Microsoft may be preparing to release the software development kit for Kinect on PC sooner than anticipated, if sources speaking with WinRumors are accurate. "Sources familiar with the plans" told the Windows-centric site that an official SDK and Kinect drivers are being prepped for a beta release "in the coming months," potentially arriving with an upcoming XNA update dubbed the "Community Technical Preview." The report adds detail to statements made by Microsoft head Steve Ballmer earlier this month, when the CEO said Kinect on PC would be supported "in a formal way in the right time."
Kinect SDK and driver support on the PC will reportedly allow third-party developers to enable Kinect functionality on PC-based applications, including games. Of course, hackers haven't waited for Microsoft, releasing a flood of Kinect-enabled PC and Mac hack videos over the past few months. Just think, though -- soon, you could be officially making a monument to yourself in Minecraft! The future is now!
Reader Comments (9)
Posted: Jan 17th 2011 5:34PM Hunter141072 said
well, it looks like kinect is going to be more famous without the xbox , funny thing is that it was supposed to be an item for the xbox only......
Posted: Jan 17th 2011 5:41PM Lerkero said
Having space in front of your TV for kinect is one thing, but it seems very difficult to both see on the screen and make room space for kinect on a PC. I don't know many people that have PC monitors over 20 inches and PCs are usually placed in smaller rooms.
Posted: Jan 17th 2011 6:48PM makattack said
It would certainly be amazing for MS to include Kineck APIs in the XNA Game Studio... I don't have a Kinect yet, but will definitely get one if I can write indie apps that use the Kinect.
Posted: Jan 17th 2011 8:21PM JnZooger said
Where's my chatpad driver?!
Posted: Jan 17th 2011 9:40PM Dance Mofo said
@JnZooger For real. Definitely convenient for when I play a game and want to text without putting down my controller to use the keyboard.
Reply
Posted: Jan 17th 2011 9:45PM Starcade said
Microsoft needs to do something to build on the momentum. It seems like every week we see something new with the Kinect on the PC. Imagine what would could see when it's officially released and there's tool available to incorporate into programs. I would love to use Kinect with Windows 7
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