Xbox One to be Bundled WITHOUT the Kinect

Remember when Microsoft said that the Xbox One would NEVER be sold without the Kinect? Well, here we are just 6 months later and it is being sold without the Kinect. Well, not yet, but it will be pretty soon.

One of the main selling features of the Xbox One (well, one of the main features at least, many people were none too happy at the fact that it was included) was the fact that the Xbox One would be shipped with a Kinect. This was the second version of the Kinect, the older version being included with the Xbox 360.

As you may know, many people were not happy at the fact that the Kinect was included. Many people felt as though it was just adding significantly onto the cost of a console that was already rather expensive. This was not the only issue though. The Xbox One was announced roughly the same time as the NSA fiasco was going on. Many people felt as though this product, which was designed to be ‘always on’, would provide Microsoft and government agencies a ‘direct view’ of just about anybody with a Xbox One at a moment’s notice. Yes my friends. The Xbox One was part of a conspiracy theory. Crazy, right?

Anyway, you may also know that at the moment the Xbox One is ‘losing’ to the PlayStation 4 when it comes to consoles shipped. Many gamers do not seem to realize that the Xbox One is currently available in far fewer territories than the PlayStation 4, but hey, each to their own. Many people believe that the low sales were down to the inclusion of the Kinect. I seriously doubt that this is the case though.

Microsoft, in a bid to ensure that their product is as accessible as possible have decided to release a Kinect-less version of their device. The original bundle would still be available, but now there are options.

Now, I for one feel as though it is a great shame that Microsoft have backed away from the inclusion of the Kinect. Anybody that has used it will know that it is a rather nifty little device. By effectively dropping a lot of support, the vast majority of developers will decide to veer away from using Kinect in their games. I expect that over time we are going to see fewer and fewer games being launched on the Xbox One with ‘Kinect Features’. Sadly, I do feel as though this device is destined to gather dust for the rest of the Xbox One lifespan. This is a GREAT SHAME as I really did predict fantastic things for it in the future.

The Xbox One sans the Kinect will be available on June 9^th at £349/$399. Those that purchase the system without the Kinect will be able to purchase on separately at a later date. At the time of writing no information was available on the price point of this unit.