Rumor: Microsoft in 'early stages of licensing' with Sony for Kinect TV

by Jessica Conditt on Nov 25th 2011 3:15PM

Microsoft has embraced hacker culture for Kinect, and it now sees the vast possibilities offered by a machine that requires people to just twitch or shout for it to function. Microsoft is now planning to integrate Kinect into next-generation televisions, The Daily reports (citing anonymous "sources familiar with the subject"), completely destroying the all-American pastime of searching for the remote. But that's not the most shocking part -- The Daily says Microsoft may be in "early stages of licensing" its Kinect tech to Vizio and Sony, whose Electronics branch produces high-def hardware.

Sony Electronics, in charge of Sony TVs, is a separate entity from Sony Computer Entertainment, which handles its video-game business, but this potential partnership seems awkward at best, and ludicrous at best-er. We won't believe it until a tangible product materializes, but until then, we're going to imagine the ridiculous company parties that could result from this rumored venture.

Source: The Daily

Tags: kinect, Kinect-TV, microsoft, Microsoft-Sony-TV, playstation, ps3, SONY, sony-tv, xbox

Reader Comments (47)

This fills me with joy :')

I like Microsoft's approach to expand Kinect functionality past the 360; the gaming applications for it are simply abysmal.

@Co To this day I still find it strange that it was targeted at video games and not something that I'd actually use daily.. to be honest I'd rather have the tech built-in my TV.

@Co

something tells me you've never even played a Kinect. sure there's a lot of garbage out for it, but look at the Wii. it's definitely the king of shovelware this gen.

@Eniko Gamers are the early adopters and beta testers. We paid to figure out what worked and what didn't. :)

@Eniko using it with Video Games was a trojan horse strategy. They did the same thing with the original Xbox. Microsoft KEPT looking for a way to get in people's living rooms. Clearly a PC on a TV wasn't going to work. So that's where the Xbox came into play. When the 360 came out it kept going that route, adding more and more media things as well as ways MS can get their services to a wider audience. Now if the Xbox 3 comes out with a version of Windows 8 on it, that original Trojan plan will have worked, since thats what they wanted all along.

Now with Kinect its basically the same, and the fact that they own Skype as well is going to make things even more easier for them to get it as a standard on TVs.

@Once known as Shadsy yea, that much I knew since the announcement, it's off-putting though.

@Co - There is a lot of junk available for Kinect but some of the games are fantastic (See: Dance Central, GunStringer, Child of Eden, Kinect Sports, among others I'm sure).

Whoa! This is good for the 2 rivals.

I don't see the benefits of this over a remote control.

@Jason B

You will when you get a Kinect, It works really well. You just have to get used to it.

Ludicrous indeed! This would be like releasing a Vaio computer with Wind...oh, right.

@baby sea tuna

ROFL! Well said, they were my first thoughts when I read the tone of this article, followed by the more serious "Hang on, are Joystiq this out of touch now?" Hell, I had a Windows (from MS) email advertising Sony Vaio's the other day. Sure, they can compete plenty well as well, but at a high level the two corporations have a good working relationship (and I'd bet that even the games side of things are pretty professional about it, with the stuff spouted in the media similar to the rubbish you hear in Congress/Parliament/you-name-it most of the time - soundbytes for the less informed to get 'em all excited).

@baby sea tuna
Your comment completely goes right along to what I just said.

@baby sea tuna
I know it was an approach to a joke;
Thing is that Sony doesn't have its own SO...

I love seeing things like this. Holding hands together especially going to the microsoft store at Mall of America seeing Sony Vaio being advertised in the window.

@Dance Mofo

Haha, well look at that!

i'm really quite eager to find out what sort of disc format Microsoft is going to use next-gen. it would be a bad idea to go the DVD route again, for obvious reasons, so are they going to cave and use Blu-ray technology? i'm sure they would like to go completely digital, as that's the way things are heading anyhow, but not everyone has the patience or means to download full 15-20 gig games, and storage for all these games is another thing. how big will the harddrives be? it's going to be neat seeing how each of the big three play their cards this upcoming generation.

I don't see how this seems awkward or ludicrous. Just because Microsoft and Sony compete in the video game realm doesn't mean they're not massive partners in other industries. I mean, is it ludicrous that Sony sells its movies on Zune?

@Ayepecks Kinda is when MS tries to restrict Sony's access to games whenever possible.

But then there was that one instance where Sony yanked Ghostbusters off some movie provider that was going on XBL.

Well companies are in the business of making money not necessarily stopping other companies from not making money.

I like that idea. A tv where you never lose the remote underneath the couch cushions.

@Axe99 didn't Sony and microsoft build the msx

@Stuwie This is a random place to find this comment! According to Wikipedia (granted, hardly the font of all knowledge), the MSX was a standard chipset used by a lot of companies to put together home computers. The project was led by Microsoft, but involved a heap of others (maybe DVD or Blu-ray might be a good analogy for it?) Deffo cooperation all round :).

There might be some value/use in a voice controlled TV, but not motion. Not with 300+ channels.

Just add an up and down motion for volume. Then wait until someone watches a porno.

Joystiq sees awkward. I see threesome.

I think this is great but I forsee a long when Sony makes games that work with a feature inbuilt into your TV...

Anyone know what the legality of that would be?

Awkward? Why? Microsoft software has shipped on Sony's laptops for years. This only makes good business sense.

Why? I really don't understand why things like the Kinect and the Move and all this 3D crap are getting so popular. It's all unnecessary, especially in gaming.

I always found it weird that Sony movie games were on other consoles. Like when I played Spiderman 2 on Gamecube back in the day, I found it so odd to see the Sony logo on TVs in one store. Or even when the Ghostbusters game came out of every console known to man.

Peculiar.

@RockSauron

Each company has various branches. Just because in the gaming community Sony Computer Entertainment is a shadowing name in the company doesn't mean Sony as a whole corporation hates any other competition. They don't have Microsoft Company logos on the dart board at every Sony Building.

If were were to go by your logic what would it mean for Sony and Nintendo gaming programers to use Microsoft Windows as the OS in order to make the games for Sony and Nintendo?

Each company is intertwined with each other in some way, shape, or form. In many ways each company while rivals, uses the other company in some way to survive and make their products.

Yes Joystiq. Totally ludicrous.

So perhaps we will see Blu-Ray in the Xbox 720?

dang.. and to think I just got through Walmart with my new TV and Arkham City... without injury... and now this?

I cant justify buying another tv within the next few years......

Makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Surely Samsung would make more sense to partner with?

This doesn't make sense at all. Not the part of a technology being licensed but the aspect of what technology.

The voice navigation aspect doesn't need an entire Kinect at all. Similarly, if we are talking only of voice command and hand tracking to scroll menus then SCE has already done it with the PSEye. Why not just use their own tech (adapted to the TV's, of course)?

It is the END OF THE WORLD!!! *looks at calender to see which year is next year* THE END IS COMING PEOPLE!!!

@sonyforlife that comment was a joke by the way but at a personal opinion I think this is bad because sony probably has a 3D motion camera ready for PS4 so I don't know if they will accept or deny.

Now we need a combination of Kinect and Siri and THEN you will have an awesome combination. Knect is ok, but I would love if you didn't have to use very specific commands for it to function.

Considering gesture based TV control isnt the sole property of microsoft I doubt this is actually happening. If sony wanted to use motion control for their tvs it could be done plenty of other ways that dont require the kinect.

Pleeeeease go with Samsung (or have both) cause I love me them sexy Samsung smart tvs

Haha, took me a bit but I just noticed it says PlayStation 4 on the Kinect. Clever Joystiq, but no love for Dead Space Girl :(?

MS doesn't own the Kinect technology for anything but gaming. PrimeSense opens it.

MS could license their implementation, but companies would still have to license the technology (patents) from PrimeSense.

Let's not forget Microsoft is in the licensing buisness first. How many different pc companies run windows (every single one) I wouldn't be suprised if they do the same thing with the kinetc it might be un the next gen ps3 lol

Considering Sony could build their own better Kinect system themselves for $5 I doubt they would do any deals with Microshit.

I think it's totally possible. For a long time there Windows 7 commercials had Sony laptops and TV's in them, so it's not as if they're opposed to working together.

Rumor: Microsoft in 'early stages of licensing' with Sony for Kinect TV

Reader Comments (47)

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:18PM arucious said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:21PM Co said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:27PM Eniko said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:33PM Liquidfingers said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:40PM Once known as Shadsy said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:43PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:01PM Eniko said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 5:02PM Mcmax3000 said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:21PM Master Troll said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:22PM Jason B said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:49PM Master Troll said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:29PM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:48PM Axe99 said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:49PM Dance Mofo said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 9:05PM eNriqeu said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:30PM Dance Mofo said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:59PM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:30PM Liquidfingers said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:38PM Ayepecks said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:02PM Godmars said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:41PM Voltron said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:43PM CaramelZappa said

Posted: Nov 26th 2011 10:03AM Stuwie said

Posted: Nov 26th 2011 3:52PM Axe99 said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 3:59PM Godmars said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:04PM fusionspill said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:17PM Puertoricarious said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:18PM MrAlex said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:31PM HaVoK308 said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:32PM SonyPS said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:35PM RockSauron said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:48PM Stevetrop Man of Mystery said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 4:57PM civilciv said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 5:06PM nerdydesi1 said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 6:01PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 7:15PM Darki Dreamside said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 7:33PM ptcamn said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 7:38PM sonyforlife said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 7:40PM sonyforlife said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 7:51PM DrunkRaba said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 7:52PM PN04 said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 8:11PM trickybuz93 said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 9:23PM APCMice said

Posted: Nov 25th 2011 9:55PM spin cycle said

Posted: Nov 26th 2011 2:18AM Kinglayus said

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Posted: Nov 26th 2011 11:05AM TehPeanut said

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