Rumour: Microsoft Kinect PC beta test soon

Microsoft rumoured to be planning Kinect PC beta test in the near future
Microsoft rumoured to be planning Kinect PC beta test in the near future

Microsoft is rumoured to be preparing official drivers and a software development kit to enable its motion-controlled Kinect hardware to hook up to your PC.

Following comments at CES from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, dropping serious hints that Kinect PC would be officially announced at some point soon, website Winrumors claims that we should see such an announcement in the very near future.

Kinect PC beta soon?

Microsoft is apparently readying an official SDK and Kinect drivers for Windows 7, with a Kinect PC beta test to be announced very soon.

Unnamed sources apparently familiar with Microsoft's Kinect PC plans add that Microsoft wants to incorporate the support into a forthcoming "Community Technical Preview" of its XNA Game Studio tools.

It's no surprise that Microsoft wants to extend Kinect support to PC gaming and other applications, with the company having sold over 8 million Kinects to date, considerably more than the initial sales target of 5 million by the end of 2010.

Eager enthusiasts on the PC have already shown a number of interesting ways in which the Xbox 360 Kinect hardware can be hacked for use with your laptop.

However, the question remains, if you are wanting to use Kinect with a standard laptop PC, do you really have the required six to eight feet behind your desk to get the full benefit of Microsoft's new motion-controller?

TechRadar has contacted Microsoft UK for further updates on this story.

Via Winrumours.com

Adam Hartley