wraggster
August 14th, 2013, 00:13
An executive who manages the controller design team at Microsoft has suggested that biometric sensors would not be necessary on Xbox One (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/xbox-one/games/12528/xbox-one/) because the new version of Kinect can fulfil that role.
Xbox Accessories general manager Zulfi Alam told CVG that Kinect can serve as its own biometric sensor - a claim that, if true, could pave the way for completely new gameplay experiences on Xbox One.
Biometrics has become a new line of inquiry for platform vendors. The theory is that sensors on controller pads could potentially read the player's state - either through heart rate or skin conductance - and thus tailor-fit gameplay in real-time.
Sony initially built a PS4 controller with biometric strips (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/387287/cvg-sources-sony-to-abandon-dualshock-design-for-ps4/) on the prongs, but eventually scrapped those plans for reasons unknown. In January, Valve company president Gabe Newell suggested (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/385585/valve-developing-biometric-game-controller-newell-confirms/) that the upcoming Steam Box (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/pc/games/12980/steam-box/) console would feature similar technology.
"I think you'll see controllers coming from us that use a lot of biometric data," Newell said at the time.
But Microsoft is not considering such controller add-ons because, Alam says, the Xbox One will already come bundled with technology capable of reading player states.
"We already have the ability to know what your emotion and heart-rate is, and that's through the Kinect camera," Alam said in a interview with CVG (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/423871/features/the-100m-story-behind-the-xbox-one-controller/).
"Adding biometric sensors would drain battery life, and we've already got it via Kinect, so why do it?"
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/424027/kinect-can-serve-as-biometric-controller-on-xbox-one/
Xbox Accessories general manager Zulfi Alam told CVG that Kinect can serve as its own biometric sensor - a claim that, if true, could pave the way for completely new gameplay experiences on Xbox One.
Biometrics has become a new line of inquiry for platform vendors. The theory is that sensors on controller pads could potentially read the player's state - either through heart rate or skin conductance - and thus tailor-fit gameplay in real-time.
Sony initially built a PS4 controller with biometric strips (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/387287/cvg-sources-sony-to-abandon-dualshock-design-for-ps4/) on the prongs, but eventually scrapped those plans for reasons unknown. In January, Valve company president Gabe Newell suggested (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/385585/valve-developing-biometric-game-controller-newell-confirms/) that the upcoming Steam Box (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/pc/games/12980/steam-box/) console would feature similar technology.
"I think you'll see controllers coming from us that use a lot of biometric data," Newell said at the time.
But Microsoft is not considering such controller add-ons because, Alam says, the Xbox One will already come bundled with technology capable of reading player states.
"We already have the ability to know what your emotion and heart-rate is, and that's through the Kinect camera," Alam said in a interview with CVG (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/423871/features/the-100m-story-behind-the-xbox-one-controller/).
"Adding biometric sensors would drain battery life, and we've already got it via Kinect, so why do it?"
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/424027/kinect-can-serve-as-biometric-controller-on-xbox-one/