2011

S.M.TALHA WASTI (12184)

SUNDUS MUKHTAR (11910)
HANZALA AHMED (11717)
NIKITA C.BHEEM (11445)
 Letter of Transmittal

12 April,2011

Mr Mujtaba Memon
Faculty Member Management
Institute of Business Management
Karachi

Dear Mr Mujtaba Memon:

Here is our Term Report on Kinect. The report includes introduction to Kinect,its technology its
software,its advantages and drawbacks and finally ratings and sales.

We appreciate having this project. If you need any assistance in interpreting this assignment or in
implementing our recommendations, please contact us at our ids

Sincerely yours,

Talha Wasti,(12184)
Sundus Mukhtar(11910)
Nikita C.Bheem
Hanzala Ahmed(11717)
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION TO KINECT.........................................................................................................................1
TECHNOLOGY:.............................................................................................................................................2
HOW IT WORKS...........................................................................................................................................2
SOFTWARE:.................................................................................................................................................3
ADVANTAGES OF KINECT.............................................................................................................................3
DRAWBACKS OF KINECT:.............................................................................................................................4
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN XBOX 360 AND PLAYSTATION MOVE......................................................................4
RATINGS AND SALES OF KINECT:.................................................................................................................5
First Week Sales in U.S................................................................................................................................6
Sales of February(2011)...............................................................................................................................6
REVIEW ABOUT KINECT...............................................................................................................................6
PEOPLE’S POINT OF VIEW ABOUT KINECT...................................................................................................7
Bibliography................................................................................................................................................9
INTRODUCTION TO KINECT
It’s here. After months of advertisements in men’s restrooms, on cereal boxes and even plastered
all over Justin Bieber’s world tour — Microsoft’s multi-million dollar motion sensing camera,
Kinect has hit shelves. Do you need it in your home theatre system?

Maybe. Much like Sony’s Move, Microsoft’s Kinect is a mixed bag. The tech is undeniably
awesome, and you’re not going to believe some of the things it can do, but it is at the mercy of a
lackluster launch lineup that doesn’t truly show exactly what its capable of. The main draw of
Kinect is not what it does now, but what developers may be able to do with it in future.

Kinect or Kinect for Xbox 360(also known as code name Project Natal) is a Controller-free
gaming experience launched by Microsoft for Xbox 360. It has a webcam-style add-on
peripheral for the Xbox 360 console, which enables the users to control and interact with the
Xbox 360 without a game controller, through a natural user interface by using gestures,presented
objects or spoken commands. The main aim of this project is to increase the Xbox360's users
beyond its usual gamer base.The competition of Kinect is with Wii MotionPlus, Wii Remote
and PlayStation Eye motion & PlayStation Move control systems for the Wii and PlayStation 3
consoles respectively.

Kinect is officially launched in November 2010 on various dates in different countries and
continents.First it was launched in North America on 4th November,in Europe on 10th
November,in Newzealand,Singapore and Australia on 18th November 2010.And launched in
Japan on 20th November 2010. Kinect sensor comes with a bundle with a game Kinect
Adventures and a console Bundle comes with either 4 Gb or 250 Gb Xbox360 Console and
Kinect Adventures.
TECHNOLOGY:

Microsoft promised a lot in the year and a half since they announced Kinect, and while most of
the tech is here, some is missing or not working as well as it should. You’ll still be able to
control the console without the use of a controller — which is admittedly impressive in most
cases. Just wave to engage Kinect and a menu will pop up, hover your hand over what you’re
looking for to select it. As of this writing, not all of the Xbox features were controllable via
motion, but Microsoft assures us that they will be added shortly after launch. What is really
impressive was that unlike the Wii, where you could sit and fake many of the movements for
games, Kinect almost forces you to be active. It is watching you after all. The software
technology on which Kinect is based upon is developed by a subsidiary of Microsoft Game
Studios owned by Microsoft known as RARE. It is developed by an Israeli developer
PrimeSense which includes a range camera technology,which interprets 3D scene information
from a continuously-projected infrared structured light. It has a new and unique technology noise
suppression which enables the player to play even in the presence of other noices surrounding
him.

HOW IT WORKS
The Kinect sensor is a horizontal bar which is connected to a small base with a motorized pivot
and is designed to be positioned lengthwise above or below the video display. The sensor
features a "Depth sensor,Multi-array microphone running proprietary software and an RGB
camera, ",which provides facial recognition,voice recognition and full-body 3D motion capture
capabilities. When it was launched, voice recognition was only available in UK,Canada,U.S.A
and Japan.It was decided that Europe will receive this feature in Spring 2011. The Kinect
sensor's microphone array enables the Xbox 360 to conduct acoustic source localization and
ambient noise suppression, allowing for things such as headset-free party chat over Xbox Live.

The depth sensor of kinect consists of an infrared laser projector combined with a monochrome
CMOS sensor, which captures video data in 3D under any light conditions.The depth sensor`s
sensing range is adjustable.The Kinect software is capable of automatically calibrating with the
sensor which is based on gameplay and the player's physical environment, such as the furniture.
The main feature of Kinect is the technology that enables advanced voice recognition,gesture
recognition and facial recognition.According to the According to review given by the retailers
is,that the Kinect is capable of simultaneously tracking up to 6 user,which includes 2 active
players for motion analysis with a feature of extraction of 20 joints per player.

The ranging limit of the Kinect sensor is 1.2–3.5 metres (3.9–11 ft) distance when it is used with
the Xbox360 software. The area in which Kinect can be played is 6m², although the sensor can
track through a range of approximately 0.7–6 metres (2.3–20 ft).

SOFTWARE:
Kinect requires at least 190 MB of storage space,the Kinect`s system software allows the users to
operate the Xbox360`s Dashboard console user interface using hand getures and voice
vommands. Techniques such as facial recognition and voice recognition are used to
automatically identifying users. Among one of the applications for Kinect is Video Kinect,
which enables video chat or voice chat with users of Windows Live Messenger or other
XBOX360`s users.This application can use the Kinect sensor's motorized pivot to keep users in
frame even as they move around and the Kinect's tracking. Other applications promoted with
Kinect include Zune on Xbox Live and ESPN on Xbox 360.

Kinect was launched on 4 November 2010 with 17 titles.The third-party publishers confirmed by
Microsoft that will be working on future Kinect titles include Capcom,Activision , Disney
Interactive,Bethesda Softworks, Konami,Electronic Arts(EA), Namco Bandai,MTV
Games,Square Enix,Sega, Ubisoft and THQ Inc..

ADVANTAGES OF KINECT
 When using Kinect most curcial issues of conrol wont be found,as the person`s body is
responsible for all the actions.

 Kinect reduce the level of laziness in the person.

 It makes them more energetic.

  This game has been created and adapted in such a manner that it can also be played by
small children who belong to different age groups
 The Kinect range of games can be connected to any model of Xbox 360
 Kinect can be play on Xbox LIVE.

DRAWBACKS OF KINECT:
 The main disadvantage is the fact that it limits the number of simultaneous players, so
far its been used to track 4 people, but only 2 could be active
 The device is very fast on tracking but it does require a minimum distance before it
can track.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN XBOX 360 AND PLAYSTATION MOVE

The gaming world has always been a stage for technological innovations, and no sooner has
one system been introduced that another is already in the making process ready to unleash a
whole new collection of added features and enhanced capabilities. Either that or you are
looking at a design that promise to take gaming to another level of innovation and fun.Two
such devices are the Playstation Move and Xbox 360 Kinect ,both of them are the subject of
this comparison.

S.no XBOX 360 KINECT Playstation Move

1 Xbox kinect uses a camera-
only motion control system.
2 Kinect Utilizes only a webcam with
no wand or control stick needed
3 Kinect`s Onscreen animation locks
onto physical in real-time
4 Kinect doesnot require a controller in
PS move Utilizes a wand-and-cam system.
PS move requires the PlayStation Eye Web
cam and one or more Move wands
PS Move onscreen animation has a little low
texture level
In PS Move Some games may require a
 any game subcontroller

RATINGS AND SALES OF KINECT:

Guinness World Records has added Kinect to its roll of honor - not for sitting in a tub full of
baked beans for a record time, but for being the fastest-selling electronic device in
history.Around 8 million units were sold from 4 November 2010 to 3 January 2011.Kinect Sales
have slowed down a little bit from the beginning of the January,woth the compay shifting
another 2 million,that makes it 10 million in all.

Here are the reviews and ratings by different websites:

"Kinect can be a tremendous amount of fun for casual players, and the creative, controller-free
concept is undeniably appealing".This is said by IGN website.they have rated Kinect 7.5 out of
10.Engadget have rated Kinect 6 out of 10.USA Today stated that "playing games feels
great".Ant they have rated the device 3.5 out of 4.The Globe And Mail called Kinect "a good and
innovative product," and rated it 3.5 out of 4.Game informer rated is 8 out of 10.Computer and
Video games stated the device as a technological gem and applauded its features.They rated it
8.8 out of 10.

As of November 29, 2010, 2.5 million units of the Kinect sensor have been sold.In North
America1 million sensors have been sold in just 10 days. According to a survey by NPD,within
the one month of its launch Kinect has become the "top-selling accessory item in terms of dollar
sales on a year-to-date basis."Microsoft expects its sales to reach 5 million by the end of year
2010.
 800000

700000

600000

500000

400000

300000

200000

100000

0
Nintendo Wii Playstation Move Xbox360 Kinect

First Week Sales in U.S

600000

500000

400000

300000

200000

100000

0
Nintendo Wii Playstation Move Xbox360 Kinect

Sales of February(2011)

REVIEW ABOUT KINECT

Within the first month of its launch KINECT has imposed a really terrific impression over the
minds of game geeks. It is a kind of revolution in their lives. They are terming it as the best
technology of the century. Record sale was observed within the first month and people are
running after it and buying it so eagerly as it has given the best profitability to Microsoft on there
innovations they have developed in last 10 years.

It is not as boring as Nintendo wii as it compels the player to be active every moment as it has
infrared detector and a built-in webcam which is watching the player every moment and do not
allowing him to settle down and also which does not let the interest of the user to fade. On the
other hand in Nintendo Wii player does not actively participate and do not play with full
attention and easily gets bored. You have to grab its remote every time you play the game and
which is very expensive and if accidently you break or lost it then you would have to spend a lot
of money to buy a new one. But contrary to Wii in XBOX KINECT you does not have to grab
anything and just to move your limbs and body in the way the game commands him. But some
users have a negative perspective about it and they think of it as a tiring instrument which
requires a lot of energy and efforts to play the game.

PEOPLE’S POINT OF VIEW ABOUT KINECT:

The survey was conducted about XBOX KINECT in which people gave the following reviews as
per their experience:

“Well, my wife and kids have already used the kinect more than the total time they used the xbox
previously. At least for us, it’s far from a waste.” – BigMax, Reddit

“Only a very limited Kinect portal is available for control, which is lame. When seeing the
update for Xbox live, I thought for sure this update was to facilitate Kinect in creating a Minority
Report-Type interface. This interface is simply not available.”  - dolphtesla, Reddit

“Its immune to 70 pound english bulldogs, when he gets near my feet the sensors are fine until
he actually starts jumping on my leg. A few times the sensors were like “wtf”…. and it looked
like i was hopping with one leg.” – LoquaciousMe, Reddit

We’ve all heard that you should have at least 7 feet of open space in front of the TV to properly
use Kinect. One guy built a home theater in anticipation, and now finally gets to use it.
“i have no space in my room ( about 5 feet or less between me and Kinect and only about 3 feet
wide) I haven’t had but 1 issue. Because of where my bed is, the kinect can’t see my left foot
when I play the plug the holes game in kinect adventures. This is the only issue I have had, I love
it so far.” -jcsmith0627, GameFAQs forums

“I usually hate when people post anecdotal stories, but a casual soccer mom behind me in line
told another casual soccer mom that little suzy wanted it for xmas and that they didn’t have an
xbox. She mentioned it being rather expensive, but she did have the console bundle with some
games. She also chuckled and said, “i guess the wii is old hat now”….or something to that effect.
it’s just one person, but still.” – REV 09, NeoGAF

“I LOVE Dance Central, Adventures is ok/a bit short, the kids love Kinectimals. Not sure if we
should buy Fitness Evolved … I’m surprised the launch games are so short and don’t have much
variety.” -modulaire, NeoGAF

“Until I got Dance Central, Rally Ball in Adventures struck me as the thing that required the
most skill and seemed the most Gamey thing for the system.” -BenjaminBirdie, NeoGAF
Bibliography
AOL inc. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/04/kinect-for-xbox-360-review/

Gizmotto. (2011). Retrieved from www.gizmotto.com

Microsoft Inc. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Kinect/GetStarted

Net Communities. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.itproportal.com/2011/03/10/kinect-record-

breaking-sales-figures-top-10-million/

PC world communication inc. (1998). Retrieved from

http://www.pcworld.com/article/212112/playstation_move_vs_kinect_who_will_win_the_holiday_cro
wn.html

PVC Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pvcmuseum.com/games/charts/kinect-for-xbox-360-

outselling-the-ipad.htm

Splash Press Media. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.forevergeek.com/2010/11/how-do-kinects-sales-

numbers-compare/

TG Daily. (2011). Retrieved from DD&M Inc.: http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-

features/54566-kinect-sales-figures-net-microsoft-a-guinness-world-record

Wikipedia Foundation Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinect