If i choose not to use the camera, my phone still makes calls, receives texts, performs all of the basic functions of a phone at the same level of quality as the competition.
That is not the case here.
Hence the constant posts about Kinect being the differentiating factor that sets Xbone apart from PS4, it shouldn't be removed etc. So if it truly is part of the package, rethinking what that package truly needs to be should be priority 1 for the hardware team, because clearly the 'value proposition' is not shared by the consumer base, even in what were previous generation market strongholds.
It is a millstone and needs to be jettisoned.
First of all, that's a terrible analogy since in today's market, a camera is considered basic functionality for a cellphone. Second of all, do you have any idea how an Xbox One works? If you remove the Xbox One, the Xbox One still functions. It'll turn on. You can still navigate the UI. You'll still be able to play games not specifically designed to utilize the Kinect. As you say, its basic functions will still work at the same quality as the competition.
Having said that, this has absolutely nothing to do with what you were initially responding too. The post you were responding to was attempting to fight back against the notion that Kinect is a privacy concern.
And I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. The Kinect
is the sole unique Xbox One feature that separates itself from the competition. Why did Microsoft make it standard across all SKUs? First of all, consumers proved their interest in Kinect last generation when they made it among the best selling peripherals of all time. It's popularity tapered off towards the end of the generation though, primarily because the software library catering to the device was much too bare bones. A fate that all peripherals suffer due to the fact that it doesn't make sense for developers to develop for a audience within an audience with respect to a specific platform. Microsoft's solution to this was to combine those two audiences, ie. not splitting the user base, and make Kinect standard across all SKUs. They've put considerable time, money and effort into bringing that idea to fruition, and for better or worse, the Kinect is an integral part to the Xbox One's identity.
As for consumers not buying into the value proposition of Kinect being standard across all SKUs, in comparison to the Playstation 4 (this distinction is important, the XB1 is selling at a better pace than its predecessors), it's hard to disagree. But it's more price point, which the Kinect definitely inflates, than the general idea of Kinect being a required pack in, considering that people were willing to drop $150 for the same peripheral last generation. Microsoft
does need to lower the price of barrier, and they need to substantiate the inclusion of Kinect by validating its worth. But outright removing it is an
extremely short sited and over reactionary move.
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