Key takeaways
- Kinect 2.0 had a relatively short life, but fans found other uses, such as using it for security purposes at Walmart.
- Kinect has been repurposed for non-gaming functions such as medical and surveillance applications.
- Fans miss Kinect's original functionality and wish Microsoft would create new games that support it.
A user found a Walmart that used Xbox OneKinect is for a different purpose. Many consider the Xbox One's Kinect a missed opportunity because the Xbox 360's Kinect showed a lot of potential, especially when it came to body tracking. This helped show that full motion controls were a revolutionary gaming method as it became popular in many sports and dance games. However, Kinect 2.0, the second iteration of the technology, felt like a miss when it came to that generation of gaming.
While Kinect 2.0 was such a minor presence during the Xbox One's lifetime, owners found simpler ways to use the motion sensor instead. A fan first spotted the Xbox Kinect being used in a medical capacity. In fact, consumers have tried to incorporate Kinect into many other areas that have nothing to do with gaming. A gamer recently posed a question after seeing a Kinect at his local Walmart.
related to
A Walmart shopper buys a new Xbox console ahead of its release date
One lucky Xbox fan buys the new version of the Xbox Series X console before it goes on sale.
Reddit user Vectormus casually asked when Microsoft or Xbox started providing Kinect devices to Walmart for security purposes. A fan posted a photo of a Kinect hanging from above like a CCTV camera. As user TheMicroburst pointed out, Walmart appears to have been doing this since 2013. Interestingly, using the system in this way isn't exactly new, and one airport has previously used the Xbox Kinect for surveillance. One fan commented that doing so might be cheaper, as units like these sell for around $20 or less at GameStop.
How Kinect is being used for other purposes
The common sentiment in the comments section is that Kinect has had better success as a non-gaming utility than it was originally intended. User matt2085 shared how a physical therapist used technology to understand their posture. User Brockmecia joked that every time they saw a Kinect in real life, it was never for its original use. And while support for the Microsoft Kinect was discontinued very early in its lifetime, many fans agreed that the functionality it offered was missed, especially since newer systems didn't promote it or support it for newer games.
was one of the last games to support Kinect Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator Back in 2021. And while it looks like fans aren't likely to get any new titles anytime soon, it might be good for Microsoft that all the technology isn't wasted. One important comment from the Reddit post is that it's refreshing to see that Kinect still has a lot of uses to offer rather than being part of some random landfill dump.
Xbox One
The Microsoft Xbox One is part of the eighth generation of consoles and is designed by the company to compete with Sony and Nintendo. It went head-to-head against the PS4, Switch, and Wii-U. It was created after the Xbox 360.
- brand
- Microsoft
- Original release date
- November 22, 2013
- Hardware versions
- Xbox One, Xbox One X, Xbox One S
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $499, £429, €499
- weight
- Base: 7.7 lbsS: 6.4 lbsX: 9.8lbs
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