Microsoft has made the wise decision to unbundle the Xbox One from Kinect, offering consumers a cheaper console. It hasn’t gone on sale yet, but once it does, I expect the Xbox One to experience a considerable sales spike. If things had been a little different, the Kinect excision would have been impossible. It was nearly built right in to the console.
“We actually built models of that,” Carl Ledbetter, the system’s hardware designer revealed to Develop.
“We pushed ourselves, can we put it all in one? Is that going to work? And the technology just isn’t there yet. As soon as you have something much bigger than the Kinect sensor people don’t want to put it by the TV, it’s too big.”
Yes, the whole thing was designed to work together, but that doesn’t mean that Ledbetter is upset that Kinect he helped design is being relegated to optional accessory.
“It’s all designed together, it’s holistic. And in the version that consumers can buy that doesn’t include Kinect, it still all works,” he says. “And so I think I share the same opinion that everybody does that by having more choice for the consumer, and a new point of entry for them, it’s great.
“So somebody can now buy the console and who knows after a day, or a week or a month they can always go buy the Kinect sensor, add it and plug it right in.”
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. Kinect as a whole has damaged the Xbox brand, and the decision to bundle it with the Xbox One was a mistake; it’s R&D that could have gone in to creating a better console.
It is, however, great to see Microsoft waking up an offering its consumers choice, and this decision should help lessen the sales gulf between the One and the PS4.
Last Updated: May 22, 2014
VampyreSquirrel
May 22, 2014 at 11:36
Noooo! What are they doing to CatDog!?!?
Victor "Vicky" Moolman
May 22, 2014 at 12:42
This is the truth behind cartoons that no one ever sees…
VampyreSquirrel
May 22, 2014 at 12:51
Vicky LIVES!!! Hi Vicky! How you doing?
Yeah… like what Buttercup’s really like with Mojo Jojo.
http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Ruined_db7086_1542468.jpg
Norm
May 22, 2014 at 12:52
Lol.
Victor "Vicky" Moolman
May 22, 2014 at 13:07
I am doing just fine. This pictures raises the question: Does she like green because of Mojo Jojo or does he dye himself green because she likes green?
VampyreSquirrel
May 22, 2014 at 13:26
Glad to hear you’re doing well.
Maybe they’re both green because they’re made for each other? lol
Weanerdog
May 22, 2014 at 15:58
Well her eyes are green so i assume that it is just Mojo who does the dyeing
Pieter Kruger
May 22, 2014 at 11:39
Very happy with my Kinect and even if I mostly only use it for Skype and voice commands, I wouldn’t want it without it at all! This will undoubtedly open the console up to more people, so it’s all good I guess!?
Hammersteyn
May 22, 2014 at 11:40
Cheaper too. Heck now I might even buy one.
Hammersteyn
May 22, 2014 at 11:40
Forcing people to buy the Kinect was a pretty ballsy move to being with
http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/aVO843P_460sa.gif
Spathi
May 22, 2014 at 12:00
Well clearly the animal kingdom is also susceptible to crabs…
RinceofFuturePast
May 22, 2014 at 11:49
But I thought it was impossible to have the Xbox One without the Kinect 2.0 *Waits a few months. It IS possibru!
Rikus
May 22, 2014 at 11:50
Might be Microsoft’s new motto: “Making the impossible possible”.
RinceofFuturePast
May 22, 2014 at 11:51
Haha. “Making what we say is impossible, in 180 easy steps” 🙂
Hammersteyn
May 22, 2014 at 11:51
Or “changing our minds when we want to because fuck you!”
Xcalibersa
May 22, 2014 at 11:52
I just feel sorry for the 5M people who have now bought a device that is completely useless and will never get support. But, I’m sure that they will say they are happy. Really hope the xbox catches up, competition is always good.
Hammersteyn
May 22, 2014 at 11:54
I’m not so sure they are going to kill of the Kinect just yet, but it needs a lot more work I feel. Or they are just releasing the wrong games for it.
Xcalibersa
May 22, 2014 at 12:17
With all the talk about how disabling it will give it a bit more power to close the gap (*try) to the PS4, while at the same time rumors about the PS4 getting a important software update to boost performance, I dont see any company beside MS making a Kinect game
Maxiviper117
May 22, 2014 at 12:06
Always wondered, how the frak does CatDog take a dump??
derp
May 22, 2014 at 12:12
Its like Mr Chunks from Futurama:
derp
May 22, 2014 at 12:15
I am assuming like Mr Chunks from Futurama:
http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Futurama_740ef3_1220967.gif
Hammersteyn
May 22, 2014 at 12:24
Hahahahaha
Victor "Vicky" Moolman
May 22, 2014 at 12:44
“what comes out the one end we feed to the other” – Bender Bending Rodriquez
Kensei Seraph
May 22, 2014 at 12:29
They should just make the Kinect compatible with Windows and start marketing it as a top of the range, all-purpose web-camera.
Weanerdog
May 22, 2014 at 16:01
Why the hell would anyone want that?
Kensei Seraph
May 22, 2014 at 19:45
It would increase their potential market and give the current owners additional uses for it.
Weanerdog
May 23, 2014 at 09:14
True but would a potential market really want a $100 webcam the size of a small boat?
MakeItLegal
May 22, 2014 at 12:43
They could of rarther spent the money on DDR 5 ram instead of this dated DDR 3 ram …
I feel for Microsoft , they had a vision , but we weren’t ready ( infrastructure wise , also pr wise and product wise )
Anyways , I hope that pc games will step up now , that the new consules are in full swing , hoping for a real beast of a game to put my i5 and gpu to the test
Purple_Dragon
May 22, 2014 at 14:23
CatDog always reminds me of a band called Cat Rapes Dog.