UPDATE: Microsoft has confirmed that voice control will indeed be a part of the Kinect launch, nixing earlier reports that it was being cut. "Voice control is an exciting part of the Kinect for Xbox 360 controller-free experience and we can confirm that it will be available at launch in November 2010," said a statement issued to IGN this afternoon.
"Only on Xbox 360 will you be able to navigate the Kinect Hub using your voice to control your movies, TV shows and music. We do not have additional details to share about local voice availability at this time."
ORIGINAL STORY: File this one under rumour but Kinect may well not be getting voice control from day one, with Microsoft seemingly revealing that the feature will be patched in post-launch.
"We will be announcing when voice control will be turned on in due course," EMEA Xbox LIVE marketing manager Robin Burrowes told MCV, who have taken the quote to mean that voice control won't be available come Kinect's release this November. It appears that this may not be the only feature to be nixed for the launch of Microsoft's motion controller, with chat software Video Kinect also reportedly not featuring at release.
Kinect's voice control formed a key part of Microsoft's E3 presentation, with the Xbox 360's video player being controlled through a simple series of spoken commands.
While it seems likely that the Video Kinect feature will miss launch, it's uncertain whether voice control as a feature will also be absent. Kinectimals, a launch title for Kinect, makes strong use of voice control and Microsoft claimed there were inaccuracies in the MCV report when contacted by IGN, and we currently await an official statement.
We'll be sure to update as soon as the statement comes in.
Voice Control Confirmed for Kinect.
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