Microsoft to sell Xbox One without Kinect. Removes requirement for gold on apps
Microsoft to sell Xbox One without Kinect for £349
Delivering more choice for Fans
So this is the news for today, didn't see a topic for it already. Microsoft are to release a bundle that removes the Kinect. They have also removed the need to have gold to use apps such as Netflix or Youtube. What are your opinion on these changes?
See I talk about more things than Nintendo...
Took them long enough.
Not really that arsed, if I ever get an XBONE it will be with Kinect anyway. I still use the Kinect on my 360 for things like Dance Central etc when I get bored.
The removal of Gold for apps is nice though, I certainly don't use XBL enough to warrant forking out for it each year anymore.
I personally haven't bought Xbox live since 2009. I got a year of gold then and played halo reach online, but I got to a point that I got bored and stopped playing. That's when I stopped paying for gold.
The price drop for the kinect is interesting for 2 reasons.
1. The price Drop is only £30. The standard going price for a new Kinect 1.0 is £120 (much cheaper for Used ones). The price drop does put it at the same price as the PS4.
2. The removal of the Kinect from the system means that it is no longer an essential feature. This essentially renders the motion/voice controls of the Xbone useless. This means that the advantage of Xbox one, being it's all in one entertainment system interface deal, is rendered useless. It also eliminates the development of Kinect features in games. There is an install base for the kinect, but if consoles are being bundled without them then developers will not go out their way to include kinect features.
This essentially leaves the console weaker when compared to the PS4. This means that the XB1 will need to ride on the power of it's exclusives which, as of today are: Crimson Dragon, Dead Rising 3, Fighter Within, Forza 5, Killer Instinct, Kinect Sports Rivals, Powerstar Golf, Ryse Son of Rome and Xbox Fitness. The remainder of the exclusives games are either on on another windows format, are timed exclusives, or are not yet out (e.g. unknown gears title as an example)
The big homie Mr. Shauna hit the nail on the head, that this essentially is a forfeiture of the Xbox One vision of a system that compromises on games to go after a larger demographic with its multimedia features. Which is a good thing for gamers, in that companies need to cater to the dedicated enthusiast for success, as demonstrated by the PS4. It's also good for Microsoft, as they'll be a lot more competitive now.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem for them isn't the original draconian DRM or even the mandated Kinect - a console using DDR3 memory for graphics simply isn't going to survive the coming generation of multiplatform games. This makes them much less attractive than the Wii U IMO, since Nintendo still has the gamepad as a differentiator. They will probably keep up with multiplats, but the gap will widen between Xbox One and PS4/PC.
Glad to see this thread, lately I feel like EoFF is uninterested in all the big industry stories that NeoGaf and such go crazy for.
I agree that this is a very good move for gamers. It's a compromise that Microsoft must have been extremely loathe to make. They were building their entire strategy for this generation around Kinect, and without that gimmick it remains to be seen whether the platform has the chops to compete. My hunch would be that it does and that Bolivar is overstating the issues with memory - Microsoft still have absurd amounts of money to throw around at attracting talent and buying exclusives, and XBone sales have been quite a bit stronger than I would have predicted before release. Forza's a pretty huge deal, and Dead Rising 3 and Killer Instinct both have some serious fans.
I expect it will play second fiddle to the PS4 this generation, but then last generation saw the PS3 take a loooong time to catch up before finishing in a very strong position, so I wouldn't bet anything I couldn't afford to lose on that.
Must taste like ashes in Microsoft's mouth though. I commend them for accepting that it was a failed proposition in a fairly decent time span and making adjustments, though.
Also I think removing the Gold requirement is a much bigger plus for multimedia ambitions than removing Kinect as mandatory.
What? Have Microsoft suddenly stopped hiring idiots?
Oh no, they are still hiring idiots. It's not going to be long before they do something else to piss everyone off. Perhaps not with XBone, but in general.
I actually think all three big companies can pull through this generation. Sony started off strong, XBox may not be able to keep up due to lacking system power and less exlusives for the same price, but after this they should be gathering up a bit more steam (Of course we'll see how many developers have been told they have to include kinect functionality only for this news to come as a shock to them.), and if the leaked nintendo lineup for E3 is true, the Wii U may finally start to get out of the 'there are no good games for it' rut it is currently in.
But yeah, good on Microsoft for, once again, caving in on their stupidity thus far regarding the XBone. It'll be nice to keep the competion a bit more lively.
Doesn't affect my opinion too much because I'm still seeing no compelling reason to buy any next-gen console at this point. But I guess this makes it at least a bit more likely that I'd lean for Microsoft again. I know this is supremely uncool to say but I've liked them since the original Xbox.
I'm not so sure he's overstating it. Both consoles are essentially running the same APU with the XBone actually being clocked higher than the PS4's and companies still aren't getting as much power out of it. Makes me wonder if it'll be able to keep up later on. Not that I really care that much since I don't want either, but it is looking like the XBone will be playing second fiddle in the horsepower race this gen.Originally Posted by Mister Adequate
Everyone has a preference. Mine is nintendo so dont expect judgement for liking one over another.
While I think the news is good for new customers, I still think its a spit in the face for early adopters. Consider if you bought a day 1 Xbox one because you were excited that all games would have the kinect functionality through physical motions, voice commands etc. These functions can no longer be intergral as the user base will opt for the cheaper option without kinect rather than the more expensive model. Will me a minority, but it's still insulting. (Disclaimer - the above is opinion. I personally hate motion controls, but like to think of all parties when talking about removing features.)
Edit - the consoles are severely lacking when compared to PCs, and comments suggesting the hardware for the next gen consoles is the equivalent of a top spec PC from 2009. There was report that watch dogs will not run at 1080p and at 60fps on next gten consoles. Instead they'll run at 900p/30fps (ps4), and 792p/30fps (Xbox one). PC gamers will have no issue with getting 1080p/60fps, so long as thier machine is built for it, and it can be upgraded if necessary.
A game this month is going to be 1080p/60fps on consoles though. Mario kart 8.
Yeah, this is what I got out of it. People who picked up a system based on the promises of its capability are going to be quite upset, because we aren't going to see too many Kinect driven games now.
There's also this concern, which holds for both early adopters and people currently looking for a system:sillies-20140513-7ab85.gif
Microsoft has no idea what they want to do with the system. They've changed so many policies and systems that their product is going to appear poorer because of it. Every time they pull a feature while the PS4 doesn't, the XBone is going to appear weaker by comparison. When it's running a neck and neck race with another console, I don't know that it can afford that.
I am curious to see whether Nintendo could do something similar by selling the Wii U without the GamePad, and what that would do to the Wii U's future and sales.
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Microsoft have been pulling U-Turns ever since the Xbone was announced. Whoever the smurf was in charge of their strategy and design plans is clearly completely out of touch. I wonder if they would be so obsessed with Kinect had the Wii failed. Either way, as Huxley says props to them for taking immediate corrective action but I wonder if it's a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Honestly, if anyone was expecting every game to have kinect support and for that to be a good thing then they were delusional. The most useful thing about the kinect is the voice options. Which is pretty sad really. But motion controls haven't amounted to much more than a gimmick, and the Kinect is by far the worst implementation of motion controls given it's complete lack of any physical feedback, and possessing the worst level of motion tracking fidelity.
I honestly think the inclusion of the Kinect was nothing more than a refusal to drop it, and a quick and easy way to sell the console for a premium.
They already tried that:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...x-One-in-March
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