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The jig is up for the Microsoft Kinect. After years of pondering on what to do with the accessory, Microsoft has officially decided to pull the plug on it.

The depth camera and microphone accessory sold around 35 million units since it’s release in November 2010 according to Fast Co Design reports. The Kinect for the 360 was also one of the fastest selling consumer devices in back in 2011 (who knew).

It may not have taken off when it came to gaming but a large community was built from it. Hackers though loved the accessory and found very clever ways to use the accessories body tracking abilities. It’s demise was coming when it was reintroduced and bundled with the Xbox One. The units pricing and failing to live up to expectations forced Microsoft to kill the bundles.

Kinect

Xbox One Kinect Bundle

Also, gamers were not too happy to hear that the Xbox One when it was first introduced their console would “always be listening to them” even when it was off thanks to the accessory. The news raised eyebrows initially as everyone feared big brother would be listening or spying on them.

With the death of the accessory comes the future, it helped the company develop a lot of their latest technology. The Hololens, Windows Hello cameras, and their latest mixed reality headsets all use technology from the Kinect.

Apple’s highly anticipated phone, the iPhone X Face ID feature makes the phone a miniature version of Kinect. Apple acquired PrimeSense, the company behind the original Kinect.

So are you sad to see the Kinect go? Is the HoloLens now on your radar? We are interested to see where Microsoft goes from here and how they will push the HoloLens on gamers.

Photos: Microsoft