Microsoft says ditching Kinect allows "10 per cent additional GPU performance".

"Yes, the additional resources allow access to up to 10 percent additional GPU performance," said a company representative. "We're committed to giving developers new tools and flexibility to make their Xbox One games even better by giving them the option to use the GPU reserve in whatever way is best for them and their games."

[mrpsychoticstalker]

There's a lot devs can do with more power! Good moves by Microsoft. I am having fun with the Xbox games as they are, but if this makes them even better that's great news.

[christocolus]

Well a lot of them have been asking for this from the very beginning so let's see what they do it.

[Mr Pumblechook]

POLYGON report that the Xbox One is 10% more powerful which is great for gamers and basically means the death of Kinect exclusive games although it will still be used for voice control and OS navigation.

It's funny that Polygon make this their headline story and are pushing the benefits of their preferred platform.

[Volkama]

Not sure what you are getting at Pumblechook, the source is Microsoft.

[NewMonday]

How does this work for those who have Kinect?

[Gazondaily]

@NewMonday

I assume it just means that games that utilise the Kinect won't benefit from this added 10% gpu performance.

"With this SDK, we will include new options for how developers can use the system reserve as well as more flexibility in our natural user interface reserve (voice and gesture). "

I don't think you will see any difference between the new Kinect-less Xbox One's and the original ones that shipped with the Kinect.

What is basically means is, ALL Xbox One's will get a 10% boost in GPU performance.

[ZodTheRipper]

I'm glad that Microsoft was forced to ditch Kinect ...maybe they'll overthink their priorities now. I just don't expect any substantial sales growth from this. They actually raised the price for the box itself, it should have been under 400$.

[u got owned]

@NewMonday

I dont know if you are serious... Common sense buddy, use it.

[ZodTheRipper]

^If if's that easy you should be able to explain it. First the statements that make it complicated:

"Microsoft has confirmed that this boost in performance is in fact due to Kinect being stripped from the package."

"we're releasing a new SDK making it possible for developers to access additional GPU resources previously reserved for Kinect and system functions"

So what if you have Kinect connected but a game uses these 10% additional GPU power? Either Kinect won't work during that game (at all) or the game runs 10% worse than on a Xbox without Kinect or am I missing something?

[Eonjay]

@Mr Pumblechook

Polygon's article is extremely misleading and it doesn't do anything for Xbox One. They make it sound like people who already have an Xbox One wont get the power boost. And that is just not true.

They said:

"The upcoming Kinect-less Xbox One will receive a 10 percent boost in its performance due to the stripping out of the peripheral, Microsoft told Eurogamer."

They are just spreading confusion. And then they claim that Microsoft confirmed it. Which is even more misleading. You don't have to buy the new system to get the boost.

[creatchee]

Simple answer: Xbox One games are no longer required to reserve a certain amount of processing power for some Kinect commands. This power can now be used for any other function that developers would like to use it for. It works this way, whether or not you have a Kinect and whether or not it is plugged in.

[Anon1974]

So will games be automatically dumbed down slightly for Xbox One with Kinect?

My guess is that devs will still develop for the lowest common denominator power wise (the Xbox One with Kinect) and simply let the Kinect-less Xbox One do it's own thing. Realistically, we're not suddenly going to see better games as devs retool their titles to take advantage of that extra sliver of power that's only going to be accessible to some users. It's going to be business as usual for devs, and if you want the extra power boost so games run slightly smoother, you'll just choose to go it without Kinect. That's my thought.

[DragonKnight]

So basically Microsoft is perfectly fine with ditching all support for Kinect after saying they wouldn't and once again creating a development environment where there is a fractured userbase of people with Kinect, and people without Kinect.

Can they never stick to even one thing they've said?

[Gazondaily]

@Dragon

We've kind of gone past that now. This is about improved performance of the X1 as a result of their decision to ship a Kinect-less X1.

[DragonKnight]

@Septic: The point still remains though. If developers do a blanket development process of assuming that Kinect is not being used, then the people who DO use Kinect don't get to benefit from it. Of course, they probably could just NOT use their Kinect, but then they're left with an expensive paperweight.

It all boils down to the fact that Microsoft are still running around like a chicken with their heads cut off, trying to narrow a gap they never will be able to narrow.

[NewMonday]

how does the OS operate without this 10%? snap? skyp? chat? multi-tasking?...etc

shouldn't journalists be asking these questions?

[alexkoepp]

With Ryse already being the best looking console game ever released, I can't wait to see what more power is going to bring us!

[u got owned]

Major Nelson tweet:

"Dear Media: The GPU change was developer facing. Unplugging Kinect does not get you more HP. Devs have to code to the new specs. "

that should clear all confusion.

[sinspirit]

I thought they had already done this when they removed the mandatory Kinect connection.

Why would they dedicate any GPU functions to the Kinect anyways? UI voice commands sure, but those don't need 10% of a GPU, the developers should have had control over Kinect resource allocation in the first place.

[SilentNegotiator]

@NewMonday

Developers will have to develop games so that it works both ways, shut off Kinect entirely, or not use the supposed 10% boost at all.

Early adapters will get probably get screwed with a bunch of games that don't allow simultaneous "essential accessory" use or else developers will have the extra hurdle of spending more time developing it for two different situations.

[4Sh0w]

-The Devils in the details:

"Yes, the additional resources allow access to up to 10 per cent additional GPU performance. We're committed to giving developers new tools and flexibility to make their Xbox One games even better by giving them the option to use the GPU reserve in whatever way is best for them and their games."

"GPU reserve" means the previous SDK partitioned 10% of the GPU for future Kinect functionality/games, this will NOT affect the current the UI functionality or current Kinect games as it wasn't being used anyway, just intentionally reserved for future Kinect based future plans/games. #1If you remember prior to X1 launch micro already stated that the Kinect based GPU resources along with the OS footprint will be reduced with new SDK's, no different than 360. #2 Again yes this will give devs who want it more power but I am dissapointed that this points to them not exploring bigger more advanced kinect implementation in future games.

[aragon]

ok for everyone here wondering if xbone with kinect will be less powerful? the answer no, its now up to developers to develope their games using the 10 percent that was reserved for kinect also prior to launch they already statrd they had an extra 10 percent sitting around for kinect that was not being used and that they would hand it over to the devs. what it means is that all games that were developed before the 10 percent was freed up wont benefit from the extra power, so if u buy a wolfenstein new order with your kinectless xbone, wolfenstein wouldnt have got that extra 10 percent but games that are made with the extra 10 percent will have a little tiny boost, this is all just pr nonsense and polygon and eurogamer are trying to make ms look like even bigger douchebags in the publics eye because there articles insinuate that early adopters will get screwed out of power boost which is wrong. its now up to devs to use the extra 10 percent toward their game if they arent going to use kinect integration with the game they are making

[Pro Racer]

As someone who has a PC and is into overclocking, I have to say that 10% is a pretty huge difference. Shame on MS for trying to force the use of Kinect at such an expense to the GPU.

Glad they have finally reconsidered on the mandatory Kinect issue.

[BattleAxe]

It's a good move. People didn't like Kinect on the 360, and most people don't like it or need it on XBOX:One. Great news for better game performance on Xbox.

[cooperdnizzle]

@Pro Racer. Tell me one thing that 10% would do to one game other than maybe a couple of frames? I have A pc too, I mean pretty much every gamer has a pc gaming rig.

First there would be no way of knowing if your over clocking is actually giving you a 10% boost. Second, I really can't think of anything other then a couple of frames that over clocking helps you achieve. It doesn't give you the option to turn on any other graphical options there already available. Plus overclocking just burns up you graphics cards. Just saying your point is very far fetched.

[RedDevils]

So in other word, Kinect is just another failure gimmick lmao

[UltraNova]

aragon got it right.

All games made before this 10% reserve got freed up will not benefit from it, as console games are not coded for scale-ability but for a fixed platform, in short only games after this will benefit or in the highly unlikely case of a dev going back and re-optimizing their original code and release it via a patch.

[Wizard_King]

So if the GPU is going to perform about 10% better does that mean Titanfall will be getting a patch to up the resolution from 792p? Or that future games might have a bees dick chance of seeing 1080/60 with AA turned on?

/s

doubt it

[DevilOgreFish]

All this means is that future games will be able to utilize more of the GPU. that's great. kinect based games probably won't because they'll require the device.

so pretty much kinect-less games will benefit this.

[mmcglasson]

@alexkoepp

Killzone looks better and plays much better than Ryse.

Infamous is even better. Both Killzone and Infamous have a lot more going on in the environment too.

[Copen]

What a lot of people don't know is the majority of this 10 percent has been available since January of this year so this is nothing earth shattering or new. Even with this and DX12 the gap will only widen and MS won't catch Sony sorry it's the truth. MS needs to just stop trying to compete with the ps4 on a power level because it's a battle they simply can't win this gen. They need to focus on other things that set their console apart from the competition because the power difference will remain and the games have shown this is the biggest power disparity between consoles in well over a decade.

[Deltaohio]

So because the xbox will will never be as powerful as the PS4 MS should quit giving developers more resource for their games? Yes. Logic at its finest.

[Elit3Nick]

Lol how will the gap widen if the X1 is using more of its power and using a technique that the PS4 doesn't have(DX12) Microsoft are masters of software, if you seriously believe that a hardware company can come up with better optimizations, then you are yet another delusional fanboy

[scotmacb]

You talk crap the worst one was ghosts everything else you need to pause a comparsion video to tell and some are the same

[sinspirit]

@Elit3Nick

DX12 isn't a technique. It's an API. Just like OpenGL. But, OpenGL is less bloated, supports Window's, Mac, and Linux, as well as whatever products are designed to run it, like PS4. DX12 is doing what OpenGL already allowed us to do, but because DX is a leading standard for PC it is holding back OpenGL because not many developers take advantage of it.

Btw, X1 already has a low level API, a modified DX, that already delivers exactly what DX12 is supposed to do a year from now.

[M1ST4K3]

I have a PS4 and yet I can say your statement makes 0 sense...
Development should never stop! Improvement shouldn't either.

Perhaps if MSFT didn't announce the DX12 performance boost, Sony wouldn't put team ICE working on an improvement (this is just an example... Improvement leads to more improvement)

Just stop being in pain because the other console got better... what the hell!? It's not that PS4 got worse, it's the Xbox one that got better!

[Elit3Nick]

@sinspirit Even the current low level APIs aren't capable of balanced multi-threading, that alone will yield a sizeable improvement in efficiency, but either way, it's still an improvement that will nudge the X1 closer to the PS4, the amount is yet to be determined.

Why are you and the fanboys here so driven to put down anything xbox related, it obviously doesn't concern yourselves if you're bashing, and it's simply ignorance to think that xbox won't have the more efficient optimizations. Think of it this way, an improvement in the X1's performance will yield better looking games on both platforms, since they start with the lowest denominator and scale it up to the others

[sinspirit]

@Elit3Nick

Balanced multi-threading? That's one of the benefits of DX12 on PC. It will be improved for X1 of course but it isn't new, so it's not actually a big performance gain. This already exists on consoles. Sony is working on improving their multi-threading on PS3 as well as PS4. I'm not bragging about Sony. I just think you should know that it isn't a Microsoft thing. Seriously, stop finding terms and blindly trying to justify something with terms you don't understand.

[warczar]

@Elit3Nick

"Microsoft are masters of software"

Spoken like someone who has never used Windows NT, Windows Vista, or Windows 8. All perfect examples of how Microsoft sucks balls at software.

[jackdaniels]

@war car

and yet MS are one the richest software companies on the planet...man it must pay well to suck balls eh :)

[Deltaohio]

@warczar

"Masters" of software not masters of knowing wtf ppl want from software. There is a difference.

[miyamoto]

great news?

So what happened to these?

"Microsoft: "Absolutely no plans" to release Xbox One without Kinect
Phil Harrison squashes possibility of Kinect-less bundle of upcoming next-generation console."

"Absolutely no plans at all," Harrison said when asked if a Kinect-free bundle may be offered. "We think Kinect is an integral part of our platform. All of the magical experiences that you get, both as a games-player and also the way you navigate the system are made even more amazing because of Kinect."

Harrison said that because every Xbox One console will come with Kinect, developers can design projects for the "widest possible install base."

"Xbox One is Kinect," Harrison said at the time. "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."

Source: http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/...

Again.
Microsoft: "no plans" to release an Xbox One without Kinect"

Speaking with Eurogamer yesterday ahead of the announcement of the first Xbox One price cut, Xbox UK marketing chief Harvey Eagle said Microsoft was sticking with Kinect because the company feels it's "integral to the Xbox One experience".

"[A Kinect-less Xbox One] is not in our plans at all," he stressed.

"As we've said from the very beginning, we believe Kinect is an absolutely integral part of the Xbox One experience."

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

So what happened to this:

"It was really all about consumer choice," Spencer said in an interview with CNET. "Like we would have said on 360, the best experience was with the biggest hard drive possible. On Xbox One, I think the best experience is with Kinect."

http://www.cnet.com/news/mi...

So how is getting a console with "the best experience" removed, great news?

How about fixing M$'s conflicting PR message disaster and actually growing a backbone...that will be great news?

[creatchee]

@miyamoto

You can still buy a Kinect if you want to. You now just have an option not to if you don't want one. The buyer who chooses not to assumes the liability of not getting the intended "full" experience, but at a lower price of entry. Are we really at the point where having an option is a bad thing?

[nix]

@creatchee:

what's the point of buying Kinect if they are planning to ditch it?

[Belasco]

Judging from your comment history, you have an obsessive hatred for Microsoft. You seem to be a Sony fanboy I guess, but your comments are 99% about MS or the Xbox One.Question, could MS do ANYTHING that pleases you? Seek help. OT this performance boost is something made available to the devs, Kinect will not be affected, what is so hard to understand about this?

[pyramidshead]

Damn, ice cold.

[Gambloid]

@miyamoto

Change the record FFS

[gamer7804]

You see. Change happens when you appoint a new head of a division....

[jackdaniels]

why so angry ?

[Muffins1223]

But I can guarantee you that every Microsoft first party game will use kinect in some way....so there goes that 10% for what games it actually matter for.

[imt558]

Microsoft FREED UP EXISTING GPU RESOURCES with new SDK's, NOT ADDED NEW ONES!!!!

Total of 1.32 TFLOPS 10% were reserved for Kinect!!!!

Earth to Xbone fans!!!

[Wizard_King]

Yeha it's not like suddenly the GPU got better or runs faster it's still the same GPU. Microtard just decided to drop the dead in the water Kinect and give the devs the locked up space for it.

Over all everyone who owns a launch unit should be pissed off at this. They bought the machine with MS PR going on about Kinect magic, integral part of the experience, blah blah bullshit. Now that part of the X1 is effectively dead and will see little to no further development. Expect the same cheap dance dance, sports fit and on the rails shooter games that's it.

I would be in favor of a full refund for everyone with a launch unit upset with this, pending a class action lawsuit guaranteeing the refunds to all.

[agame914]

I don't understand how ditching a camera adds a 10% boost to the gpu. So does that mean when I have my xbox hooked up with kinect my graphics will be 10% less then a person without kinect?? So when I unplug my camera for my ps4 I'll get a 10% increase???

Obscured

[Belasco]

Breathtaking amount of disagrees, must mean it's not true.

[Smokeeye123]

The fact that 94 people downvoted your comment shows how much Sony fans makeup this site. N4PO (News for playstation owners)

[Welshy]

The problem being, anywhere up to 5 million people already have Kinect since it was bundled with their console.

XB1 is already lagging noticeably behind PS4, are they really going to have those 5 million with Kinect have even WORSE versions of games since they won't have this "10% GPU boost"?

Of course this won't be utilised, if I was an early adopter of the XB1 who was FORCED to have a Kinect, I'd already be pissed that the device I had forced upon me was getting significantly reduced support, let alone being 10% down on performance for future titles.

[ITPython]

10% of nothing is still nothing.

Also didn't MS give the devs access to 8% of the Kinects reserves a long time ago? If so, this means devs are only going to see a 2% boost.

[Ghost_Nappa]

107 disarees? Seriously people wtf? Is it a crime to like xbox?

[imuze]

you just went full retard.

[TOTSUKO]

Im going to miss saying "Xbox, Go Home"

[aceitman]

Ok so last time they optimized x1 the boost increased by 10 percent, so in other words not much of a difference with and without kinect.

[tuglu_pati]

Huh? 10% is a nice boost.This could be used for better framerates or better resolution.

[GUTZnPAPERCUTZ]

No, That was Overall system performance boost. This is 10% just for GPU, so it will be noticed more visually in games.

[Neonridr]

Interesting news no doubt. Hopefully devs can put that extra power to use.

[ginsunuva]

They can't.
Some people will still have Kinect connected, so they have to cater to the lowest common denominator.

[kneon]

No, the dev can disable Kinect when their game is running so that they can use all the power available on the device.