Microsoft Denies Kinect-free Xbox One Rumours

68
Lee Bradley

Microsoft has moved to deny rumours of a Kinect-less Xbox One SKU.

Yesterday a number of sites carried a story claiming that the platform holder was set to release a version of Xbox One without a Kinect camera and with a smaller hard drive, in an effort to match the PlayStation 4’s price.

And, considering the amount of flip-flopping from Microsoft recently, you can kinda see why a lot of people believed it. But, alas, it was all balls.

“We have no plans to introduce an Xbox One without Kinect,” Microsoft told Kotaku. “We believe in Kinect and the value it brings to both games and entertainment, and believe $499 is a great value for what consumers receive with their Xbox One."

So that’s that. Or is it? Notice Microsoft said “We have no plans to introduce an Xbox One without Kinect.” Introduce. So it would seem they’ve left the door open for a Kinect-less SKU later down the line.

Comments
68
  • Any more 180's by Microsoft, and we'll have ourselves a Xbox 720.
  • Can we please stop the rumours for a kinect free X1? It won't happen.
  • Yeah well ... even if you believe in it, your consumers don't and that's where the problem lies.
  • personally dont mind the kinect. the 500GB hard drive though is not big enough (especially if you have to install discs for whatever reason). should have given us at least 2TB
  • being forced to have a Kinect always hooked up is the only really stopping me from buying the xbox one
  • “We believe in Kinect and the value it brings to both games and entertainment, and believe $499 is a great value for what consumers receive with their Xbox One." And thats the problem M$, its what you believe and not listening to your fan base. Kinect was never wanted and is only used by the minority of users. Hell, I only use it when I can be arsed to play on Kinect Sports which is a rarity nowadays.
  • RIP market research.
  • I sure its great but never had it, never tired it, never want it... my gaming room is tiny and I don't have room to move around like a ninja.
  • Well they are going to have to 'introduce' one at some point. If I get an x1 and it breaks (but the Kinect is still fully functional) then I'm gonna be pretty pissed if I can't but a replacement console without Kinect (and vice versa). Whether or not x1 will work without a Kinect, I can't say, but they've got to offer it for this reason alone... Haven't they?
  • All the more reason to hold fire buying one imo. Microsoft will drop Kinect eventually, surely? It might take them a while to swallow their pride and realise its a useless device that no one wants but eventually a Kinect-less bundle will be released with a decent price cut. Assuming there are some decent exclusives out by then, that's when I will grab one (hopefully at a £250-300 price point.
  • @2 & 7 they did do market research and listen to consumers you gotta realize that you are on a gaming site you are vocal monitory the majority of users like Kinect sports and dance central. But they found most liked the voice, and simple features added to gameplay its why dead rising, witcher 3 and a lot more games are adding in features not to make you jump around but to have a controller and then use voice to call zombies, or if one grabs you shrug your shoulder to push him off you. The thing is if they do not add it in it will be the same with xbox you will have a split in the middle and developers will just not use it as its a waste of time as not everyone has it. What developers have stated about Sony's camera as they were suppose to bundle it then cut it to beat xbox price at the last minute *I do wish you could unplug it as if I take it to my friends place I don't want to have to lug the camera as well*
  • Microsoft is the Tony Hawk of the gaming community
  • shame... coz nobody actually wants kinect
  • We didn't want/use it this generation. So they force us to buy and use it next Gen
  • lol i love how people moan about the kinect ooooo it could watch me :(. no its a privacy setting that allows you if you so wish to send feedback via voice commands or motions etc to allow companies to see how its being used, its already in place with this kinect you just turn it off if you dont want to partake.... but living in britain we are the most watched country in the world, cameras on most street corners, shops, busses, stadiums, parks satelites that can read a newspaper headline, and we are worried about kinect, every phone call is monitored in wait for danger words that if mentioned can be recorded and held should any terrorist activity occur they can look through records and listen in to route out problems and people.... and lets not mention webcams, nearly every household has one, and guess what it can be activated anytime and you wouldnt have a clue... so whats the problem, what you dont also realise is the sonys motion controls with the pad dont work fully without the vision cam, where as microsofts will, and the fact that every xb1 owner will own one gives more incentive for publishers to expand upon it and bring in features that are more exciting than a dance game or run of the mill sports games or simple voice commands, imagine minority report or iron man withouth the 3d pop up lol.... and before you start calling me a fanboy n all the rest of it iv owned every incarnation of the playstation since psx including various imports from other countries right upto the vita, and since the ps2 i have not been impressed at all by it.... i enjoyed my old kinect for parties etc but i was sold a different item and they cut back down to time and release schedules with it, where as this one looks like its got the potential to be what kinect should of been.....
  • Really wish people would open their eyes and be optimistic as to what Kinect can bring to the table. Don't want to dance and jump around your living room? Then fine, don't! Everybody will benefit from features like passing a controller to your friend and Kinect identifies this and makes the needed arrangements so you don't have to. Things like that will save lots of agro to all customers. The problem is gamers being unwilling to change. I fully support Microsoft making all users need a Kinect as hopefully it will help people realize how they can benefit from the peripheral they would have previously rather not have.
  • Least we can turn it off. That's the first thing I'll do when I get the One,, turn the Kinect off.
  • @1 I'm still waiting for an Xbox 720. I bought an Xbox "1" LAST generation.
  • most people don't want a kinect. it's fun to test out, but just to see how stupid it is
  • But the kinnect is useful, well in other places anyway, I saw a news report after it released and they were useing in hospitals and things like that. Its just when it was released during the 360 life cycle it was added rather weakly, this time it was built in so it may fucking work!
  • Not gonna get a One unless they remove the Kinect. I have no use for it, not gonna buy it if I can't use it. Simple. Just sold my original Kinect for 40 euro, because I found out the thing doesn't work in my room... and the new Kinect also won't work properly so why would I want to pay for it? It makes no sense. Can't be bothered anymore. Microsoft will find on their own alot of people don't like paying for things they dont want. Like every other "feature" they will do a 180 in 1 year time for sure and will sell the One without Kinect. 100% sure of that.
  • I would've still bought the Kinect one.
  • If they do sell a Kinect free SKU #21 then it's because of pessimists like you. You say the new Kinect wont work properly, why not? The current Kinect isn't perfect but overall it works, Microsoft appear to have addressed all the issues with the current version and are now ready to show the full potential of Kinect. Man my blood boils when I read comments like yours.
  • not gonna happen
  • well they wont get a sale out of me then, shame, next gen Fable is the only franchise i'll miss, GoW is now a CoD clone, halo is going that way, and Dead Rising 3 will probably go Multi-Platform anyways...
  • Considering the effort it would take to rewrite the OS and the amount of features the console would lose I doubt it will happen. Also what about all the games that are now coded to use it? I don't think the devs would be lining up to patch it out. Also I expect Microsoft made some promises that Kinect would be there. If a dev was making a game that requires it in a big or cool way and Microsoft removed the Kinect I don't think it would go down too well, in fact I think they would probably get sued and generally hated for wasting their time.
  • Woot best new i have gotten in a long time love the kinect and all of is possiblities with gaming
  • Although I don't really have the space for kinect I welcome the other features it will bring for games etc. if everyone will have a kinect it means the devs can think of interesting ideas from the beginning, rather than target a minority like just now.
  • @26: re-write the OS? *lol* you do know the X1 uses the win8 kernel and the kinect is a peripheral device after all? so the kinect-support in the OS is as simple as a device driver for a mouse, paired with a config like those for the GPU. no rocket science at all.
  • Can someone please tell me why people hate Kinect so much? Kinect 2.0 is going to be VASTLY improved, and you can always turn it off if you're that afraid of your privacy being invaded. Honestly, I'm looking forward to using Kinect, especially since I never managed to buy one for 360 (and it seems that was the right choice).
  • When will they learn its not what THEY believe in but what WE believe in? If we don't want that crap stop forcing it on us.
  • Well, it's the only thing preventing me from buying an Xbox One at this point. There should be no reason why I should need the Kinect plugged in and turned on 24/7, especially since on the 360, I could easily unplug it when I wasn't using it...Stupid feature anyway....Why would I want Kinect to tell me my heart rate and or Blood Pressure? That's what a doctor is for...
  • @30, seeing as you love it so much give everyone the £80 for me and everyone else WHO DOESNT WANT A KINECT. after working all day the last thing i want to do is dance around, i want to sit down and chill out.
  • I don't really want Kinect either but like someone else said the hardcore gamers are nowadays the visible minority. Most people I know have Kinect with their Xbox. I would only call them casual gamers as the may only turn their Xbox on once in a week or two. When they due it's something Kinect or Netflix. Hate to say it but Microsoft has done the research.
  • If they sold a kinect free version, I would purchase that instead. After years of exposure to Nintendo Wii and Kintect, I am comfortable saying its is not for me. It is unfortunate that I am forced to pay for the Kinect if I want to play Xbox one.
  • Why the hell do people keep asking for this?!?!? Don't get me wrong, I know many people don't want it, I get that and I support that decision. But doesn't anybody get why they aren't removing it?!?!? Because they DESIGNED the Xbox One to ALWAYS have a kinect on! If you don't have the kinect plugged in you can't use the damn system! Why did they do that? Two Things: 1. The obvious one: MONEY!!! 2. To keep the Kinect Market alive! Not many people would buy kinect 2 compared to the first one, that is why they are putting it together! and by forcing you to always have an on, functioning kinect to just even use the damn system, they will make sure that when the kinect breaks, you will have to give them $100+!!! From a money making perspective, this plan is freaking genius!!! from a costumer perspective, that's bullshit. Hope this clarifies the situation for some.
  • I find it funny how many people Nobody wants kinect. Speak for yourself and not me thanks, I dont mind it at all, and think it is good value. If you look at the kinect sales, I think you'll find its very much wanted. And the comments 'i never use kinect, apart from playing kinect sports', bit of a contradiction right there. Some people need to get a life.
  • Moan,moan,moan, for fuck's sake Xbox one will have Kinect if you don't want to use it don't. I'm looking forward to see what it can do, but please just stop the 5 year old foot stamping its getting old. And as for the "its watching us-listening to us" crew you give your selves to much credit nobody cares what you say or do(unless your asking Kinect for help to build a bomb, "Xbox,Bing how do i build a bomb" that might send the men in black round.
  • fuck you i hate it when they speak thru the kinect if the xbox one only run thru the kinect than they can put it in there ass - and why usa need to pay 499 dollars and we 499 euros (499 euros = 663 dollars) that fucking bullshit
  • I've appreciated the heavy amounts of turning around they've done so far, but really, this is the one thing I wanted switched the most. I really don't want to be forced to have a Kinect set up all the time.
  • I have a kinect but don't use it very often as i prefer a controller. the only question i have is how will it work for people with disabilities because i have a friend in a wheel chair so cant use kinect to its full potential, if it like the current gen where you have games that are dedicated to jumping around and core games just use the features for voice and hand movement prompt's then we will both be happy but if all games start using full body controls then some gamers like my friend will be left out. anyone who has any more insight on this who could answer my question would be greatly appreciated.
  • Your funeral MS.
  • I, for one, am very excited about the new kinect. The anti-kinect circle jerk on this website is strong.
  • I want the kinect quite a lot. had tons of fun with the original one, and this one needs half the space and lighting wont affect game play. so I want that kinect on there.
  • Is there any decision about this bloody console that MS haven't backtracked on yet.
  • No kinect = no problem. That works for me. Make it optional so people that want the device can buy it, and people that don't want the device don't have to ignore the console because the unwanted device is being shoved down their throats.
  • @33 You don't even have to use Kinect for gaming. Hell, if you're as tired as you claim to be, you can use Kinect's voice recognition to switch between whatever you wanna do with ease.
  • Hey people guess what? The Kinect is part of the new Xbox. Not an option, I'm so sick of seeing these articles on this site, as much as I love this site I'm getting tired of Lee Bradley's jumping on every little thing to slam the One. Why don't you just jump over to PS3 trophies since you hate it so much? All these idiots said Xbox obviously wasn't in touch with their fan base when they said the 360 would require a broadband connection and would cost money to access too. But guess what, every crybaby still bought a 360 after it was obvious that Microsoft was right and their online gameplay and Xbox live completely blew Sony out of the water. Why don't you guys stop threatening to jump ship and just do it all ready. We're sick of hearing you whine, it sounds like a preschool in these comment sections anymore.
  • As long as my Kinect can just sit there and be on but I don't HAVE to use it then it doesn't really bother me to much. But if games start to pretty much "force" you to use it in EVERY title then I think that will be a major Downfall. I don't think it sounds fun to talk at my TV when most of the time I'm playing video games, I play by myself or online with friends. Therefore I think trying to "talk" to my TV would just be a neucents and just make it more frustrating cause it will think I'm always talking to it when I'm not possibly? Idk we shall see. Just cause the Kinect comes with it though doesn't push me away from wanting me to get my Xbox One Day One Console.
  • having the KINECT is the only thing that's stopping me from getting the xbox one
  • The price for the Xbox One isn't that bad considering it comes with Kinect. The problem is that a lot of people don't want Kinect...
  • Just complain some more, Microsoft have shown there lack of balls recently to stand up for what they believe in and if you complain loud enough I am sure they will again. Personally I pre-ordered it whilst DRM was still there and am still getting it after as I prefer the games and exclusives also Skype'ing whilst gaming looks awesome xD I just wish they would "Man Up" choose what they believe to be the best for the console from a Gamers opinion and then come out and explain why it is the best for gaming reasons and why you must buy it rather than what they have done so far and just say everything they have changed. Hell, while the are changing everything from consumer demands can we demand for fantasy english football as a Dashboard app lol rather than all American sports...
  • The kinect is also very large looking, where is it supposed to sit?
  • Won't be surprise if the everyone's kinect stop working after a year of having it and aren't able to use their Xbox one because of it.
  • I don't mind the kinect though I just don't want it to be required to be plugged in. I play my xbox in my bedroom on a computer screen 10 inches away from me. When I want to play kinect I move it to the living room. I don't want to have to plug it in just for the sake of turning my xbox on. I really don't mind that I am "forced" to buy it...i just mind that I am "forced" to use it. Also, I may have missed this, but they are pushing it so hard...have they even really shown a demo of what they promise it can do?
  • Well every other fucking decision they "believed in" has been reversed so why not the mandatory Kinect? I wouldn't mind a console coming with it but the fact a £450 brick won't work without it is just plain outrageous!! Oh demonizer Andy,comparing Kinect to the UK surveillance is retarded....do I choose to be watched by cctv? No but it's there and nothing I can do, when I spend nearly £500 on a gaming console that forces you to have a camera on and be connected to the internet that is something I do have a say about and it is simply something I won't accept
  • @55...You do realise that you gave up the right to your privacy the moment you signed up with your personal information to this website and various others just so you could complain about how the Kinect is going to invade your privacy...Besides you must have missed the part where the console does not have to be always online and that the Kinect can be turned off...Why do people forget that..It's been stated many times...
  • Sorry...that was targeted at #56...
  • Lol...I was wondering for a min Nate...I thought my complaint was reasonable.
  • They lost 900 million on the worthless surface so of course they're gonna force the worthless kinect on people.If they didn't Hardly anyone would buy it and it would be considered another flop for Microsoft.I have the kinect one and this thing is good only for Dance central games really. I'm pissed my xbxo one has the damn thing bundled with it.Not because "its gonna watch mee ahhhh" but because it makes the xbox one 499 WITHOUT a headset and charger kit.Now I'm looking at paying 250+ more than a ps4 bundle with battlefield, just to get the same experience on xbox one.
  • @darth...Yeah sorry about that...it was 6am when i typed that..my bad...
  • Christ the only thing I use kinect for is to talk to my family and friends in Northern Spain,Turkey,Australia and a few others its the only video to video that works great never freezes and its got a great picture other than that it just sits there
  • Mandatory Kinect means no buy from me. I didn't care until the NSA PRISM scandal started, but I will not pay Microsoft to set up a camera and mic in my home.
  • No Kinect free XB1? Guess I'm staying an XB1 free consumer.
  • Until they release an edition without Kinect I won't be getting an Xbox One. I really don't understand why they feel the need to shove Kinect down peoples throats, please just release two versions.
  • @48 If Microsoft were in touch with their fanbase Kinect wouldn't be mandatory.
  • I think the biggest problem with the Xbox One is the lack of backwards compatibility. Regardless of how great the Xbox One games may be, there will always be games on the 360 that are worth going back to and having to keep my 360 just to do that sort of defeats Microsoft's idea of having one box in your room that is the centre of your entertainment.
  • Would be nice if they made the XB1 Kinect free. If they really want to drive up sales they could take $100.00 off the price. The kinect in no way should cost more than maybe $25.00.
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