It looks like the Xbox One had one little more secret that doesn't sound like much, but could make a world of difference to most gamers. According to Marc Whitten, Corporate Vice President of Xbox (via Twitter) confirmed that the Xbox One will be able to scan QR Codes via the new Kinect sensor.
To my reddit friends -- yup -- this works! http://t.co/QHnOPZqib1
— Marc Whitten (@notwen) July 1, 2013
This concept was tested originally with the Kinectamals and it worked pretty well where you can scan a code of the animal that you were playing on your smartphone with your Kinect and it would transfer over to the Xbox 360 game. This worked pretty well at the time.
This leaves the future wide open for many options. First, gone are the 26 digit fumbling around an on-screen keyboard. Even if it was made better with Xbox SmartGlass, it was still awkward. Now you will be able to get a code anywhere and show it to the camera and instantly get your content. With the move towards digital distribution, this will greatly help any online purchases through third parties.
This also will help with the link the brick and mortar retail stores with the emerging digital age. Instead of those bulky space hogging cards, stores can now print a secured QR code on the receipt. The pre-orders bonuses could be easier to scan in instead of the first 15 minutes of a midnight release is trying to type it in.
This feature isn't a game changer, but it will help make life easier. It all just depends on how it is utilized. It would be a real cool feature if you can scan it in with your second screen so that you aren't standing in front of your TV with a piece of paper.
The only way I see that Microsoft screwing this part up is trying to use this to revive their horrible proprietary Microsoft Tag. The Microsoft huh? Exactly. Surprisingly it's still alive. They wouldn't keep something alive if they didn't think they could revive it. With the backlash from the Xbox One early restrictions let's hope not.
