One for our antipodean readers. Though not the first time we’ve talked about Kinect’s limited accent support, it’s been confirmed by Australian site Games On Net that Kinect is unable to decipher the signature Aussie twang. A bizarre concept, if true.
Running the device’s voice set up feature down under, our cork-hatted gaming comrades are greeted with an error message informing them that their region is unsupported. Contacting Microsoft for confirmation, the official response is:
The voice support for Kinect will not be available at launch for Australia. It will be a function that will be available to Aussies, just not at launch.
No detail as to when this support will be patched in. It does present a funny premise, however. Do Microsoft literally have testers in a room screaming at Kinect, trying their damndest to confuse its inner workings with an assortment of weird and wonderful dialects? You bet they do.
Thanks JesseDeya
Zoddi
Don’t know if the german voice recognition is working but when i read that it reminded me of a guy telling me that i sound like arnold schwarzenegger.
Now i want to test if my slang is supported :D
lunalicrichard
that’s just dumb ! cant they say “stop ” or “play ” in english ???
it does’nt sound any different in aussie i recon ….
MXZ
As a Australian (half) aborignal with a speech impediment i can thourgly tell you that i am indeed quite dissapointed and shocked by this news.
honestly this is why i like staying away from microsofts products. they are rarely worth using unless your American.
(i know Sony kind of pounded us with the original price of the PS3 but at least i can enjoy it)
Microsoft themselves may not be racist but kinect sure is.
SuperHans
How the hell can it be racist? Neither Americans, nor Australians are races, they’re nationalities.
[Edit: Insult removed. You made your point. Resort to name-calling and you will be banned – Kovacs]
solidsteven
But it is still classed as racist to discrimate against a person’s nationality.