The Kinect was in a way Microsoft's answer to the Wii's motion controls, a feature that captured the imagination of the gaming public back then in a way that not many saw coming. Now Microsoft have confirmed that the original version of the Kinect will stop being sold next year.
The Kinect is being taken off the shelves due to the introduction of the v2 Kinect released in October. The models saw updates to body tracking, greater depth fidelity, the addition of 1080p video and many other updates over the v1 Kinect. It also added updates and allowed for the creation and publication of Kinect-enabled apps for the Windows Store from outside developers.
"We know that your proven track record doing great things with the original technology will only get better with v2—the improvements in quality from the original Kinect for Windows sensor to the v2 device are truly immense," Microsoft said in a statement. "And so, we’re cheered by the prospect of seeing all the amazing solutions you’ll create with this the new and improved Kinect for Windows."
Microsoft will do its best to fulfill orders from customers who still need large numbers of the older model but have stopped producing new stock, which means once the stockpile is gone there will be no more sold.
The Kinect for Windows v2 model is available for $200 from Microsoft.