About The Kinect, Am I Reading This Right?

[SeventhSigil]

Okay, IGN has this segment where it sends Microsoft questions and they answer, yada yada, skip ahead, but today's most recent crop of questions included one that struck me as particularly interesting. However, considering the general public viewpoint on this matter, I figured there was a chance I was hallucinating, or misreading, so I come to you, the Escapist public, to ask for help interpreting.


QUESTION: Since Kinect must be plugged in for the Xbox One to function, what happens if your Kinect breaks? Like if it falls off the top of your TV onto a hardwood floor or something? Will the console cease to function?

WHITTEN: *Snip A Whoooole Bunch Of Kinect-Positive Stuff That Had Nothing To Do With The Question* That said, like online, the console will still function if Kinect isn?t plugged in, although you won?t be able to use any feature or experience that explicitly uses the sensor.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/08/05/ask-microsoft-anything-about-xbox-one



Sooooo... does this mean the Kinect DOESN'T have to be plugged in for the console to function in non-Kinect-y ways, i.e. games that don't specifically need it? Because, frankly, that'd be great! It also begs the question of just when they decided to do this, because to my knowledge, the general idea was that it initially had to be plugged in at all times.

 

[VG_Addict]

The XBone will still struggle. It's more expensive despite being weaker, most of the good games for it at launch are multiplat, and you can't do much without a Gold membership.

 

[SeventhSigil]

Eh, how it does or doesn't do matters little to me, the whole required connection was really my last noticeable problem with the console's design and policies, so I'm quite happy with the decision. I'm sure both consoles will at least meet their minimum sales targets over this generation, which one generates more or less income and has a larger user base than the other remains to be seen. I'll likely be picking the console up as an exclusives-platform sooner than originally intended as a result, maybe as early as May or June 2014. I probably won't even buy a Gold subscription for it, though, as I have no interest in playing multiplayer on just a handful of exclusive games. xP

 

[Genocidicles]

So if the Kinect is completely 100% optional, why are they still packaging the piece of shit in with their console and forcing customers to pay $100 more?

I mean I reckon a kinect free bundle would sell considerably better than the current Xbone.

 

[SovietSecrets]

Kinect doesn't need to be on for the system to work. It seems like its still going to come with one and I doubt they will release a $400 Xbone without Kinect anytime soon since its so close to launch and it would be a nightmare for stores. As for when they decided, probably since they did the first policy reversals.

 

[SeventhSigil]

So if the Kinect is completely 100% optional, why are they still packaging the piece of shit in with their console and forcing customers to pay $100 more?

I mean I reckon a kinect free bundle would sell considerably better than the current Xbone.

As mentioned, I'm personally happy with this compromise, but I do understand the frustration of those who flat-out don't want the sensor. All I can really recommend is to continue not buying it, given the recent changes- indie self-publishing, headset, now this- might have something to do with the fact that, if hourly Amazon pre-order listings are any indication, the Xbox One is still lagging behind the competition pretty much daily when it comes to non-Launch pre-orders. If this disparity translates to post-Launch sales, then there's a pretty good chance they'll either price drop outright, or come up with a Kinect-less bundle to make the system more appealing to a wider audience.

That being said, given they are rather dedicated to promoting the Kinect 2.0, it's unlikely any such change would happen until a fair while after launch, (if only so they can make absolutely sure they have to do it to reach whatever quota they have in mind,) so for those who don't want to pay the extra cost, it might just come down to sticking to your proverbial guns and waiting to see if they flinch.

 

[RikuoAmero]

If Microsoft were to start shipping a Kinect-less version of the console, it's at that point that in terms of what it does as a gaming machine, it will be virtually identical to the PS4.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to buy a Xbone+Kinect, I have no use for the bloody camera, but at that point, there's no difference between it and the PS4. Both have eight core CPUs (different clock speeds though), both have 8GB RAM (PS4's is GDDR5, so is faster, but other than that) both have 500GB hard drives (PS4 has been reported to have 500, right?), both use wireless controllers that are more or less the same, both have Blu-ray. Both will be able to run the exact same games in basically the exact same way.
Assuming a Kinect-less version is announced (I highly doubt it, this close to launch, Microsoft will have signed deals with manufacturers that it can't get out of), there's only two real things I'll have to take into consideration when choosing a console. Xbone will reportedly work with external capture devices like a Happauge or Avermedia (no HDCP on their HDMI connection) while the PS4 doesn't (their HDMI is encrypted)...but then the PS4 is more and more likely to have the anime games I love, which I doubt would ever be ported to Xbone.