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Kinect and Windows Live Messenger: soon to be BFF?

By on June 14, 2010 4:14 AM
8 comments

At E3, Microsoft took the lid off the Natal project today, with a new name, “Kinect”, and some details about what to expect in the coming months.  We won’t go into all the details on the new Xbox and Kinect (you can get more info in these two press releases and all over the web), but one thing we wanted to take note of was the connection between Kinect and Windows Live Messenger.  In the press release today, Windows Live Messenger gets an interesting mention:

Next year, Microsoft will link Video Kinect with Windows Live Messenger, allowing the Xbox LIVE community to have rich, real-time video conversations with hundreds of millions of PC users around the world. It will also integrate custom news feeds, weather and videos from Bing, sparking conversation just like you’re in the same room reading the paper or watching the news together.

So what does that mean for Messenger?  Enough to warrant a blog post on Inside Windows Live, for one.  In that post, Piero Sierra says:

When we told you earlier about what’s coming in the next version of Messenger, one of the things we discussed was how we’re improving the core instant messaging experience, and making big improvements to video chat and media sharing with built-in features like HD support, full-screen video chat, and more engaging ways to share photos and videos.

If you’ve been following the E3 conference, you know that today Microsoft unveiled new details about the controller-free Kinect for Xbox 360 (formerly known as “Project Natal”), including how it enables Xbox LIVE users to have real-time video conversations with hundreds of millions of Windows Live Messenger users.

This functionality will release in the next year, and we’re excited about how it helps make your communication experience even richer by bringing Messenger and your friends directly into your living room.

Are you looking forward to video (Bing results/news/etc) sharing on Messenger?

Posted in News | Tags: ,

Comments

  • majg

    That sounds pretty cool.

  • Mario Albertico

    Who would have thought that the Xbox would bring Zune, Windows Live, Windows Phone, and Bing together into one exciting product. I guess this explains the “socializing” of Messenger in W4; to keep up with the new multiple input and outputs of social interactions.

  • jtmat

    This is HUGE…. I mean EPIC… for some people….

    Just not me… lol

    I am interested in the tech behind the product and can appreciate the love for xbox and everything video. I don’t game anymore and I don’t send out videos (unless vids of products).

    I hope it is profitable… maybe some of the tech will make it into cell phones or eventually be 3d or something. lol

    Oh, Microsoft, thank you for the **FREE** upgrade to newly released Expression Web 4.

  • Brl

    “Are you looking forward to video (Bing results/news/etc) sharing on Messenger?”

    No. I’m looking forward to a Messenger client with a clean, cutterless UI, that works well with the Windows 7 task bar and that, perhaps, allows me to use italics in messages, though. I’d also like to actually be able to easily save the pictures someone is sharing with me instead of the jumping through hoops that is required of me now.

    All this video sharing stuff is fun and all, but the core messenger experience can use a lot of improvement, and it’s being dropped in favor of more and more Winks-like features.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=12419441 Mark Noble

    “Are you looking forward to video (Bing results/news/etc) sharing on Messenger?”

    Yes, especially 4-way video chats – I think that will be more available as more laptops and phones have webcams built-in. Unfortunately I’ve found that a lot of people use their computer when they’re not “camera ready” – and a lot of my friends are too busy to sit down in front of a camera for a leisurely chat – though maybe this will be more likely with Kinect. I know I’m going to have to tidy up my living room though. :P

    On the Xbox/Messenger side of things – I’ve been really happy with the Xbox Live Chatpad with Messenger functionality – except for a few things:

    1) Xbox Messenger presently can’t support > 100 contacts – even though Messenger can support 500 or so.
    2) Xbox Messenger signs you off of messenger at all other locations.
    3) Few people have taken the time to link their Messenger/Live accounts.

    On the bright side, the current Chatpad is cheap, provides a headset jack that is compatible with wired mobile phone headsets. I just wish it came in black though.

    • jonathanfrederickson

      The 100 contacts limitation will soon disappear… it was one of the major reasons MS pulled the plug on the original Xbox.

  • Thiago M.

    The integration between Xbox 360 and Windows Live Messenger was one of the major reasons why I bought the console. I’m not a huge fan of video-chat, but I know some situations in which it is really useful, and having this Kinect integration will be great.

    Though these features will surely add much to the WLM experience in Xbox, there are some points I think that would be also cool and are never mentioned.

    For instance, I hate not to be able to log into WLM from Xbox and my computer at the same time. Quick chats in Xbox are ok, but having a little deeper/longer conversation on it is painful, even with a keyboard plugged in. It would be nice to pause the game, go to the computer, do whatever I have to and then coming back to the game without needing to log in/log out the WLM on any of the platforms.

    Xbox also have some problems with Brazilian ABNT keyboards. It inverts the non-alphabetical keys, as if I always had the SHIFT key pressed. Since I’m a Brazilian, every time I need to talk in WLM on Xbox, it’s a pain in the neck, even with an USB keyboard. Moreover, this may a problem that affects not only Brazilian customers, but other non-US keyboard owners all over the world.

    I believe these small details, even not improving the overall Xbox experience for every user (as the Kinect video feature does), are as important as the Kinect integration and certainly would make a considerable amount of users very happy. Microsoft should put some effort in solving them, I believe.

    Not to mention the lack of an Internet Explorer for Xbox. I can’t believe Microsoft hasn’t launched it yet :-P

  • jonathanfrederickson

    The real question here is… what does this mean for all the third-party chat clients? Will their video chat functions still work, or will Microsoft’s new system have to be reverse-engineered?

    I must say I would like that Kinect video chat feature in Empathy on Linux. Maybe not the sharing bits, but chatting with XBL users… YES.

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