Specs suggest Kinect is two-player only

June 30th, 2010, 21:07 Posted By: wraggster

Technical data revealed on retailer site Play.com appears to confirm that the Xbox 360 Kinect system can only support two players at a time in-game.

The data represents the most detailed information so far released, with the most controversial being the specification of Kinect's skeletal tracking system. The system is listed as being able to track 20 joints per active player and to map them to Xbox Live Avatars.

Although up to six people can be tracked at a time only two active players can actually take part in a game at once.

Although Microsoft has been inconsistent in defining the upper limit for the number of players using the system, it has previously been implied that up to four could take part at once.

Other notable specifications, as examined by Eurogamer's Digital Foundry, include the 320x240 resolution of the camera - reduced from the 640x480 resolution of the original PrimeSense technology that Kinect is derived from.

The 20 joints limit has also been reduced from the Project Natal demos that used 48 points at gamescom in 2009. However, Digital Foundry suggests this has resulted in only a negligible change in performance.

Although the Play.com data appears to be from official sources Microsoft has yet to release any advanced technical data on the system, while questions continue to linger over Kinect's ability to track players while seated.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...wo-player-only

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