Microsoft Tackles iOS Gaming with 'Kinectimals'

kinectimals tiger
Microsoft today took a major step onto the iOS gaming platform with the release of Kinectimals. The game, which is aimed at children and involves interacting with virtual animals, debuted last year as an Xbox 360 game taking advantage of the Kinect motion-sensing control system.

This irresistible mobile experience gives you the chance to use your phone to visit the island of Lemuria and play with, care for and fall in love with your very own cub. Bring your pet with you wherever you go! If you’ve already experienced Kinectimals on Kinect for Xbox 360, your phone becomes the key to unlocking five new cubs on your console.

The release marks an interesting move for Microsoft, which has an established gaming brand with the Xbox/Kinect line and has been thought to be looking to use that leverage to promote its own Windows Phone platform. But Microsoft has been making a significant push into iOS gaming tie-ins over the past week, beginning with the My Xbox LIVE profile management app and Halo Waypoint companion app for the popular gaming franchise.

Beyond those new offerings, today's addition of Kinectimals signals an even more substantial investment in iOS by Microsoft, which has now proven willing to branch out from its own platforms to support games running directly on iOS devices.

Kinectimals is a universal iOS application for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and is priced at $2.99 [App Store].

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
airtag purple

Apple's Website Lists AirTag 4-Pack at Shockingly Low Price [Updated]

Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag. This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked. Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
Finder Siri Feature

Apple's New Siri Will Be Powered By Google Gemini

Wednesday November 5, 2025 11:57 am PST by
The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google. For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more...
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
ikea smart home devices

IKEA Debuts 21 HomeKit-Compatible Smart Bulbs, Sensors, and Controls

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:08 pm PST by
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered. There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
apple tv logo physical

New Apple TV Intro Was Made With Practical Effects

Thursday November 6, 2025 7:02 am PST by
The all-new intro sequence for Apple TV was made with practical effects and shot in-camera, Ad Age reports. Rather than using digital techniques, the new sequence was made by shooting large glass versions of the Apple TV logo, with physical motion and changing lighting used to create effects. Apple partnered with TBWA\Media Arts Lab to create the intro. Ad Age released an exclusive look...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple's 2026 Smart Home Revamp: All the Rumors

Wednesday November 5, 2025 3:54 pm PST by
It's been over a decade since Apple's HomeKit smart home platform launched, and it is overdue for an update. HomeKit and the Home app can no longer keep up with AI-powered solutions from other companies like Google and Amazon, but that's set to change with a smart home revamp that Apple has planned for 2026. Home Hub Apple is working on a home hub or "command center" that will serve as a...

Top Rated Comments

TheOrioles33 Avatar
182 months ago
Good to see MS getting in on the action! Thanks for the XBOX app. Bring on Office!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdowns Avatar
182 months ago
First it's Kinectimals, then it's Windows and Office. Won't someone think of the children? :D
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nepalisherpa Avatar
182 months ago
I hope they release Age of Empires series also! :)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProVideo Avatar
182 months ago
Looking into that tiger's eyes one cannot ignore the deep hatred and resentment for it's owner that is present. It is more than happy to do tricks and obey the commands because it knows that one day the tables will turn in the struggle of control and life span.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SandynJosh Avatar
182 months ago
Microsoft is a software company. They've spent the last 30 years confusing themselves into thinking they're a 'platform company.'

That's nice and all, but it's not the only way. I sure hope this is a sign to come. I'd like to see Microsoft succeed and I think it will happen like this...by becoming the dominant software provider on OTHER platforms. They've been allergic to that in the past because they wanted to protect Windows, but those days are over. I'd love to see them branch out more.

Microsoft has been somewhat rudderless since the dancing monkey's been in charge. However, by supporting iOS Microsoft is doing two things:
1. Making their gaming platform stronger. They see iOS as a stable platform with a strong future, and therefore worth supporting. That vs. Android which is highly fractured and hard to support in a quality way. Keep in mind that a bad experience on a phone as a controller reflects badly on the XBox as well.
2. Making iOS-driven devices stronger. Stronger iOS devices mean weaker Android market, therefore a less-crowded opening for the MS mobile/metro OS whenever that straggles to market...

You may remember that initially Microsoft envisioned the PC being the center of the home entertainment stage, by releasing the XBox they signaled defeat of the PC-cetric strategy. Supporting iOS is further hardening the XBox-cetric strategy.

----------

now give me Office on my iPad and onenote on my MacBook and I am set.

OneNote on the MacBook is already on the market. Office in the iOS devices is on the horizon.

All things come to those who stand and wait.

----------

It's too cutesy for my taste.

Image (http://i43.tinypic.com/ncdo39.jpg)

I agree, but I'd buy it in an instant if the tiger cub were replaced with a dancing monkey in a sweaty blue shirt!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
commander.data Avatar
182 months ago
It's likely an acknowledgement that many XBox gamers are also iOS users. Microsoft could either ignore them or embrace them. XBox tie-ins are a way to do the latter.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)