The next-gen version of Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360 will be sporting some rather impressive new features, including the ability to read a users lips and detect a player’s emotions, according to a report at Eurogamer.

 

It’s still very much a rumour – although Eurogamer are normally pretty reliable – but if true, we could be seeing some very interesting gaming experiences coming our way very soon.

Presently, the Kinect motion control system is able to recognize commands via gestures, movement and even voices, but because it utilises a USB interface, it is fairly restricted in what it can do.

Kinect 2 will be different, according to the source of the rumour, because it takes advantage of a higher resolution charge-coupled device, or CCD, meaning it can take on and process far more detailed information, such as facial expressions and small movements of the mouth.

How game developers will use the new technology is anybody’s guess at the moment, but its certainly exciting to think where they could possibly take things, and even if they don’t, you can bet there will be hundreds of developers creating new Kinect hacks for using the device to perform even more weird and wonderful functions than have been created with the original.

Naturally, Microsoft have kept their lips sealed, but its worth keeping an ear to the ground over the next month or so; rumours have also suggested the Kinect 2 will be hitting the shops some time early next year.

We’ll keep you posted…..

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