Microsoft is discontinuing the original Kinect for Windows

Nearly three years after Microsoft brought the revolutionary new gadget to gamers across the globe, the company has announced that the original Kinect for Windows will be discontinued later this year. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone considering that Microsoft already released the successor to the motion-based controller platform earlier last year.

Whether you think depth-sensing cameras will become the next big thing or fizzle out, one of the models that helped usher in the tech is set to be retired for good. The original Kinect for Windows will be phased out in 2015, nearly three years after Microsoft first introduced it. The sensor (which is nearly identical to the Xbox 360 model) was controversial with gamers from the get-go, but was embraced by the DIY hacking community and companies who used it for facial and motion tracking, among (many) other uses. Plenty of those folks still rely on the Kinect v1 for Windows, so Microsoft advised them to buy as many as they need, and soon, since it won’t make any more after the current stock sells out. However, Microsoft will continue selling the Kinect v1 for the Xbox 360 online and in the Microsoft Store for the foreseeable future.