Microsoft is now selling the Xbox One sans Kinect for $399

[Shawn Knight]

Microsoft is now selling its Xbox One console without the Kinect motion-sensing accessory for $399, the same price point as Sony’s PlayStation 4. It’s a controversial decision that’ll no doubt have far-reaching implications on console and game sales for some time to come.

There’s no shortage of takeaways from Microsoft’s decision to unbundle the Kinect. The obvious is that the Xbox One can now be purchased brand new for the same price as the PlayStation 4, a move that’ll likely help boost sales and make it a bit tougher for prospective buyers to decide which console they want to purchase. And the revelation that the Xbox One is more powerful without the Kinect hooked up is also worth considering.

That said, some early adopters will no doubt feel a bit betrayed by the fact that they had to spend $100 more to get the same console. That’s especially true for those that have no interest in using the Kinect.

Unbundling the Kinect will also be a blow to game developers as they’ll be less inclined to create games that use the accessory. Up to this point, Microsoft could guarantee developers that its entire install base would be able to play Kinect-based games. As of today, that guarantee no longer holds true.

Of course, most of Microsoft’s core games don’t use the Kinect anyway and with a cheaper option available, the decision will likely pay dividends.

Microsoft first announced plans to unbundle the Kinect last month after stating last year that its next generation console would never be sold without the peripheral. 

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/57053-microsoft-is-now-selling-the-xbox-one-sans-kinect-for-399.html

 

[St1ckM4n]

The result of this decision:

- MS is seen as having weak knees. Everything they say needs to be scrutinised, as it will probably not be true forever.
- MS just backhanded early adopters. First time by giving away Titanfall. Second time by removing $100 from price.
- Kinect can be considered more dead than v1. It's now optional accessory through and through, so devs won't develop for it very much. People probably won't get the $100 more bundle. People also probably won't pay $150+ for the standalone Kinect. People also won't connect it if performance is higher without.

RIP Project Natal.

 

[oldikes]

I was all for PS4....
Until they announced all 4 of the first halos in 1080p, with halo 2 anniversary, one one disc for the price of one game.
Now im forced to get an xbox one.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I was all for PS4....
Until they announced all 4 of the first halos in 1080p, with halo 2 anniversary, one one disc for the price of one game.
Now im forced to get an xbox one.

Your loss but at least you won't be forced into purchasing some crap piece of niche hardware that hardcore gamers never wanted in the first place. Very smart move by Microsoft. It begs the question though. What is causing them to make all these *****ic decisions...in-the-first-place. The customer is the king. The customer is who you want to please. Not yourselves. Get over yourselves Microsoft. Another 180 in the long list of ...."OOPS, What were we thinking" moves by Microsoft in the past few years.

Hopefully, with coco-puff Balmer gone things will get better. At least they are making 180's left and right. So that is a positive sign. Fingers crossed!!!
Edit: techspot filters the word "*****ic"? Wow. And this is one of my more gentle posts.

 

[BlueDrake]

Microsoft has been doing more 180's on things, as of late and this is no real surprise. Their numbers of 180's, must be catching up to those of amateur snowboarder / skateboarder. We really can't be surprised by this at all, and Nintendo all the while is laughing at Microsoft. They refuse to ship without the GamePad, no matter how badly the console sales might be at all. It's just how they have put themselves right now, and it's showing up Microsoft who previously stated it won't ship without the Kinect.

Yes I'm well aware of Nintendo's sales figures being low, even lower than that of the XB One or PS4 but that's not the point. It's going to show that really in the end, Microsoft is going to play the 180 turn game on various issues. Also Kinect =/= GamePad really. A rather silly camera feature for a console, that can lead to user frustration vs a game pad that has a screen for various purposes.

I know there's no point comparing or such, but we all know Microsoft's 180 streak is going to continue. Nintendo on the other hand, usually will stand firm even if it's not what people want. Sony is there just in the middle, doing their own thing and just watching the others. Not getting in a stupid issue of comply with users, to get an advantage over the competition short term.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I was all for PS4....
Until they announced all 4 of the first halos in 1080p, with halo 2 anniversary, one one disc for the price of one game.
Now im forced to get an xbox one.

Your loss but at least you won't be forced into purchasing some crap piece of niche hardware that hardcore gamers never wanted in the first place. Very smart move by Microsoft. It begs the question though. What is causing them to make all these *****ic decisions...in-the-first-place. The customer is the king. The customer is who you want to please. Not yourselves. Get over yourselves Microsoft. Another 180 in the long list of ...."OOPS, What were we thinking" moves by Microsoft in the past few years.

Hopefully, with coco-puff Balmer gone things will get better. At least they are making 180's left and right. So that is a positive sign. Fingers crossed!!!
Edit: techspot filters the word "*****ic"? Wow. And this is one of my more gentle posts.

Yeah. They should even think of renaming the Kinect-less XB1 to XB180.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Well if you're one of the schmoe's who bought the XB1's with that Kinect thingy for a 100 bucks more and feel miffed about it, tough! This is what happens when you open your wallet and close your mind too quickly for some new tech without waiting until the dust settles. If I were thinking of buying a console (which I'm not) I'd still wait at least another two years before pulling the pin.

 

[Nobina]

It's the only way to compete with PS4. I feel really sorry for people who bought Xbox for $500 and don't use Kinect.

 

[Teko03]

People also won't connect it if performance is higher without.

It's not. The 10% boosts comes from dvelopers specifically disabling it in their game code --- doesn't matter if it's connected or not.

 

[Teko03]

It's the only way to compete with PS4. I feel really sorry for people who bought Xbox for $500 and don't use Kinect.

Most at the minimal use the kinect for voice control navigation/interaction --- even if they don't own a single Kinect enabled game.

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

I feel bad for Xbox one in general, it's completely inferior to PS4 with no actual games going for it that aren't on PC. I read an article they sold an abysmal 180k worldwide last month, ouch! This could be the next Dreamcast!

 

[St1ckM4n]

It's not. The 10% boosts comes from dvelopers specifically disabling it in their game code --- doesn't matter if it's connected or not.

Only, they can't. Unless MS somehow allow a low-power mode to use voice commands only, devs still won't be able to access all power. If someone has Kinect connected, they expect it to react to voice commands.