Microsoft to sell Xbox One without Kinect. Removes requirement for gold on apps

[Madame Adequate]

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

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.

I didn't mean to imply the issue doesn't exist, it does, and it'll be a problem for MS especially later in the generation. I am not, however, certain that it will make the difference between success and failure. Perhaps it will, as I said it's only a hunch on my part.

Microsoft still have absurd amounts of money to throw around at attracting talent and buying exclusives

They already tried that:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...x-One-in-March

You'll forgive me if I don't pass final judgment on a console generation likely to last seven or eight years a mere six months into it.