PC adapter incoming for Xbox One’s Kinect

Microsoft is releasing an adapter that will let owners of Xbox One’s Kinect camera to connect the device to their PC.

The Kinect Adapter will cost $49.99 (around 30) and allow the device to plug into the USB 3.0 port of any PC running Windows 8.1. The result is that all Kinect v2 sensors – Kinect for Windows v2 and Kinect for Xbox One – now perform identically.

Microsoft has also rolled out its free Windows SDK 2.0 for Kinect v2, allowing devs to commercially developer games for use with the camera to be sold via the Windows Store.

These updates are all part of our goal to make Kinect accessible and easy to use for every developer,” Microsoft said. We created Kinect as a way to make computer interaction more intuitive and to address an increasing desire for technology to be more accessible.

We are seeing a lot of interest from businesses to bring interactive experiences to their customers that allow people to interact naturally with technology by simply gesturing and speaking. Now, with the ability to commercially deploy the latest Kinect technology in a variety of industries and environments, there is a big opportunity for developers to meet the demand.”