At Microsoft’s CES keynote, Steve Ballmer announced that Kinect will be coming to the PC on the 1st of February. Details are sketchy at the moment but the potential for the product on PC is quite high, with PC games and programs using Kinect technology it could create an entirely different user interface for a new generation of software. Of course what might hinder this is the suspected price, with Amazon.com’s preorder page pricing it at a hefty $250 (£160), over $100 more than Xbox 360 version.
The Windows Kinect hardware is apparently “PC optimised” and even sports a ‘near mode’ which will allow you to use the device at a much closer range. However, this ‘near mode’ is not due to any internal modification or replacement parts; it’s a firmware update, so the Xbox 360 version may also see this mode in the near future.