Microsoft wanted Xbox One to be something more than a gaming console. While it was encouraging to see Microsoft so reactive to the voice of consumers and the industry at large, it also set the image of a confused company that wasn't exactly sure what it was doing. And when the Xbox One didn't match the new PS4's $400 price point, many pointed to the included Kinect as the problem.Īnother sign of trouble appeared when Microsoft announced just a few months later that it would reverse its thinking on the One's "always on" policy, which required the console to always be online for certain key features to work. Despite an improvement in hardware and capability, though, consumers bemoaned that Microsoft was forcing the Kinect on gamers by bundling it with the device rather than allowing Kinect to be an optional peripheral like it was with the Xbox 360. The Kinect become so integral to Microsoft's vision of the console future that corporate vice president Phil Harrison said at Gamescom in 2013 that " Xbox One is Kinect." The small black box packed a camera, heart rate sensor, and voice recognition that helped navigate the Xbox One tile interface. Upgraded from its previous 360 version, Kinect 2.0 became the control hub of Microsoft's next-generation console. When the Xbox One was announced in 2013, it came bundled with the Kinect. But whether it's a good thing for the future of the Xbox One and console gaming at large is another story.
Selling the Xbox One without Kinect-and more importantly, for $100 less-should help Microsoft move more consoles in the short term. This move was almost inevitable as Microsoft slogged through months of slow console sales. Now, the console has finally received its long-awaited price drop but at a greater cost than just $100. Since its release, Microsoft had been selling the One only in a $500 bundle that included the new version of Kinect. Earlier this morning, Microsoft announced a major change for Xbox One: It would release a Kinect-less console for $400 starting June 9.
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