Hackers Are Helping The Xbox Marketing And Development Depts.

Microsoft released their ever popular Wii killer called Kinect on November 4, 2010 and since then have sold millions of units. Getting great ratings on Amazon with 4.5 out 5 stars, this product seems to be doing really well.  The basis of the product boasts the ability of you (your body) being the controller for your gaming needs on your Xbox 360.  The sensor that rests near your tv registers your movement allowing you to interact with the game, which means no controllers inadvertently being flung through the air devastating tv’s.

In recent news, hackers have been breaking the technology and using it for other needs.  Take a look at how hackers have hacked their Kinects.

1.) Generating 3D imaging using Xbox Kinect

2.) Quadrotor Autonomous Flight and Obstacle Avoidance with Kinect Sensor

3.) Real time Lightsaber

4.) Kinect Controls Windows 7

5.) Call of Duty FPS on Kinect Hack with Wiimote

Marketing

Hackers trying to make a splash in their industry or merely trying to get their 15 minutes of fame are in essence helping spread the word about this very popular device! The trend will certainly continue the more and more hackers try to push the envelope of what the Kinect can do.

Microsoft has to be eating this publicity up!  This is free advertising and news for the longtime software company that you always hope for when devising your products and marketing plan.  There are over 3,000,000 views on the YouTube videos alone that I posted.  Most people would trade their right arm for publicity like that.

Product Development

The amount of money companies spend in brainstorming, development and testing can cost them millions in research.

There is only so much time in the day for Microsoft employees and who knows if something will become popular once it’s developed.  But with these hackers working overtime the product development team gets to ride their coattails for free!  This opens the window for them to see what ideas/hacks are being talked about and which ones are getting ridiculed.   This can help them tremendously in the direction they go for games and future add-ons.

The Future Of Kinect

There is no doubt in my mind that Microsoft is watching this closely and planning their future as we speak.  The direction they go in 2011 will be directly related to the the hacks that have come out in recent months.  Expect some really cool things to happen because if Microsoft is smart they should be looking at what people are doing with their Kinects and how they are being used.

This year thank your local hacker for what you see in coming updates for your Kinect because they definitely had a voice.

Tagged as: hackers, kinect, microsoft

Article by Joe Porter

Joe has written 30 articles for joeporter.me

I love people, websites, tech & business and everything in between.