The way Black Mirror: Bandersnatch breaks the fourth wall is incredible. The ability to interact with the content to shape future events feels incredibly natural, but it seems the episode has other secrets that many are only now beginning to uncover.
Black Mirror and Kinect
If you watched the episode on an Xbox One with Kinect connected , you might have been surprised if you stuck it out until the credits. As a user reported on Twitter, the Bandersnatch episode detects if the peripheral is connected to the console and takes a few photos of viewers while they watch, a way of reminding them of their privileged position, allowing them to act like gods in those moments.
Watched Bandersnatch.
It's weird that if you're using an Xbox One with w/ a Kinect to watch Netflix it takes photos of your reactions to key situations and plays them during the credits.
I'd share them but I'm too embarrassed?
— Brian 'BShar' Sharon (@ThatBShar) December 29, 2018
Nobody confirms it because almost nobody uses Kinect
The curious thing about the situation is that, for now, there's no proof to confirm it, since the first person who reported the incident was too embarrassed to share the photos Kinect took of him while he was watching the episode (apparently he was in his underwear). Since no one else has confirmed it (these days almost no one has a Kinect unit at home , and if they did, they disconnected it a long time ago), the story remains under the dubious label of an urban legend.
The Microsoft peripheral started off on the wrong foot since its launch, sacrificing the price of the console by placing it $100 more expensive than the PS4, something that immediately scared consumers, who preferred to bet on the Sony console. To make matters worse, the support of the developers with Kinect was nil, so the peripheral ended up disappearing in the depths of the warehouses until it fell completely into oblivion.
However, it seems Netflix hasn't forgotten about it, and they've included the necessary instructions for the Xbox One to take a picture while playing the episode. Whether it's a true story or not, it seems the anecdote will remain shrouded in mystery and urban legend, typical of the Black Mirror series, at least until someone decides to test it for themselves with a Kinect.
Update : Netflix has confirmed that the whole story is a joke by the Twitter user in question, so relax, there's no Kinect spying on you.