Xbox One Kinect Required for Console Play Again - 'XBox One is Kinect'
Once again it appears Microsoft backtracking on a feature for the Xbox One, and this time it is a reversion to what they had originally intended.
Originally Microsoft was selling the idea that Xbox One would be useless and unable to function without Kinect, when they clarified and said it will be two different things people were at ease. Now, it is anyone's guess as to what will happen.
The Xbox One was to have the motion sensor Kinect plugged in at all times in order for the console to work. Gamers were upset at this due to certain security worries about the camera always being on, and also felt if motion controls were not their thing, an option without it should be available.
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"You have the ability to completely turn the sensor off in your settings. When in this mode, the sensor is not collecting any information. Any functionality that relies on voice, video, gesture, or more won't work. We still support using it for IR blasting in this mode. You can turn the sensor back on at any time through settings, and if you enter into a required Kinect experience (like Kinect Sports Rivals for instance), you'll get a message asking if you want to turn the sensor back on in order to continue," said Microsoft executive Marc Whitten.
Microsoft heard the cries and decided to announce the Kinect was no longer an integral part of the console, and even hinted at perhaps a Kinect-less model. Now Microsoft is singing a different tune.
The Kinect will be a mandatory part of the system.
"Xbox One is Kinect. They are not separate systems. An Xbox One has chips, it has memory, it has Blu-ray, it has Kinect, it has a controller. These are all part of the platform ecosystem," Phil Harrison, a Microsoft corporate vice president, said to CVG.
The Kinect is also the reason why the Xbox One is $100 more than its competition the PS4. It's sort of like two consoles in one that need each other.
"I have an Xbox One at home, and being able to walk in and say 'Xbox on,' and for the system to recognize me, launch and load my profile, and put my choices of content on the font page is a very magical experience," he said. "It makes you think about your relationship with technology in a slightly different way. It's personal. It makes you think, I wish more devices would do this."
