22 replies to this topic

[iEatTacos]

http://www.gamespot....e/1100-6419601/

In a surprise announcement today, Microsoft officially revealed a Kinect-free Xbox One unit. The system goes on sale June 9 for $399 (£349 in the UK), putting it directly in line with the rival PlayStation 4. Microsoft will continue to offer the $499 standard Xbox One with Kinect.

"We've heard that you want more choices from Xbox One. You want a wide variety of options in your games and entertainment experiences and you also want options in your hardware selection," Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said. "To be clear, as we introduce this new Xbox One console option, Kinect remains an important part of our vision."

The new Xbox One Kinect-free unit is available for preorder right now at Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop.

Today's news is seriously surprising, as Microsoft executive Phil Harrison said last August that Microsoft had "absolutely no plans" to release Xbox One without Kinect.

Spencer said more than 80 percent of all Xbox One owners actively use Kinect, with an average of 120 voice commands per month on every console. If you buy a $399 Xbox One and decide later that you want Kinect, Microsoft will start selling standalone sensors sometime this fall. Pricing was not disclosed.

Microsoft's decision to remove Kinect from all Xbox One bundles could be problematic for developers and other entertainment providers, as they are now no longer guaranteed that people who pick up their products will have a Kinect camera. We'll have more on this news, including an interview with Xbox boss Yusuf Mehdi, later on today.



Flip floppin for days. I don't know if anyone can believe what Microsoft says anymore.

[Kokirii]

you should really put everything from the article in a block quote

[magiciandude]

K, still not interested in the exclusives.

[Raiden]

400$ to much

[TheUltimateWaddleDee]

Not sure how they got those figures, but I'm now a bit more interested. It went from 0 to 0.0000000001, but it's still there.

[Expansion Pak]

Welp looks like the little kids are gonna have to buy headsets if they want to scream at you over Xbawks live if they buy the Kinect-less bundle

[Envy]

I still have no reason to buy an Xbox One (and, to be honest, most likely never will. They don't have any games that I care for, really), and that's too expensive for a console to begin with (in my eyes).

Edited by Envy, 13 May 2014 - 11:07 AM.

[xile6]

so then how much would the kincet be on its own? $100

 

i see this failing because as said. Most devs have made stuff with kinect in mind. Now it will be hard because they wont know who has one and who doesnt.

Also i think its going to cause problems when someone wants to buy a game and it says it needs the kincet and they dont have one. Pretty much just adds to confusion of the system.

[Scumbag]

Kinect is a monstrous fail.

[Zinix]

That's not surprising. I should of waited. 

[grahamf]

so then how much would the kincet be on its own? $100

 

i see this failing because as said. Most devs have made stuff with kinect in mind. Now it will be hard because they wont know who has one and who doesnt.

Also i think its going to cause problems when someone wants to buy a game and it says it needs the kincet and they dont have one. Pretty much just adds to confusion of the system.

I agree with this. The game boxes alone will be confusing, as since Kinect was included they don't explicitly say if it is require for the game or not.

[alex15810]

I applaud Microsoft for doing this. It's smart, they're correcting their mistakes. People don't want the Kinect shoved down their throats.The question is when will Nintendo wise up as well and start offering the Wii U for $199 without the gamepad?

Edited by alex15810, 14 May 2014 - 06:16 AM.

[NintendoReport]

Taking out Kinect to add in a start menu.

I applaud Microsoft for doing this. It's smart, they're correcting their mistakes. People don't want the Kinect shoved down their throats.The question is when will Nintendo wise up as well and start offering the Wii U for $199 without the gamepad?

 

Dumb move offering without the gamepad and $199? That price point is to close to the 3DS XL. Not only this but the Wii U just became profitable recently. Why on earth would you drop the price that much and start loosing money for each console sold? Cheap Mcguffin

Edited by Sorceror12, 14 May 2014 - 06:23 AM.

[alex15810]

Taking out Kinect to add in a start menu.

 

Dumb move offering without the gamepad and $199? That price point is to close to the 3DS XL. Not only this but the Wii U just became profitable recently. Why on earth would you drop the price that much and start loosing money for each console sold? Cheap Mcguffin

 

From what I've heard the gamepad costs around $100 to produce so it would be the same profit margin if they price the console at $199 without the gamepad since they are currently selling the console with the gamepad for $299. They would be making (or losing) the same amount of money per console sold. If it costs less than that to produce each gamepad then I stand corrected.

Edited by alex15810, 14 May 2014 - 07:20 AM.

[NintendoReport]

From what I've heard the gamepad costs around $100 to produce so it would be the same profit margin if they price the console at $199 without the gamepad since they are currently selling the console with the gamepad for $299. They would be making (or losing) the same amount of money per console sold. If it costs less than that to produce each gamepad then I stand corrected.

 

and the cost/ time to make the system and games work without a gamepad costs how much? and the cost/ time to have other 3rd parties who developed games with the gamepad in mind costs how much?

 

and loosing a key marketing advantage of off tv play for most games costs how much?  and loosing the ability to play VC on the gamepad costs how much? and what about the time and money nintendo is putting into bringing ds games to VC on wii u?

 

are you serious?

Edited by Sorceror12, 14 May 2014 - 08:13 AM.

[alex15810]

and the cost/ time to make the system and games work without a gamepad costs how much? and the cost/ time to have other 3rd parties who developed games with the gamepad in mind costs how much?

 

and loosing a key marketing advantage of off tv play for most games costs how much?  and loosing the ability to play VC on the gamepad costs how much? and what about the time and money nintendo is putting into bringing ds games to VC on wii u?

 

are you serious?

 

None of what you mentioned is a big issue. There are only a handful of games that require the gamepad, and none of them are top tier exclusives. Off TV play is nice but it's not a make or break feature for most people. All virtual console games can be played on the TV like every other game.

 

As far as menu and nintendo e-shop navigation goes, that can be fixed easily with an update. After all there's no real reason we have to use the gamepad to navigate these menus, it's an arbitrary restriction.

 

Bottom line the vast majority of people buy or will buy the Wii U for the top tier exclusives - Super Mario Brothers U, Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, and Super Smash Brothers U. None of which require the gamepad. And even beyond those, very few games require it. Zombi U, Nintendoland, Game & Wario and a few of the Wii Fit U mini-games are about it.

 

To me it makes no sense to continue to force people to spend an extra $100 for a gamepad that is not needed to play 95%+ of the console's games.

 

All that said I love my gamepad and use it all the time. But most people would rather save $100. And I want to see Nintendo and the Wii U do well, I think the extra cost of the gamepad is the key problem holding the console back.

[Azure-Edge]

So what are people supposed to use as a controller when you take out the gamepad? Pro controller? They'd have to replace the gamepad which would still cost. It's not the same as kinect. Plus they'd still have a lot of gamepad units on store shelves and in inventory. Then you have the work needed to patch basically every feature and app. You could use the xbone without having to use the kinect, the same cant be said for the wii u.

Yes, its possible for them to change the wiiu to make it work but it wouldn't be a smart move. They're better off working on improving the pad uses instead of dropping it.

[Raiden]

How would you even set up the WiiU without the gamepad? Nintendo would have to make major changes to the OS and maybe even internal hardware changes.

Gamepad is awesome. It works. It has real use. Kinect works only sometimes. Kinect has no real use esp in gaming. WiiU without gamepad may well be a car without wheels. A Xbox without a kinect is a car without a sunroof.

Edited by DreamCat, 14 May 2014 - 12:24 PM.

[Scumbag]

How would you even set up the WiiU without the gamepad? Nintendo would have to make major changes to the OS and maybe even internal hardware changes.

Gamepad is awesome. It works. It has real use. Kinect works only sometimes. Kinect has no real use esp in gaming. WiiU without gamepad may well be a car without wheels. A Xbox without a kinect is a car without a sunroof.

 

For a start, you can't launch the eshop without the gamepad.

[Raiden]

For a start, you can't launch the eshop without the gamepad.

Exactly. WiiU can't work without the Gamepad. Like a PC without a mouse or keyboard.