Microsoft is bringing its voice controlled digital assistant Cortana to the Xbox One later this year, but there’s one major caveat, you’re going to need a Kinect peripheral.
In a promotional video released on Microsoft’s YouTube account, the company points out “Kinect required for Cortana speech recognition” in the fine print (spotted by The Verge) at the end of the clip.
With the company caving into public demand for Xbox One bundles without the brilliant but unloved motion and voice sensing accessory, a large portion of the user base won’t actually own one.
Microsoft makes no mention of whether it will extend the functionality to headsets yet, but it seems dusting off the old Kinect or buying one will be the only way forward for those wishing to make use of Cortana.
The assistant will arrive with a ‘New Xbox One Experience’ this autumn. The update is geared towards making it easier for One owners to access friends lists, messages and more without leaving their game.
Related: Xbox One Elite Controller preview
The new interface makes use of slide-in menus that’ll allow tools like Cortana to be quickly brought into view without distracting too much from the major action.
The dashboard update will also bring Windows 10 to Xbox One. Check out the new experience in the video below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.