it would sometimes recognize me scratching my arm and switch over to the next tab or something. Not a fan. Now the real question is- how fast is this new UI? Anyone has comments on the latest build from the preview program? I hope it's as snappy as PS4.
 
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