The brand new Xbox One Kinect sensor has a couple more strings to its bow than previously thought, Microsoft confirmed on Monday.
Speaking at the Eurogamer expo in London, the company's corporate VP Phil Harrison said the new camera-toting motion sensor will be able to discern two different voices even when they're speaking at the same time.
The previously unannounced functionality was revealed while the Kinect Sports Rivals game was being previewed, strongly hitting that the dual voice functionality would make its debut within that title.
The surprises didn't end there, however. Microsoft also explained how, even in a dark room, the new Kinect's 1080p camera will be able to which pairs of lips are moving, making it it easier for the peripheral to tell which player is saying what.
Microsoft has certainly upped its game with the second-gen Kinect sensor, after the first device failed to deliver on its early promise.
The peripheral can now track six individuals, 25 joints on each, 1,400 face positions, recognise who is using the controller and track the heartbeats of gamers.
As a result the company has given Kinect 2 a much higher billing, making it almost indispensable for gamers thanks to its gesture-based UI controls that stretch beyond gaming.
In fact, Microsoft is refusing point blank to sell the Xbox One without Kinect, even though it means losing the all-important price battle with the Sony PS4 console.
Can these new features make Kinect the game changer it always promised to be when the Xbox One hits UK shores on November 22? How would you like to see the newly-announced multi-voice tracking tech deployed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Via Polygon
