Report: Kinect 2 powerful enough to lip-read, more

Eurogamer's rumouring that the next version of Kinect will be powerful enough to lip-read and "detect when players are angry".

The piece, citing a "development source," says the device will come bundled with future Xbox consoles and "offer improved motion sensing and voice recognition."

The site claims the hardware will "lip-read, detect when players are angry, and determine in which direction they are facing. Kinect 2 can track the pitch and volume of player voices and facial characteristics to measure different emotional states."

The increase in capability has apparently been achieved by dropping the need for Kinect to be attached to the main console by USB, increasing the bandwidth between the devices and allowing for an increase in CCD size from 320x240 pixels.

Talk of Microsoft's next Xbox has been a permanent fixture this year, with Xboxygen providing the most recent rumour that firm details of the box will appear at CES in January.

It's thought that Microsoft will, again, release two versions of the console: one basic and one more fully-featured for those prepared to spend more.

Talk of the "Next Box" has gathered pace in the second half of 2011, with chatter beginning in earnest around E3. EA was tipped to have started work on the machine - a story that was quickly denied - with a further two stories pinning a reveal on E3 2012.

Four Microsoft CVs turned up mentions of "Xbox next-gen" in October, with a Develop story later that month claiming Microsoft would show the console for the first time at E3 2013.

CES 2012 runs from January 10-13.