With news that the full-body motion control peripheral Kinect won’t actually be necessary for the Xbox One’s intrinsic functions, many have wondered if the company might offer a version of the console sans the add-on. The answer to that is a firm “no.”
“We have no plans for that. We are 100 per cent all in on Kinect,” Xbox’s Major Nelson said on Reddit.
A Kinectless Xbox One would likely bring the price down (the last remaining snaggle after all of those wonderous 180’s), but it’s just not going to happen. And honestly, I’m kinda glad. I’d love to see the kinds of experiences developers could try fashion when they know that every single Xbox One has a Kinect unit – instead of throwing it all on as supplementary, shoehorned junk.
Microsoft hopes that’s what will happen too, with an MS spokesperson telling Kotaku that:
“By having it as a consistent part of every Xbox One, game and entertainment creators can build experiences that assume the availability of voice, gesture and natural sensing, leading to unrivaled ease of use, premium experiences and interactivity for consumers.”
So yes, you’ll still have to get a Kinect when you buy an Xbox One – but you can turn it off if you’re wearing a tinfoil hat, or like to game in the altogether.
Last Updated: August 15, 2013
Hammersteyn
August 15, 2013 at 12:44
So they can bring the price down to the PS4 level. They just don’t want to? What will it take for them to listen to reason? The 10 Plagues of Egypt?
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 15, 2013 at 12:48
Considering the $$$ they spent developing the thing, if they make it optional it’ll be a big loss for them.
Hammersteyn
August 15, 2013 at 12:49
True, but clearly a lot of people don’t want it else they wouldn’t keep asking if it can be excluded.
Vampyre Squirrel
August 15, 2013 at 12:48
Maybe a plague of a million crotch fleas?
Hammersteyn
August 15, 2013 at 12:49
Itchy
Sageville
August 15, 2013 at 13:34
Wtf, a million crotch fleas, SANS “Fishhook fingernails”
TiMsTeR1033
August 15, 2013 at 13:45
thats pain on a whole other level….
DrKiller
August 15, 2013 at 12:48
I think they will release an “Arcade” version of it later without the kinect.. They just saying that now so that we don’t wait for that version to buy
TiMsTeR1033
August 15, 2013 at 12:51
@geoff Really proof read your articles man. “m any” and Sans the addon” ??? lol
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 15, 2013 at 12:56
proofread 😛
TiMsTeR1033
August 15, 2013 at 13:00
Is it one word now? where is a grammer nazi when you need her.
Well for you pointing that out here have a beer
Sageville
August 15, 2013 at 13:33
The Spelling Nazis tell me the word “Grammar” is not spelled with an “e”.
TiMsTeR1033
August 15, 2013 at 13:44
I feel so cold Jimmy, so betrayed! 🙁 ………Until I cut you open like a fish boy!! hahahaha Just kidding My grammar is incorrect..I know
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
August 15, 2013 at 13:02
Fixed the m, but “sans” is a perfectly fine word.
TiMsTeR1033
August 15, 2013 at 13:03
where would one use sans? please give me an example.
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
August 15, 2013 at 13:08
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sans
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sans
You are sans a dog in this fight.
TiMsTeR1033
August 15, 2013 at 13:16
I learnt something new today, why thank you kind sir
Hesperus Phosphorus
August 15, 2013 at 13:09
Sans-culottes. No pants.
John ain't got time to bleed
August 15, 2013 at 13:13
Sans of a bitch
TiMsTeR1033
August 15, 2013 at 13:16
yours was by far the best example 🙂
Drizzt
August 15, 2013 at 13:03
I agree with Geoffery on this one. Here’s hoping that bringing Kinekt to every Xbox Once results in more support and better experiences.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
August 15, 2013 at 13:13
I know there’s a fringe that absolutely hate that Microsoft has done all this back-stepping, and while I might not be Microsoft’s biggest fan of late, I am pleased that they are listening. Sure, it might be mostly due to lagging preorders rather than the cries, screams and feaces-throwing, but at least they’re showing that they are capable of changing.
My only concern is that most of what they’re doing now is reactionary. They’re reacting to the negative backlash or they’re reacting to Sony, rather than showcasing the positives of the bone.
On the other hand, there’s nothing like a bit of humble pie to clear the pipes. It did wonders to Sony, and ever since they got a moerse klap, they’ve been absolute stars. I’m hoping Microsoft will undergo a similar awakening.
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 15, 2013 at 13:20
After the reactions to both Windows 8 & Xbox One have been less than flattering we can only hope.
TiMsTeR1033
August 15, 2013 at 13:23
every once in awhile someone in the world needs a moerse klap, now if only someone could klap Robert mogabe… id pay money to see that.
Mark Treloar
August 15, 2013 at 13:27
That’s what they said about everything else
TrajanZa
August 15, 2013 at 13:42
Leave it on there….why are we all lobbying to have the P$4 and Xbone
so similar. Let them try it and when the developers give us games that
include the Kinect we will probably love it(a year or two away
perhaps). buy the machine you like, judge em by their games, and stop
hating. something different isnt always good, but quite often it is.
Deano
August 15, 2013 at 14:19
Unlike their other plans this one makes sense, they just better make the most of this to show what can be done with Kinect 2.0
Brian Murphy
August 15, 2013 at 16:24
I’m still curious to see if the Vita+PS4 bundles for $500 are true, and how people would react to the value of that versus the value of the One. Not out of fanboyism or anything, I personally think $500 is steep for allot of people…but if it’s 2 consoles??? Hmmm…that’s enticing.
Nathan O
August 16, 2013 at 06:53
That would definitely be a wicked bundle and peak my interest.