Xbox One WILL NOT be available without a Kinect - Article

Looks like those of us hoping for a Kinect free version of the One will be disappointed. Shame.

Microsoft has had an indecisive month or two recently, contemplating a series of U-turns in its attempts to compete with the forthcoming PlayStation 4. But now, it seems to have settled on a final decision about one of the most controversial flip-flops: every Xbox One WILL come with a Kinect.

About that, there now seems no doubt. Speaking to CVG at Gamescom, Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Harrison explained how the Xbox and Kinect are fundamentally two parts of a single entity:

Xbox One is Kinect. They are not separate systems. An Xbox One has chips, it has memory, it has Blu-ray, it has Kinect, it has a controller. These are all part of the platform ecosystem.
Initially, Microsoft claimed every Xbox One would not just ship with a Kinect, but that it would have to be plugged in for the machine to run. Then, it stated that the second part would no longer be the case, raising fears that the console might not ship with the sensor. That would—could—have allowed Microsoft to ship a cheaper version of the Xbox One, but it had developers worried about making assumptions about hardware.

Now, it seems we know for sure: there won't be a cheaper Xbox One option, you will get a Kinect when you buy one—and your gaming experience will probably be the better for it. [CVG via Polygon via Verge]

-Via Gizmodo

This is great news!!!! Based on their recent history this means that a Kinect free XB1 will be available by Jan. 1  

hahaha i was kinda thinking/hoping for the same! JUST DAMN DO IT M$

#FUKINECT

Does it come bundled with Dance Dance Revolution?

If so, put me down for TWO!  

No but Just Dance 5 will be coming soon.

Dance Central is supposed to be pretty good too I've heard.

I don't think xbone is shipping with a game though.

Personally, I'd rather get Fruit Ninja for Kinect if we are going to get some free, funny little motion games.

I'll be surprised if we see any type of xbox bundle without a kinect prior to sometime later next year (if we get one at all).  If they need to lower to the price, they can do that without tossing Kinect.

Ninetendo and Sony have sold consoles at loss for extended periods in order to ship units.  MS could do the same this time around if they felt it necessary.  They could keep the kinect and sell at cost/slight loss.  This is not unheard of in the console business.

Having a Kinect with every unit is an advantage over the competition.  It is not a disadvantage.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/sony-ps3-playstation-cost-price,news-3947.html

FightingOkra75 wrote:

Having a Kinect with every unit is an advantage over the competition.  It is not a disadvantage.

If you have no desire to play with the Kinect... i don't see how it could be an advantage to M$ for customers like that. Or budget conscious consumers. More choices would = more sales.

Hey if you don't like the XB1 shipping with the Kinect, there is a Kinect free bundle. It's called the Xbox 360. lol

With MSFT's recent history, take this proclamation with a grain of salt. A rather large one at that.

gun fer hire wrote:

FightingOkra75 wrote:

Having a Kinect with every unit is an advantage over the competition.  It is not a disadvantage.

If you have no desire to play with the Kinect... i don't see how it could be an advantage to M$ for customers like that.  Or budget conscious consumers.  More choices would = more sales.

Its an advantage in that developers would know that everyone that had an XB1 would have a Kinect as well, and thus have an incentive to develop games that took advantage of that. It's also one thing that the XB1 has that that the PS4 doesn't.

There are cost advantages to tossing the Kinect. That's about it.

A kinect equipped xbox will be "better" than one without kinect. This is true now and will probably far more of an obvious difference this coming generation.

Like Wall said, if you want the old xbox system where Kinect wasn't built into the core experience so much then the 360 is there for ya. Cheap too.

If people don't want a Kinect then nobody is forcing them to buy the xbox one. I would rather they stick to their guns right now and put the Kinect in all systems shipped. If it truly doesn't add anything to most everyone's living room experience then changes will be necessary on a cost deal at least (either dump it and drop the cost or just drop the cost and toss it in as a free add on).

I've watched some videos on the new Kinect and I think it is will add a lot to my xbox experience compared to last gen where I didn't have one. Couldn't care less about it and games though. I like all the other things it can potentially bring to the table. Looks like they fixed most of the major issues with the past Kinect or so they claim.

Oh i'm with you all on it's MUCH better for developers because they know EVERYONE has one... they didn't make shit for Kinect with major games (other than voice) because they knew 1.) it didn't work well and 2.) not too many people had them. So hopefully they'll make badass games for the kinect that interested parties will enjoy.

I just really think they'd sell more Ones if they offered a $399 no-kinect bundle... or like you said... "throw it in for free" at $399.

Personally: With being a day one Kinect, preordered adopter and seeing all the failures... even after all the new kinect 2.0 features... i still see motion control going the way of 3D TV/Games. Industry pushed for it... consumers didn't give two shits... now there is no 3D crap to be found (thank god... shit made me dizzy lol).

I don't think the Kinect is for gamers man.

I keep saying that over and over and over.

That is Microsoft spin about development/gamers......jmo. Sure, it makes some logical sense so people buy it.....and it is partially true but that is another long winded post.

Kinect....to me is.....

I walk in my living room, do not look for a controller, do not walk to my console. I walk in home from work and say, "Xbox on. Watch Espn".....then I use the motion/voice depending on the situation to quickly move to BF4 or back to TV or to Netflix.

When I say xbox on...it can tell me from my kid and signs in my account right then.....ect...ect...ect...

No i get ya bud... and you're right. But that's why they should make it an option as most gamers don't want that crap and would rather not pay extra for it and have it just sit there. I mean it's M$'s future magic box entertainment thing, i get it - i really do, but just throw your loyal consumer base some options. Seems like they'll eventually flip after more bitching closer to launch... or later as you said.

gun fer hire wrote:

No i get ya bud... and you're right.  But that's why they should make it an option as most gamers don't want that crap and would rather not pay extra for it and have it just sit there.  I mean it's M$'s future magic box entertainment thing, i get it - i really do, but just throw your loyal consumer base some options.  Seems like they'll eventually flip after more bitching closer to launch... or later as you said.

Can you imaging the R&D costs that went into Kinect/Kinect 2?

Why do people expect companies to just give this stuff they spent $$$$$ bringing to market away for little to no costs?

Microsoft says that consoles for mainly gaming is gone. They say they believe in a new future for your living room. I get online everyday and see people on xbl doing stuff other than gaming. Microsoft's own statistics show that over 40% of xbl time is spent not gaming. This number grows every year.

If any of these companies plan on truly "winning" then their box better do a lot more than play Call of Duty and BF4. Sony's PS4 will do a lot more than that. They know it isn't just about the games anymore.

People dump on MS for this crap all they want but I hope they hit a home run with the xbox one and kinect and it truly changes the way you interact with your tv at home. Just like I was ecstatic at the thought of never getting up off my couch to change a disk again. I'm freaking lazy. I want the shit to be easy. I lost my half priced games that I could share with 9 people for free so that gamestop can stay in business. It cost me money and convenience. Lots of money.

Gamestop is happy though.

People need to just let the thing roll out and see what happens....

As you guys mentioned before... in the videogame industry consoles are almost always sold at a loss as they rely on software to make up the $$.  They'd be just fine doing with and without kinect systems... the real reason is they know that the no-kinect One would outsell the kinect bundle like crazy.  

Gamers, lazy people, kids, tv/movie people, dogs, etc don't want the kinect.  (Ok - this is just my dumb opinion)  It's fun for the first week or so... then you realize just how much more work it is to do something vs. quickly hitting a few muscle memorized buttons on the controller, remote... or even connected smartphone/tablet.  

I personally think M$ is trying to find a solution to a problem that does not exist.

But i agree... let's see how the public receive the "new" kinect... for progress sake i hope it does epic!!! I just feel like we all will see a kinect 1.0 repeat.

I agree about the old kinect...to an extent.

Children, in particular girls, seem to prefer more motion games for fun.

Also, many people use the xbox to workout.  It makes for a "fun" workout for many.  But thinking about the past kinect and assuming the new kinect will not have a lot more to it is a mistake imo.

Kinect was a late in the generation add on to the xbox 360.  The 360 system was not built with a kinect in mind.  This system has been designed from the very start to use a new and improved version of kinect.  Will it work like they claim?  Probably not quite.  Will it be a big difference from the Kinect?  Yep, I'm sure it will be.

Things like adding infrared so that low light doesn't bother the kinect as much and increasing it's field of view by 40%  so that a kid and an 6ft tall adult can actually use it together.  No more re positioning the Kinect like last gen.

And having it on every console allows for developers, not game developers, to use it.  There are other developers out there who may have ideas about how to use this in say....a netflix app. It is on every xbox so why not take advantage?

Integrated will make it more useful for all of us.  Just like we should ot nassume that PSN of PS3 will be the PSN of PS4, we shouldn't assume Kinect = Kinect 2.

Now that MS has finally told the truth about not needing have the Kinect plugged in for the system to work, it shows that it is purely an accessory they are forcing you to buy if you want the system. They also justify their $499 price point by saying that it comes with the Kinect. The response has been overwhelming that a big portion of their customer base has no desire to use Kinect and certainly don't want to pay an extra hundred dollars for it.

Overall consumers are stupid and I am at the front of the pack. I/we believe all kinds of marketing hype and flat out lies because those ideas look cool. But even stupid consumers balk at having to pay extra for an unnecessary & unwanted accessory to the product they are buying.

I hope XB1 does phenomenal, but I hope they get their nuts stomped until they offer another option.

Sr Slampiece wrote:

Does it come bundled with Dance Dance Revolution?

If so, put me down for TWO!  

What was it that Oscar Wilde said about irony?

Then again, he also stated that "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation"; so what does he know?

I can see how the XB1 might change the way that people interact with their TV's, but I could also see it going like 3D TV (like Gun said). I mean, do we really need the Kinect? Isn't the remote good enough? I think the whole voice/motion thing is a solution looking for a problem.

Case in point: my parents. They are by no means technophiles. They are definitely not gamers. I have to troubleshoot their PCs and iPhones. However, they are pretty handy with their TV, BD player, and DirecTV remotes. They can change the inputs, channels, volume, turn on the surround sound, watch blu-ray movies, ipad movies, etc. They would fall squarely into one demo that I think MSFT is targeting with this Home Entertainment system: people with disposable income that would like a better TV viewing experience.

However, I don't see that adding a $500 box to give them voice-control is a compelling USP. I don't think they could remember what voice commands to say. I have voice control in both my cars. Never use them. I have Siri on my phone (as do my parents). Never gets used. Maybe saying "Xbox On, TV On" would be great, but the immediate feedback of pressing the remote button probably works better for them. ANd paying $500 just to voice activate my TV is not enough. Especially if the XB1 doesn't recognize their "slightly" accented English the first, second, or tenth time.

As for motion, watching them try to use my bro-in-laws Kinect 1.0 tells me they probably won't like using motion control either (assuming it's used for TV, etc.).

A better solution is actually an app on your phone or ipad (which I know are out there already). They seem to do much better with the touch interface. I think it has some advantages over voice/motion, tactile feedback and all. Hmm... PS4 controller (or Wii U even) anyone? lol

History is littered with great products that were too early, too late, not good enough, too good, etc. that just died and disappeared. Kinect might be one of those. It also might be a runaway success. It will be interesting to see how this comes out. Let's save this thread and revisit in 5 years and see how well it does.

^^^WiiU has a pretty cool TV interface... Most won't know that they did the "Xbox One style" GUI overlay before.  M$ is actually doing a little copying from the WiiU.  The experience is probably far better on the Wii too with a nice big touch screen in addition to the on TV menu's etc.  Hell, the WiiU has a physical dedicated TV button on the controller for it's TV function...





I find this WiiU method or iPad/tablet sorta method (i use Verizon's FiOS app on my iphone & ipad) far better than what swinging my arms around and talking out loud to myself.  

I want to fast forward and see what happens to Kinect.

NukeLaCoog wrote:

Now that MS has finally told the truth about not needing have the Kinect plugged in for the system to work, it shows that it is purely an accessory they are forcing you to buy if you want the system.  They also justify their $499 price point by saying that it comes with the Kinect.  The response has been overwhelming that a big portion of their customer base has no desire to use Kinect and certainly don't want to pay an extra hundred dollars for it.

Overall consumers are stupid and I am at the front of the pack.  I/we believe all kinds of marketing hype and flat out lies because those ideas look cool.  But even stupid consumers balk at having to pay extra for an unnecessary & unwanted accessory to the product they are buying.

I hope XB1 does phenomenal, but I hope they get their nuts stomped until they offer another option.

MS forced a lived subscription on us too while Sony didn't.

It costs more to game on the xbox 360 and it is worth every single penny.

MS forcing live on her customers was good for MS and made the xbox better for customers (revenue stream meant more features).

Now they are forcing Kinect on us and people complain. As is their right. Forcing Kinect on everybody could turn out to be a briliant move just like forcing live on everybody was smart.

People who thought it was stupid and punished MS for it have the PS3. This generation Sony adopted the MS model.....smart move. Will they force any eye on everybody with the PS5?

This will be replacing or changing motion control in the next 3-5 years... The Eye and Kinect (at least as they are now) will be gone. (id be willing to bet)

Tangible feature that everyone used (PC, PS, XB) vs. something a significant majority have zero use for. How did the blu-ray feature with a $500-600 price tag work for Sony? Based on pre-sales about the same way it is working out for MS.

If MS were to drop the price then I am very interested. I have little to no desire to pay an extra $100 for something that is a doorstop today for the hope that they do something relevant in a couple of years.

^^^that and it looks hideous on top of my beautiful plasma  gross M$... gross...

Nuke, I hear ya.

Thing is, I would've ordered the xbox one for myself most likely if it were $399 and no kinect. My son would have done the same I suspect.

That isn't the option though right now. And, I'm an optimist at heart really. There have been times I wished I had the Kinect on my system though. They are few and far between I must admit but they have happened.

I will focus on postives. I'm getting an xbox one in my house at launch and it will be coming with the Kinect 2.0. Will I use it? I don't know. I'll for sure open the box hoping it is great. If it sucks ass and is a pretty worthless pos then I'll tell you that too......I ain't shy about giving my honest opinion.

We won't know though if it is the right move or the wrong move for Microsoft (long term, on the whole) for a while. You will get the first idea of whether it was smart and will remain right after the first ones ship and are being played.

If you hear a lot of, "Man, this new kinect is so much better.....finally worth having." If that is the steady review from owners then it will have been a "smart move." It could actually drive sales if it is really great. Be a difference maker after people get their hands on it.

Or....it could come with terrible reports of being a worthless pos and of little added value to the xbox (see the 360 for most of us) and then you will see the xbone slim no kinect version on shelves in short order I bet.

Either way, Microsoft can't build it fast enough right now to meet pre-order demand.....or they barely are doing so at least. No reason to back off yet. Smart move for MS is to wait on the real consumer reaction in the market place unless they have 100,000 extra xbones sitting there waiting for a pre-order.

Agreed. For all i know this thing could be amazing for those into it! The only things i like that kinect does or "could theoretically according to some beta stuff" do is the subtle things...

When in first person view in a racing game like Forza 5 it will track your head movement and allow your view to naturally go off-center in an approaching corner and look through a little section of the driver side or passenger side window... THAT will be nice if it works better than it did with Kinect 1.0 and F4.

For FPS games like say for instance in Ghosts... if they allow the lean function to be mapped to slightly leaning your head/shoulders either left or right on your couch (i've heard some issues coming from people who've played as it's now "situational -no buttons pressing" currently)...

Or hey, in BF4 allow kinect to track your head as in Forza so when your in the attack chopper in first person view you can fly one direction while target and lock-on to enemies in any other direction... like the real chopper! Or as gunner allow the thing to do the same... like the real deal!