Hololens will play better with small rooms than Kinect did

Kinect may have failed to make an impact in either of its incarnations, but the latest hardware tech from Microsoft is determined to learn from the horrors of the past. HoloLens, the holographic software that projects an interactive 3D image through a headset into the world around you is already turning heads with its potential uses. We already shared ten games we think would benefit from HoloLens compatibility and learned that "conversations" are being had behind the scenes in regards to a possible working relationship with Xbox One, but is it really a viable bit of kit for gamers?

In the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, the team sits down with Microsoft corporate VP Kudo Tsunoda to discuss just how HoloLens tech will avoid the pitfalls that have hampered Kinect - namely the challenge of working in the potentially small spaces of our homes. "I think the challenge when you talk about Kinect and space is that you’re moving around a lot, right? So that doesn’t work so well in a small environment, and that’s clearly understood," Tsunoda explains. "But, you know, with Microsoft HoloLens it’s just completely different in that because the depth-sensing technology we have can really understand everything about your environment in a 3D way. It’s not about needing more or less space; it’s just about understanding the pace and then figuring out ways to put the holograms in there."

For Tsunoda, it's all about building software that adapts to different environs. "So if we talk about a holographic character walking around your living room, if you have a big living room we can have the character sit on your sofa, or the character can go walk across to the other end of the room and lean against your wall or sit in your chair over there. We’ll understand all these surfaces, and the character can interact with them. But if you have a smaller space, then I can just have the character sit over here or, you know, just go to that part of the room, and because we have the understanding of what is going on in your space, you can have the character do very specific things that are really tailored to your environment, and I think that’s the awesome part.

The latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, with Star Wars Battlefront on the cover, is out now. Download it here or subscribe to future issues.