Microsoft paves the way for a cheaper, Kinect-less Xbox One SKU to combat PS4

While many of the now-rolled-back Xbox One policies had upset potential customers, the major distinguishing factor between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 was that the latter was $100 cheaper. With Microsoft’s latest announcement, that could well change.

[mafiahajeri]

The console war is getting interesting. I think this will be the biggest war for market share even though the WiiU is pretty much out of the picture.

Might get an Xbox later in its console life cycle when they release a slim, that all depends on the type of games we will see, so far nothing catches my eye as a must get.

Now a Halo or Gears might change that.

[fermcr]

If Microsoft wants a chance in the next gen console war, they will release a Kinect-less Xbox One SKU to combat PS4, and the sooner the better.

"Now a Halo or Gears might change that."
More Halo's are coming, but from Epic games i hope they have a new interesting IP. Gears needs to rest for some time.

[crxss]

a kinect-less Xbox one is against everything Microsoft has said so far and would be pointless. Don't see it happening unless they really start lacking in sales once the console releases

[CRAIG667]

I really really WANT MORE Gears of war but I so agree, it needs some time to rest. I hope Halo 5 is more fun, I have always been a hardcore Halo fan but 4 just felt very clinical and I got bored of the online side very quickly, I mean I bought an online/season pass when it released and I have not even bothered downloading most of the additional content.
I think Titanfall is EA's answer to gears of war for now.

[NatureOfLogic]

The console hasn't even released yet and Xbox fans are already crying for a price drop out of fear of PS4 dominance. They must also realise that there's no way Xbox can compete with Playstation at an even price, much less a higher price.

[mcstorm]

I agree with crXss and I don't see Microsoft making a xbox one without Kinect as the console is built around Kinect and xbox live just like the 360 was built around xbox live. I also don't think the sales will be as big of a gap between the PS4 and One as this site is making out it to. I also think the sales of the Wiiu will pickup come the end of this year due to the exclusive IP's it is getting as this is what the WiiU is missing.

For me I think Microsoft have got it right in terms of the 360 has become the family console and at the low price it will help push sales of the 360 more come the end of this year and Microsoft know that the core will buy a more expensive consoles as long as the games are there and for me the xbox one has an impressive lineup of games.

People epically on here are to quick t judge something before even trying it and also a lot of people who are calling for a kinectless xbox one were never going to get an xbox one any way.

To say if the WiiU, Xbox One and PS4 will be a hit we need to see what the sales are like come April next year as I think the One and PS4 sales will not be as high as people are thinking it will be on here as the main selling games, Fifa, GTA, BF4, COD ect are all out on the current gen consoles as well as the new gen but there are also games like GT6 and GTA5 that are not on next gen consoles to so I think a lot of people will stay on there current gen console and look to upgrade the back end of next year as the games support on the 360 and PS3 will start to slow down.

[Shadonic]

Did you not read how MS would not make a profit if they didnt include the kinect ? people are saying these things as if there would be no effects on MS's side like its just a color pallet in a character customization screen.

[Philoctetes]

Agreed. Microsoft badly botched the XB1 launch, but the fact that they've been backtracking ever since shows that they realize their mistakes and aren't afraid to change course. A Kinect-free SKU would make the XB1 competitive with the PS4, and its only a matter of time before MS goes that route.

[Shadonic]

their real mistake was not explaining the benefits of these additions while not including fine details of how much easier it would be. The NSA thing was just bad luck for them.

[iamnsuperman]

I really doubt it. Microsoft's big sell is they want to "change" the way everyone watches TV (even though I think this is PR bull as it doesn't really but it still a marketing point). Making a cheaper Kinect sku would completely wipe that away and they will be left with advertising themselves as the cheaper console. All those features Microsoft thinks you need would be gone. I doesn't make sense to do that

Also I think we have learnt from the Wii U problem that two skus doesn't work. Releasing a cheaper "gimped" version doesn't go down well with the consumer and also could confuse them when you have to talk about what the Kinect bundle does more, People will wonder if they can use the old kinect..... At launch you need one Sku. Down the line you can then have multiple ones but make this simple at launch with one sku

Remember keep it simple, stupid

[Themba76]

actually it will work xbox arcade anyone? or how about the 2 360 slims the 250 gig or the 4gig. or how about the 360 i have which is the one bundled without kinect. so they can do the same thing with the one and have a sku bundled without kinect like they do with the 360 now.

[iamnsuperman]

Well the arcade didn't come out till after the launch it was the core which is different. The core came with a wired controller and no hard drive and a different cable. The arcade was launched a year later and replaced the core and offered more. It isn't that same situation as if the One offered a Kinectless bundle as the Kinect is a huge part of the console. I am talking about at launch not down the road. At launch you need to keep things simple as having one with a kinect and the other without one confuses the consumer especially when all the "cool" stuff needs the Kinect.

[THC CELL]

Won't they have to make a new pad as this current one needs the kinect to operate

[Gazondaily]

Eh? No it doesn't need Kinect to operate. Where did you get that from?

[Themba76]

well they don't need a kinect now but the pad doesn't have a power button like the 360 so they will need to make a controller with a power button.

[MasterCornholio]

" but the pad doesn't have a power button"

LOL you have to be kidding there is no way that Kinect will be the only way to turn on the console. Theres either a power button on the controller or a power button on the console.

[tokugawa]

they should have got rid of mattrick a long time ago. it seems to me like most of the ideas were his, and now they are reversing them on at a time

[FlunkinMonkey]

Microsoft - "I don't know what I'm doing!!"

[ape007]

it's good trying to innovate and introduce fresh even if it wasn't the best idea, not shamelessly copy nintendo all the time(move)

[FlunkinMonkey]

Yea MS obviously feel the exact same way now right.. and i also guess the vast majority of the public agree too.. Name me one kinect title that is showcasing this innovative new product? Name me one 'killer kinect app' from the last generation?

I would take the Move with KZ3 with the Sharpshooter over Kinect any day.

Your edit - "even if it wasn't the best idea", no it isn't if you are charging more money than your competitors, and you continually back track on the product because you clearly don't have the faith in it (nor the consumers).

[Dobgamers]

@ape007 I couldn't agree more.

[Master-H]

If move was copied from Nintendo, then Kinect was copied from PS Eye , joke's on you son.

[M-M]

They won't make a Kinectless SKU, they have faith in Kinect and are following through with their investment. So pretty much the only way you'll get a Kinectless Xbox One is if you buy it used without Kinect.

[FlunkinMonkey]

O sorry, i thought MS fans were desperate to keep Kinect, and that it was what set it apart from the competition, and that PS4 fans were keeping the world of innovation from progressing without such features.

Now it's all the rage and fans are sighing desperately in relief.. Cringe worthy.

[mxrider2199]

if they announce at gamescon they have kinectless skus coming soon or for launch you can bet your ass a lot of people will cancel preorder for the xbox and maybe the ps4 to wait or switch to kinectless sku if they do take it off it wont be atleast for a year bc they would have so many stockpiled kinect included skus

[ape007]

they HAVE to do that in order to compete with sony
i don't see why some people are against that

i love Xbox but i honestly don't see kinect can do anything MAJOR or anything better than wii mote or wiiu tablet

im not very convinced with it, making it a mandatory device is a negative imo, not all people want kinect, they want to play games and remember that a 100$ difference is HUGE, some people might argue that it's not much of a difference but LOOK what happened to the 3DS when it dropped the price, sales blow out

in the end more choice is better, more freedom is on their side and on the consumer side, kinect is not the next big thing

[gaelic_laoch]

Jaysus the Xbone really is flapping and fluttering around like a crow having a heart attack!

[Bathyj]

180'd on DRM
180'd on Indies
180'd on always online
180'd on Kinect

looks like we get an Xbox720 after all

[F4sterTh4nFTL]

Well Said.

[fermcr]

How does a troller like you have so many bubbles? Did you make a deal with the Devil ?

[Bathyj]

didn't say anything that wasn't true dude.

the fact Xbone is so much better now just highlights how crap it was a month ago and yet people still defended it. you're actually gratefully to them for releasing your nipple from a titty twister when you should be mad they ever had their hand down your shirt in the first place.

[ape007]

xbox 720 is a better name imo

when i say xbox 1, my mind automatically thinks of the orginal xbox xD

[Bathyj]

I think it's a dumb name cos it's a continuation of 360 which was a dumb name.

I don't get why they were scared to call it Xbox 2 up against Ps3 yet called it Xbox one against ps4. if they got over that insecurity why not just call it Xbox 3? that's what it is.

[Ju]

Maybe it's true - 720 - but aren't we at 1080 already? ;)

Or maybe after all those 180s it's easier to sneak in a 0 instead. LOL

[gaelic_laoch]

And so many gamers nailed their colours to the Xbone mast before first 180 even happened!

[Themba76]

it sounds better than xbox one anyway.

[killcole]

@Author,
You're missing the point. The whole reason it ships with is so the dev knows everybody has it. Shipping without Kinect is like, when the initial change from the d-pad to analouge happened, having controllers that shipped without them. If you do that, you can't guarentee everyone can use analouge sticks so you have to develop with the assumption X% of your install base will still be on d-pad.

Now that devs know that everybody has analouge sticks and uses them, it frees up the d-pad for more creative input use like weapon selection etc, rather than just really limited movement.

Sorry to be a Don Mattrick about it, but if you want a Kinect-less SKU, buy a PS4 or stick with what you've got. I'm excited for the new Kinect. I want it in my living room. I want to use it, even if it's only for UI navigation, and if that's another change (that they release a Kinect less SKU) it's game over for Kinect. A potentially billion dollar investment rendered useless through lack of software support.

The internet has given people too much scope to moan imho.

[HundredProofSam]

Sure it would help devs to know that everyone with an Xbox One also has a Kinect, but the same could be said about always-on.

Devs can still make always-online games. and devs can also still make games that make Kinect mandatory, just like they do on Xbox 360. It's just that the Xbox One hardware no longer mandates it.

I don't see how releasing a Kinect-less SKU will foil developers' plans.

As for the D-pad/analog stick comparison, Kinect hasn't yet proven itself to be an integral part of the Xbox experience. And whether it makes for a more immersive or streamlined experience is also debatable.

[DoesUs]

It paves the way...but not this year. If the PS4 begins to pull away at a particular rate, then i guess they can ship without backend of 2014 early 2015. But given how much the Kinect 2.0 is to manufacture, how much do you think MS will sell a stand alone sensor for? The thing with being bundled is that the hit in costs is somewhat diluted when bundled with a console itself. So MS are really in a bit of a situation IF, and thats IF they consider such a move.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

They should start selling the XBone for $300 and it will sell like hotcakes! Even I would be tempted to buy it at Day 1. I will keep my PS4 pre-order though! ^^

[Intentions]

Yeah they aren't gonna do it, maybe sometime later down the road they will but probably not for the 1-2 years.

- Thats just my opinion on it.

Still, getting both PS4 and Xbox One some day :)

[vigilante_man]

It will be very tempting to them to put one out for sub $400/£300. They do not want Sony to get too far ahead too soon. They see how strong the PS3 stayed and know PS4 will keep on running.

If they do, however, it will be the end for Kinnect 2. No one is then going to pay another $100-150 for a camera at a later date.

They need to stick to a plan. Either go for gaming/TV with Kinnect or bow down to gaming without Kinnect. Can they actually make a decision they stick with?

[JunioRS101]

As much as I distrust Microsoft, I think we'll see an announcement of the cheaper, Kinect-less SKU at Gamescom.

I'll still keep my PS4 pre-order, and enjoy that while I wait to see if Microsoft can release some new IP that interest me.

[Excalibur]

Trust me now that Microsoft has said that the system will work without Kinect they will ship them without Kinect, if they want to compete they have to.
If they were smart they would price the Kinect free system at $349.00 - $379.00.

I can also almost guarantee that half of all these folks screaming for Kinect support all along will change their pre-orders when they know they can buy 2 games with the money they save.

You can disagree all you want but you know in your heart it's true.

[gamer7804]

i really hope they keep it bundled, they said they would upon commenting to ign , just that you can now unplug it. They want developers to count on every xb1 having a kinect.

[tigertron]

A Kinect-less Xbox One pack when Halo 5 comes out will lure me in if I'm honest.

[ooquis]

This just proves all the rumors about the pre-orders. IMO i think lots of people in the US jumped ship.all these 180's from M$ shows it clearly. I'm glad for all my xbot's buddies.

[Rhinoceros]

If they plan to do that I will no longer be buying one. Dividing the developer base is not what I wanted.

[vigilante_man]

No New SKU without Kinnect 2.

A developer of the system intimated the cost of the Kinnect 2 is as much as the console itself due to the very expensive sensor used inside. If that is true then a Kinnect 2 on its own would be $200 - $250.

Who is going to buy a Kinnect 2 for $200-$250? That is why the only way to ship Kinnect is bundled with the console.

They must be losing money already on each unit sold. The smart thing to do is tell all MS people to keep quiet and not mention unplugged option in the first place. It makes the Kinnect seem redundant.

[mmj]

Without Kinect Xbone should be cheaper than PS4, it's inferior hardware afterall.

> They used cheap DDR3 and boosted it with ESRAM.

> GPU is not in the same league as PS4's.

[twdll]

No xbone for me. The size of the console is an issue, and they included a huge powerblock as well, i'll pass. PS4 wins even if priced the same. Im bettn that Sony will have a wider range of better games available as well.