Wired On The Beginning Of Kinect: The Inside Story

Wired has done a massive five page history on the beginnings of Microsoft’s Kinect, from its early planning stages to launch.

Matt Barlow, marketing boss for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, explained to Wired that Kinect is a massive business opportunity for Microsoft, in more than just gaming.

“Gaming is a $48 billion business”, said Barlow. “The challenge is how you continue to grow. We have the capability to turn your living room into a petting zoo, into a sports stadium — so our customer base is all those who have rejected gaming either because of the content or the controller. If you could say doubling, tripling, quadrupling the audience — I believe that. We’re also talking about a hypersocial audience, predominantly female, who want to interact while playing.”

Other executives told Wired the potential is there for more than just gaming, something Microsoft has been well aware of from the beginning.

“We believe the platform will move beyond the console,” says Ben Kilgore, general manager of the Xbox platform. “Every kind of major Microsoft group in the company is evaluating Kinect. They’re trying to understand what it means for those experiences.”

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