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Microsoft announces Xbox One without Kinect for $399, releases June 9th

JackHerer

Member
Saw this on reddit today......sheesh (or "ouch" perhaps?):

Uagd3JG.png

As an early adopter myself I can't say I agree with him. I understand being frustrated that Kinect is being marginalized because of the extra money early buyers spent on it considering it never really was used in any significant way for gaming.

But what are these "amazing breakthroughs" he mentions? I have not seen a single implementation of Kinect that made me believe it was (or ever would become) a promising new control scheme for gaming. I think Microsoft made a huge mistake trying to push Kinect so hard without any software to back it up and the fact that they are back tracking and removing the Kinect tells me that there really wasn't anything super exciting in the pipeline for it anyway.

If they had shown some amazing new piece of software demonstrating an innovative use of Kinect when they first introduced the console then this might all be a completely different story, but that fact is that they have shown absolutely nothing. So I have to say good riddance if removing it leads to a healthier system with a bigger install base and ultimately more games due to a greater viability for developers.

I'll continue to use my Kinect for voice commands and such but I certainly am not upset that it is being removed considering I never saw any reason to believe that Kinect would be a big difference maker in providing interesting new games in the first place. If some great game utilizing Kinect is released I will be presently surprised but I don't really understand where the expectations for some amazing new gaming experiences made possible through Kinect are coming from.
 

Lubricus

Member
While they are getting rid of Kinect, get rid of Major Nelson. He has no credibility left. Find him other work but do not let him speak for you any more. He hurts more than helps at this point.
 

On Demand

Banned
As I was saying in that thread, didn't matter to me because the most important thing, multi player. You had to pay for it anyway.

Its good for those who don't want to play multi player. I guess.

So you felt it was a dumb ass thing for MS to lock things, that's free everywhere else, behind gold right????
 
So you felt it was a dumb ass thing for MS to lock things, that's free everywhere else, behind gold right????

I respect that it is their device. And that they can do as they please.

Xbox 360 was more popular than PS3 for a good while. So the business strategy wasn't a failure.

However, X1 isn't as popular as PS4 so they gotta do what they gotta do.
 

kodecraft

Member
I feel the Kinect is an integral part of the interface experience not a substitute for a control scheme in gaming which sounds like alot of gamers on here trash the Kinect about.

I like the full Xbox One experience. Kinect and all.
 

x-Lundz-x

Member
I feel the Kinect is an integral part of the interface experience not a substitute for a control scheme in gaming which sounds like alot of gamers on here trash the Kinect about.

I like the full Xbox One experience. Kinect and all.

I guess it's a good thing nothing changes for you.
 

hawk2025

Member
I respect that it is their device. And that they can do as they please.

Xbox 360 was more popular than PS3 for a good while. So the business strategy wasn't a failure.

However, X1 isn't as popular as PS4 so they gotta do what they gotta do.




You seem to be almost sad that it's happening.
 

d0nnie

Banned
Saw this on reddit today......sheesh (or "ouch" perhaps?):

Uagd3JG.png

I don't get it. It seems like the top executives within the XBox division have a conflicting vision of what the XBO should be or shouldn't be. A house divided cannot stand.

Dropping the Kinect from being packaged with the XBO, does not show a 100% belief.
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
I don't get it. It seems like the top executives within the XBox division have a conflicting vision of what the XBO should be or shouldn't be. A house divided cannot stand.

What is not to get? Nelson is a PR guy, he says whatever puts the company in the best light. No way he would say it was possible to remove Kinect ala DRM switch.
 
I don't get it. It seems like the top executives within the XBox division have a conflicting vision of what the XBO should be or shouldn't be. A house divided cannot stand.

Dropping the Kinect from being packaged with the XBO, does not show a 100% belief.
That was nine months ago. Plans change once you see how its performing.
 

Leflus

Member
I don't get it. It seems like the top executives within the XBox division have a conflicting vision of what the XBO should be or shouldn't be. A house divided cannot stand.

Dropping the Kinect from being packaged with the XBO, does not show a 100% belief.
They've lost three executives since E3 last year (Don Mattrick, Marc Whitten and Ben Kilgore). The vision they had last year could have changed as a result of that.

I wonder if they're going to promote or hire someone soon, or if they have opted for a different management structure.

Also: Where in the world is Kudo Tsunoda?! It's almost as if he vanished from the face of the Earth after 2012.
 
Also, while it guess it technically may not mean "100% all in", making an alternate Kinectless SKU doesn't necessarily mean everyone at MS hates Kinect or whatever all of a sudden.

Otherwise, by that logic, they hated DLC and video downloads, because they offered an Arcade/4GB version of their Xbox 360.

By the way, I wonder if there's gonna be a patch on June 9th to remove the "Kinect is disconnected" notifications from the dashboard. It'd be hilarious if people who buy that version of the system still get them

"hey man, it'd be totally awesome if you went out and bought one...eh? eh?"
 
I haven't plugged in my Kinect once for my Xbox One. I probably should have waited for this SKU. I think I'll hold onto the Kinect in case something amazing comes out that uses it.
 

Klocker

Member
Kinect is really sweet... I can understand why some don't care for it, but being able to say "Xbox. bing.... "Name of movie or tv show" and have it instantly bring up every possible source from which to find, purchase and or rent the content on tv or xbox is just beyond cool
 

RulkezX

Member
So any idea what's gonna happen to stuff like " Xbox record that". ? Moved to the view button on the pad or something ?

I guess the UK and Europe can forget about TV functionality now as well.
 
I think that this (xone = 400) is a good thing. It shows that the market, the people (we) again were the ones to decide. Even giant coporations like microsoft have to bow down to the will of the consumer. Competition is good. Now Sony faces a proper competition, which is in the interest of every gamer.
I would not be so quick to say this, ever. Do we set the rules, or do they let us think we set the rules?
 
So any idea what's gonna happen to stuff like " Xbox record that". ? Moved to the view button on the pad or something ?

I guess the UK and Europe can forget about TV functionality now as well.

You've always been able to manually snap Game DVR, and record gameplay that way since launch. It's obviously way less convenient that way though, since you'd have to interrupt your gameplay to do it, or have something permanently snapped to your screen while you play

Also TV functionality doesn't need Kinect. The OneGuide and the HDMI port still exists whether or not Kinect is plugged in...
 

RulkezX

Member
You've always been able to manually snap Game DVR, and record gameplay that way since launch. It's obviously way less convenient that way though, since you'd have to interrupt your gameplay to do it, or have something permanently snapped to your screen while you play

Also TV functionality doesn't need Kinect. The OneGuide and the HDMI port still exists whether or not Kinect is plugged in...

If you have to have game DVR snapped it's a pointless feature. The instant 30s clip recording is popular for a reason.

And the TV features are shitty without voice features. There is zero reason to use pass through and a pad over your normal remote if Kinect is taken away. Not that it matters now I guess.
 

Sydle

Member
They've lost three executives since E3 last year (Don Mattrick, Marc Whitten and Ben Kilgore). The vision they had last year could have changed as a result of that.

I wonder if they're going to promote or hire someone soon, or if they have opted for a different management structure.

Also: Where in the world is Kudo Tsunoda?! It's almost as if he vanished from the face of the Earth after 2012.

Kudo is working on "future tech." Rumored to be Fortaleza.
 
If you have to have game DVR snapped it's a pointless feature. The instant 30s clip recording is popular for a reason.

And the TV features are shitty without voice features. There is zero reason to use pass through and a pad over your normal remote if Kinect is taken away. Not that it matters now I guess.

Well, sure. Those things are still usable, but less convenient if you don't have Kinect. So if those types of features matter to someone, they can decide if the extra $100 (or maybe $150 later on for the add-on) is worth it.

Also, even if you don't have Kinect, you may still want to use TV features if you want the unified OneGuide, and to be able to receive game invites and notifications while watching TV or doing whatever else over the HDMI input
 

Trojan

Member
While they are getting rid of Kinect, get rid of Major Nelson. He has no credibility left. Find him other work but do not let him speak for you any more. He hurts more than helps at this point.

Amen, brother. He is enthusiastic about the XBox brand but I've always thought he sounded like an asshatting shill.
 

TTUVAPOR

Banned
If the Kinect is so great, it should be able to sell itself on its own independently on retail shelves without the support of being bundled into the console.

People will vote with their wallets. If the Kinect camera sells in droves on its own and retailers can't keep it stocked because it's so popular...then the technology will grow greater and more developers will invest in it. If it's not bought...then the consumer isn't ready for it yet. This is why the X1 isn't selling well in comparison to the PS4. People aren't gonna pay $500 for voice commands.
 

Sydle

Member
Must be depressing working on Fortaleza when you see Google Glass fizzling out.

I'm not sure why that would be. Google Glass doesn't have any game-related applications to my knowledge.

Didn't VR fizzle out years ago as well? I wouldn't count out AR, Microsoft should be working on wearable tech.
 

Chitown B

Member
While they are getting rid of Kinect, get rid of Major Nelson. He has no credibility left. Find him other work but do not let him speak for you any more. He hurts more than helps at this point.

wtf? Major Nelson knows what he is told by the higher ups. If they change their mind it's not his fault.
 

On Demand

Banned
I respect that it is their device. And that they can do as they please.

Xbox 360 was more popular than PS3 for a good while. So the business strategy wasn't a failure.

However, X1 isn't as popular as PS4 so they gotta do what they gotta do.

Aight bro but the idea of it made no sense right, yes or no????

I mean they didn't even have any type of exclusive features for the apps that the Xbox would have to make the payment worth it. For example like maby exclusive TV shows and movies on Netflix. It was the same type of content FREE on every other device.

And things like accessing the web. You paid your ISP already bro.
 
This announcement is good, but at the same time it causes me to lose what little faith was left in Microsoft. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if, in their desperation, they released a beefed-up version of the Xbox One. It's the only thing stopping me from buying a Titanfall bundle today.
 

Chitown B

Member
If the Kinect is so great, it should be able to sell itself on its own independently on retail shelves without the support of being bundled into the console.

People will vote with their wallets. If the Kinect camera sells in droves on its own and retailers can't keep it stocked because it's so popular...then the technology will grow greater and more developers will invest in it. If it's not bought...then the consumer isn't ready for it yet. This is why the X1 isn't selling well in comparison to the PS4. People aren't gonna pay $500 for voice commands.

the original Kinect sold like 28 million units.
 

Iacobellis

Junior Member
This announcement is good, but at the same time it causes me to lose what little faith was left in Microsoft. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if, in their desperation, they released a beefed-up version of the Xbox One. It's the only thing stopping me from buying a Titanfall bundle today.

They couldn't. Why render all the already sold consoles useless?
 
So, something I hadn't really thought about... since this Kinect-less SKU will be out concurrently with the $500 one that includes Kinect, is it possible that this new offering will be seen as the next gen version of what was regretfully labeled the "tard pack?"

It's all about perception. I'm wondering if having the old package still on shelves could harm the sales potential of the new SKU.
 
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