Microsoft Kills Kinect – Gameguide

Microsoft recently announced it is introducing a new standalone Xbox One without the key Kinect sensor.

This new standalone Xbox One bundle is being priced at $599, in an obvious attempt to close the sales gap with the PS4.

On the one hand it sounds like a solid move by Microsoft, but it does seem somewhat flawed. The current price of the XBox One Titanfall package on MightyApe is $627, which includes the Kinect, Titanfall, Forza 5, The Fighter Within and a play and charge kit. It comes in at under $30 more than the current PS4 price and the Microsoft price for the Kinect-less console. Which would you rather buy?

MightyApe do of course have the cut down XBox One listed for $549.99, which makes it an almost $80 saving, but if you’re going for an XBox One you’re probably a gamer, so the bundle still looks a far better deal.

The only reason I can see for giving the option of buying without the Kinect, is that people perceive the Kinect unit as costing them money for something they don’t want, even though in reality it isn’t costing them anything.

The big issue of course is where does this leave the future of the Kinect, and will it be supported by anyone in the future?