Xbox One Will Work Without Kinect

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Xbox One Will Work Without Kinect


It turns out that the Xbox One will work just fine even when the all-seeing Kinect isn't connected.

Kinect, as you surely know by now, is an integral part of the Xbox One experience. It's watching, it's listening, it's ready to do your bidding at all hours of the day or night - and that's actually a little creepy, isn't it? It's kind of like a little electronic Santa Claus, watching you while you sleep.

Microsoft tried to assuage the concerns of those who worried that their "alone time" on the couch might come under scrutiny by saying in May that the system can be turned off [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124447-Xbox-Ones-Kinect-Can-Actually-Be-Turned-Off], but now Xbox Main Guy Marc Whitten says the Xbox One will work even if the Kinect isn't hooked up at all.

"Xbox One is designed to work with Kinect plugged in. It makes gaming better in many ways - from the ability to say 'Xbox On' and get right to your personalized homescreen, to the ability to control your TV through voice, Smartglass and more. Kinect allows you to search for your content, instantly move between games and your personalized dash and more with just your voice. Kinect helps you pick up and play by automatically knowing which controller you have in your hands. No more need to interrupt your friends game or navigate through multiple UI screens to sign in and tell the system which controller you are holding. It will even bind the controller to the console if its currently unbound - no searching for special buttons!" Whitten replied when asked if the Xbox One will continue to work if the Kinect is broken. "Of course - these are just a few of the system wide benefits of having Kinect. Games use Kinect in a variety of amazing ways from adding voice to control your squad mates to adding lean and other simple controls beyond the controller to full immersive gameplay."

I quote that in its entirety only because of the stunning excess of verbiage used to answer a simple "yes or no" question that it actually fails to address at all. Whitten does eventually get around to responding, however, concluding, "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."

So, will the Xbox One work without Kinect? Yes! Minus the Kinect parts, of course. Hey, it's a new console, it's not magic.

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


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spartandude

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Nov 24, 2009
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now when they release a Kinect free bundle (which would be significantly cheaper) i will put strong consideration in buying it
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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I expect this to be the precursor to a Kinect free version of the hardware selling for $400 or $350.

Microsoft are reportedly getting hammered by the pre-order numbers for Xbone (lack there of) and they're making moves to salvage the situation. The only way they can be sure to do that is with a shelf price less than the PS4, which won't happen with the Kinect still present in the box, that would be too big a hit even for Microsoft.
 

Baldr

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Jan 6, 2010
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spartandude said:
now when they release a Kinect free bundle (which would be significantly cheaper) i will put strong consideration in buying it
Reversing online connection once a day, I can understand.
Reversing Kinect always being on, I can understand.

Not including a Kinect would undermind all the technology architecture that went into the Xbox One.
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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Baldr said:
Not including a Kinect would undermine all the technology architecture that went into the Xbox One.
Why would it do that? All the amazing technology they've advertised adds up to a fancy remote control in use, plenty of people will take the extra money and spend it on games instead. The controller is a more familiar interface to most anyway.
 

spartandude

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Nov 24, 2009
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Baldr said:
spartandude said:
now when they release a Kinect free bundle (which would be significantly cheaper) i will put strong consideration in buying it
Reversing online connection once a day, I can understand.
Reversing Kinect always being on, I can understand.

Not including a Kinect would undermind all the technology architecture that went into the Xbox One.
except isnt making the Kinect an optional thing already doing that? if so then there is no further harm in manufacturing less and opening up your consumer base to a much larger market
 

Baldr

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Jan 6, 2010
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spartandude said:
Baldr said:
spartandude said:
now when they release a Kinect free bundle (which would be significantly cheaper) i will put strong consideration in buying it
Reversing online connection once a day, I can understand.
Reversing Kinect always being on, I can understand.

Not including a Kinect would undermind all the technology architecture that went into the Xbox One.
except isnt making the Kinect an optional thing already doing that? if so then there is no further harm in manufacturing less and opening up your consumer base to a much larger market
The biggest problem with developing for the original Kinect is there wasn't a large enough player-base to make it worth developing for. If every system has a Kinect, developers do not worry if a player has a Kinect or not. Most of the innovation around the Xbox One was around minizing Kinect latency and integrating it into the operating system. Microsoft spent a lot of money on that part.
 

Adam Jensen_v1legacy

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Sep 8, 2011
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HAHAHAHAHA. They have so much faith in their product!

I might actually get one of these things when they release a version that doesn't come with the Kinect. And when they have some good exclusives.
 

Baldr

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Jan 6, 2010
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Kalezian said:
Baldr said:
spartandude said:
Baldr said:
spartandude said:
now when they release a Kinect free bundle (which would be significantly cheaper) i will put strong consideration in buying it
Reversing online connection once a day, I can understand.
Reversing Kinect always being on, I can understand.

Not including a Kinect would undermind all the technology architecture that went into the Xbox One.
except isnt making the Kinect an optional thing already doing that? if so then there is no further harm in manufacturing less and opening up your consumer base to a much larger market
The biggest problem with developing for the original Kinect is there wasn't a large enough player-base to make it worth developing for. If every system has a Kinect, developers do not worry if a player has a Kinect or not. Most of the innovation around the Xbox One was around minizing Kinect latency and integrating it into the operating system. Microsoft spent a lot of money on that part.

too bad not everyone wants a Kinect, let alone has the room for it to work right.

I know with how little space I have in my room the Kinect, hell, even the Move or a Wii would have a horrible time attempting to work with the games I have absolutely no interest in.


Maybe once Microsoft pulls at the very least their ears our of their ass and listens to customers, thus actually making a console people would want to buy, by example, a console that doesn't include bullshit that a majority wont use, then maybe they will see a small increase in pre-order sales.


I know for sure that I still wont get a Xbox one until they make a bundle that doesn't have the Kinect, and by their own admittance, would then be $100 cheaper, if not more.

Hell, I'm still sure the 'completely customizable homepage' really isn't, I mean with how much Ad's they showed I can guarantee that you cant remove any of them.

Because why should you get a discount on a subscription if there is Ad's, it just means more money for Microsoft.
It is an integral part of the system. It like saying WiiU should sell without the Tablet controller. If almost all games use it's function and consumer complain that they don't have it, then it becomes a problem.

You still basing your decision on the Kinect 1 and not the Kinect 2, which will work in limited spaces.
 

SeventhSigil

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Jun 24, 2013
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Baldr said:
spartandude said:
Baldr said:
spartandude said:
now when they release a Kinect free bundle (which would be significantly cheaper) i will put strong consideration in buying it
Then that is probably what they will end up doing, because they're going to want to make the extra income from higher software sales to recoup their losses. Reversing online connection once a day, I can understand.
Reversing Kinect always being on, I can understand.

Not including a Kinect would undermind all the technology architecture that went into the Xbox One.
except isnt making the Kinect an optional thing already doing that? if so then there is no further harm in manufacturing less and opening up your consumer base to a much larger market
The biggest problem with developing for the original Kinect is there wasn't a large enough player-base to make it worth developing for. If every system has a Kinect, developers do not worry if a player has a Kinect or not. Most of the innovation around the Xbox One was around minizing Kinect latency and integrating it into the operating system. Microsoft spent a lot of money on that part.
While I agree that an optional Kinect free SKU would likely damage the device's prospects in terms of software, whether or not Microsoft ends up doing it is pretty much going to boil down to what their sales are, versus what they want them to be, And probably even what the competition's sales are in relation. If they think they can make a substantial number of console sales by releasing an optional model, they will.

That being said, I don't think we're likely to see it happen until perhaps six months or a year after launch. As you said, they invested a considerable amount of money into its development, and so they are likely going to wait and see how the sales pan out. If there is any chance that the number of sold consoles will reach whatever target they have, being absolute numbers or relative a spot against Sony's console, Then they will be satisfied and leave the Kinect package as it is. If on the other hand they feel they are lagging behind, and whatever analysts work for them suggest that the mandatory inclusion, or even just the price, are what is holding them back, I would be seriously surprised if they didn't take action. Considering just cutting the price but still including all the hardware might just be throwing bad money after good, and dig them a deeper hole, if it is an option, they'll probably just end up releasing a cheaper option without the sensor.

I do agree, releasing a separate option can't help the Kinect's install base. But bottom line is they're always going to be far more interested in helping the Xbox One's install base instead. If the second one is faltering, the first one won't really matter much to them.

Please keep in mind I'm not advocating one option or the other. I am just predicting how the company will respond, in the event their sales continue as they supposedly are.
 

tdylan

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Jun 17, 2011
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Does anyone recall:

"It is an integral part of the Xbox One experience ... The number of features on the Xbox One that uses the Kinect is almost too many to count. I can't imagine using the console without it."

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.822167-Kinect-Reportedly-Costs-Almost-As-Much-as-Xbox-One
Looks like they got someone in there that is capable of imagining using the console without kinect.
 

Deathlyphil

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Mar 6, 2008
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Anyone else noticed that all these changes have occurred after Don Mattrick left?

Now if they can only get rid of the silly paywall stopping you from using Netflix without having Live.
 

Baldr

The Noble
Jan 6, 2010
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SeventhSigil said:
Baldr said:
spartandude said:
Baldr said:
spartandude said:
now when they release a Kinect free bundle (which would be significantly cheaper) i will put strong consideration in buying it
Then that is probably what they will end up doing, because they're going to want to make the extra income from higher software sales to recoup their losses. Reversing online connection once a day, I can understand.
Reversing Kinect always being on, I can understand.

Not including a Kinect would undermind all the technology architecture that went into the Xbox One.
except isnt making the Kinect an optional thing already doing that? if so then there is no further harm in manufacturing less and opening up your consumer base to a much larger market
The biggest problem with developing for the original Kinect is there wasn't a large enough player-base to make it worth developing for. If every system has a Kinect, developers do not worry if a player has a Kinect or not. Most of the innovation around the Xbox One was around minizing Kinect latency and integrating it into the operating system. Microsoft spent a lot of money on that part.
While I agree that an optional Kinect free SKU would likely damage the device's prospects in terms of software, whether or not Microsoft ends up doing it is pretty much going to boil down to what their sales are, versus what they want them to be, And probably even what the competition's sales are in relation. If they think they can make a substantial number of console sales by releasing an optional model, they will.

That being said, I don't think we're likely to see it happen until perhaps six months or a year after launch. As you said, they invested a considerable amount of money into its development, and so they are likely going to wait and see how the sales pan out. If there is any chance that the number of sold consoles will reach whatever target they have, being absolute numbers or relative a spot against Sony's console, Then they will be satisfied and leave the Kinect package as it is. If on the other hand they feel they are lagging behind, and whatever analysts work for them suggest that the mandatory inclusion, or even just the price, are what is holding them back, I would be seriously surprised if they didn't take action. Considering just cutting the price but still including all the hardware might just be throwing bad money after good, and dig them a deeper hole, if it is an option, they'll probably just end up releasing a cheaper option without the sensor.

I do agree, releasing a separate option can't help the Kinect's install base. But bottom line is they're always going to be far more interested in helping the Xbox One's install base instead. If the second one is faltering, the first one won't really matter much to them.

Please keep in mind I'm not advocating one option or the other. I am just predicting how the company will respond, in the event their sales continue as they supposedly are.
I think Microsoft has really done a bad job with showing off what they changed in the Kinect 2 to consumers. They really need a solid Kinect/Controller hybrid game to really show off the power of the Kinect to consumers and game developers. Project: Spark seems like a great title to try this.

Then there what could happen to any console, RROD-type problem on the PS4, Network issues to either the PSN or XBL/Azure that hamper cloud abilities, OS glitches that brick the machines for no apparent reason, ect...
 

Baldr

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Jan 6, 2010
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Kalezian said:
Baldr said:
Kalezian said:
Baldr said:
spartandude said:
Baldr said:
spartandude said:
now when they release a Kinect free bundle (which would be significantly cheaper) i will put strong consideration in buying it
Reversing online connection once a day, I can understand.
Reversing Kinect always being on, I can understand.

Not including a Kinect would undermind all the technology architecture that went into the Xbox One.
except isnt making the Kinect an optional thing already doing that? if so then there is no further harm in manufacturing less and opening up your consumer base to a much larger market
The biggest problem with developing for the original Kinect is there wasn't a large enough player-base to make it worth developing for. If every system has a Kinect, developers do not worry if a player has a Kinect or not. Most of the innovation around the Xbox One was around minizing Kinect latency and integrating it into the operating system. Microsoft spent a lot of money on that part.

too bad not everyone wants a Kinect, let alone has the room for it to work right.

I know with how little space I have in my room the Kinect, hell, even the Move or a Wii would have a horrible time attempting to work with the games I have absolutely no interest in.


Maybe once Microsoft pulls at the very least their ears our of their ass and listens to customers, thus actually making a console people would want to buy, by example, a console that doesn't include bullshit that a majority wont use, then maybe they will see a small increase in pre-order sales.


I know for sure that I still wont get a Xbox one until they make a bundle that doesn't have the Kinect, and by their own admittance, would then be $100 cheaper, if not more.

Hell, I'm still sure the 'completely customizable homepage' really isn't, I mean with how much Ad's they showed I can guarantee that you cant remove any of them.

Because why should you get a discount on a subscription if there is Ad's, it just means more money for Microsoft.
It is an integral part of the system. It like saying WiiU should sell without the Tablet controller. If almost all games use it's function and consumer complain that they don't have it, then it becomes a problem.

You still basing your decision on the Kinect 1 and not the Kinect 2, which will work in limited spaces.

Integral in this sense means that the Xbox One wouldn't ever work without the Kinect, but Microsoft just said that it would.

so, no, it is not 'integral' to the Xbox One, or the system would not work without it plugged in.

Which is funny, because:
tdylan said:
Does anyone recall:

"It is an integral part of the Xbox One experience ... The number of features on the Xbox One that uses the Kinect is almost too many to count. I can't imagine using the console without it."

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.822167-Kinect-Reportedly-Costs-Almost-As-Much-as-Xbox-One
Looks like they got someone in there that is capable of imagining using the console without kinect.
This guy just pulled up the post where Microsoft said that the Xbox One wouldn't work without the Kinect.

So, either way Microsoft is lying once again.

Not all games are going to use some gimmick motion control either, if I can get two version of a game, one requiring me to stand up and act like I'm having a seizure to play the game, and one where I can just use the controller like any sane person would, which one am I more likely going to buy?

which leads me to this next part:


No one has ever convinced me that I absolutely need a Kinect. No one has ever claimed a Kinect game was an absolute must buy for 360 owners. No game has ever used the Kinect in a way that actually utilizes it to the extent people claim it has.

Star Wars Kinect is an example, the one part of the game that should of been easy beyond fuck, the lightsaber duels, where you could actually play like you were having an actual duel was the second worst part of the game, the first of course is the dance mini-game. The only portion of the game that actually worked was, yet again, the one where you flail around the room like you are having a seizure. Which makes another point, nearly all Kinect games are nothing more than bundled mini-games.

I can hear it now though, "BUT KALEZIAN, Skyrim uses the Kinect! So does Mass Effect 3!"

Voice commands. Even then there is the technology available to make it so that the headset can do the exact same thing.

In fact, it was made last generation.

If you want to go farther, it was first introduced back with the SNES.


yea, think about how these 'new and innovative' mechanics hold up now.


Let's make this easy, name one game that I should absolutely must own that uses the Kinect as a primary input device.


just one.
Your making the assumption that the Kinect 2 is exactly the same as the original Kinect.