Microsoft Confirms Xbox One Will Function Without Kinect

[JamesD]

"Up until now, gamers and the press alike were led to believe that the Xbox One simply could not function without the Kinect sensor. The company clearly stated that it needed to be connected and turned on at all times in order for the new console to function properly in all cases.

 

Eventually Microsoft caved in to consumer backlash about having a sensor watching their every move even when the console is supposedly sleeping, so the company said okay, the motion detecting sensor can be turned off in the system settings. That was good news considering that Microsoft spent E3 2013 promoting an "always on" and "always connected" console.

..."

http://www.tomsguide...ml#xtor=RSS-998

Edited August 14, 2013 by JamesD

[Mendon]

Rumor has it that next week MS is backtracking on the name Xbox One and changing it to PS4.

[Metal Ghost]

Hey, they are listening to their consumers....i give them a lot of credit for that.

[Necron99]

Hey, they are listening to their consumers....i give them a lot of credit for that.

I see it more like giving in to peer/media pressure.

 

Obviously Microsoft wants to move to digital distribution, they would have done a lot better had the Xbox One just went full digital and no physical right from the beginning, it would have been far less confusing.

 

Next is people complaining that they have to buy the Kinect with the system even though it isn't mandatory anymore.

[Gabriel]

Next is people complaining that they have to buy the Kinect with the system even though it isn't mandatory anymore.

 

That was the primary complaint to begin with. The whole thing about the Kinect being always on was just an additional reason to despise it.

[Reaperman]

Somebody recommended they read 1984.

Of course now it might be trickier to write an app that recognizes when people are screwing, so it can power on and let the internet offer encouragement. (with achievements, of course)

 

Edited August 14, 2013 by Reaperman

[godslabrat]

Points for listening... But it's still damned insulting that MS thought this was okay.

 

Pretty much the only thing that could win me back would be adding BC to the unit, and I know that's a pipe dream.

[+Gemintronic]

Next revelation: Microsoft realizes I can function without an Xbox One.

[DaytonaUSA]

As long as they make me buy the thing, who cares? I'm not spending 100 bucks on something I'll personally never use. If you like Kinect, that's great, but it should be a choice. And now that it's not required, it makes me very confused why they dont have a 400 dollar sku.

 

All in all, even if I was happy about this, I'd be very hesitant about now. The system comes out in 3 months, and with all these changes and last minute made accessories (the headset they claimed didnt exist and now magically does 4 days later), plus their past RROD issues, I dont honestly trust the hardware and OS are going to be ready to go 100% on day one.

 

Fool me once...

Edited August 14, 2013 by DaytonaUSA

[keilbaca]

Rumor has it that next week MS is backtracking on the name Xbox One and changing it to PS4.

 

All they have to do is remove the underclock so it matches up to the ps4, and you pretty much have it.

[iswitt]

This means they've 180'd on...

 

- used games

- always-on

- kinect

- region locking

- who can develop on the console

- publishers for indie devs

- game sharing among friends/family (twice)

- the headset

 

I'm sure I'm missing something.

[godslabrat]

Sony must really be kicking their ass in pre-orders.

[Jess Ragan]

There really is no difference between the two machines aside from exclusive titles at this point. Not that there was a lot separating the PS3 and Xbox 360, mind.

[+Gemintronic]

Yes! Exclusive titles.. er.. what are they again? Mass Halo Effect of Two? Rage Call of Black Ops? They all sort of blur together for me these days.

[boog]

I think they've 'shown their hand' and their long-term plans. I don't think any of these policy reversals will last... once they make sure the xbone isn't dead on arrival they can start sneaking these unwanted policies back in. They spent millions developing their kinect tracking software and the online check-in/drm system for retail. Can't see them ignoring all of the potential revenue from kinect-fed advertising and publisher revenue on used games for long...

[Christophero Sly]

I think a $399 kinect-less unit is right around the corner.

[+bennybingo]

Hey, they are listening to their consumers....i give them a lot of credit for that.

They don't really care about their customers...only what is in their wallets. As I stated numerous times within the threads that were running during the Xbone reveal: the only way to talk to M$ is with your wallet.

 

I am certain that the weak results of Xbone pre-orders were a very "loud and clear" response, which M$ couldn't wish away. I spoke to them with my wallet...I pre-ordered a PS4...not an Xbone. Many other gamers did the same. Now, M$ is just attempting to do a bit of damage control. Too little, too late IMHO. My money is spent.

[Metal Ghost]

They don't really care about their customers...only what is in their wallets. As I stated numerous times within the threads that were running during the Xbone reveal: the only way to talk to M$ is with your wallet.

 

I am certain that the weak results of Xbone pre-orders were a very "loud and clear" response, which M$ couldn't wish away. I spoke to them with my wallet...I pre-ordered a PS4...not an Xbone. Many other gamers did the same. Now, M$ is just attempting to do a bit of damage control. Too little, too late IMHO. My money is spent.

 

I love this....yes, Microsoft is listening to their customers, with the intent that said customers will purchase their product, and at *gasp* a profit for Microsoft. Certainly didn't mean to make it sound as if Microsoft was a philanthropic organization. As opposed to $ony (see, it works there too), which is a registered non-profit organization seeking to enlighten their customers. My point was that they listened. I'm sure that many would be ranting on the 'ol interwebs if they hadn't made course corrections, yelling about how Microsoft doesn't hear what their customers are saying, how stubborn they are, etc. Now many of the same people are ranting about how they only changed policy direction because they were afraid of loosing customers. Well, um, yea (?)! I guess haters' gotta' hate. At the end of the day if their policies for the console, which hasn't even been released yet, are no different than said other console(s), there is absolutely nothing to complain about.

[+bennybingo]

I love this....yes, Microsoft is listening to their customers, with the intent that said customers will purchase their product, and at *gasp* a profit for Microsoft. Certainly didn't mean to make it sound as if Microsoft was a philanthropic organization. As opposed to $ony (see, it works there too), which is a registered non-profit organization seeking to enlighten their customers. My point was that they listened. I'm sure that many would be ranting on the 'ol interwebs if they hadn't made course corrections, yelling about how Microsoft doesn't hear what their customers are saying, how stubborn they are, etc. Now many of the same people are ranting about how they only changed policy direction because they were afraid of loosing customers. Well, um, yea (?)! I guess haters' gotta' hate. At the end of the day if their policies for the console, which hasn't even been released yet, are no different than said other console(s), there is absolutely nothing to complain about.

I never ever suggested that either company is in the business of loosing money. I just find it amazing that Microsoft (see, I can spell it out ) managed to loose complete sight of what their customer base would want/pay for. I was a loyal customer of theirs since 2001, and decided to spend my money on the PS4 for the next gen. Not because I find Sony to be more ethical...rather, they just seemed to learn from their own mistakes made during the PS3's lifetime.

 

When the Xbox One was revealed, every single new "feature" they were touting as "the future of gaming", really didn't sit well with me.

 

-I prefer physical media

-I don't want to be online all the time

-I don't want a camera running in my house all the time

-I like to buy and sell used games

-I enjoy bringing games to my friends houses

-I share games with my friends on occasion

-I have more than one person over to watch a movie on occasion (so I don't want to pay a licensing fee)

-I don't play sports games

-I didn't enjoy Kinect games the first time around...and I wouldn't buy one again unless I had to.

 

All of the above and more led me to my decision to abandon Microsoft for the PS4. The fact that Microsoft is changing their tune 3 months later is, IMHO, too little too late. I already pre-ordered my PS4 and I am still happy with my decision. I still feel that the folks at Microsoft lost touch with their customer, and they are now making changes solely based on weak pre-order numbers. As soon as that number rebounds, who is to say they won't backpedal on many of these changes they were so adamant about during the reveal? Who knows...maybe in a year or two, I will reconsider. For now, I am happy with my decision.

[Metal Ghost]

I wouldn't disagree that they lost sight of many of the things that those customers who made their product as popular as it has become value. What I don't understand (and this isn't directed at any particular person in this forum) is this idea that a company should be punished and nothing that they do can make up for someone being, in their eyes, betrayed and wronged. And no, I'm not overstating this.....this is my honest opinion on how overboard some people have taken this. It's ridiculous.

[SoulBlazer]

I never ever suggested that either company is in the business of loosing money. I just find it amazing that Microsoft (see, I can spell it out ) managed to loose complete sight of what their customer base would want/pay for. I was a loyal customer of theirs since 2001, and decided to spend my money on the PS4 for the next gen. Not because I find Sony to be more ethical...rather, they just seemed to learn from their own mistakes made during the PS3's lifetime.

 

When the Xbox One was revealed, every single new "feature" they were touting as "the future of gaming", really didn't sit well with me.

 

-I prefer physical media

-I don't want to be online all the time

-I don't want a camera running in my house all the time

-I like to buy and sell used games

-I enjoy bringing games to my friends houses

-I share games with my friends on occasion

-I have more than one person over to watch a movie on occasion (so I don't want to pay a licensing fee)

-I don't play sports games

-I didn't enjoy Kinect games the first time around...and I wouldn't buy one again unless I had to.

 

All of the above and more led me to my decision to abandon Microsoft for the PS4. The fact that Microsoft is changing their tune 3 months later is, IMHO, too little too late. I already pre-ordered my PS4 and I am still happy with my decision. I still feel that the folks at Microsoft lost touch with their customer, and they are now making changes solely based on weak pre-order numbers. As soon as that number rebounds, who is to say they won't backpedal on many of these changes they were so adamant about during the reveal? Who knows...maybe in a year or two, I will reconsider. For now, I am happy with my decision.

And who is to say Sony won't backpedal on THEIR decisions? You think they don't want to stick in the same blocks on used sales and DRM? Neither company is evil, IMHO. Both consoles are good, it's just a matter of personal preferences and exclusive games at this point. Me, I'm happy with my 360. There is simply not enough for either the One OR PS4 to convience me to pre-order one. Basic rule of thumb for me I've ALWAYS lived by since the early 90's -- never buy a new console within the first year it comes out. By then the problems are fixed, prices have dropped, and a good catalog of games are out.

[Reaperman]

So for the people who don't keep the freaking thing unplugged, they'll probably say something along the lines of "we don't transmit your images to the internet"

...And then they'll quietly make them sign something about 'tracking their habits, blah, blah, blah metadata' in the xbl tos. And the camera will use what it collects through images/video to do whatever it wants.

 

Xbox will know

roughly when you're most active around the house and what you're wearing,

what room your system is in,

what other games/systems you play,

how many people you live with, have over, and their names,

what you like to watch on tv, (probably part of the reason for the pass-through, but the camera can get it too)

listen for predefined keywords,

 

 

They'd never normally know *this much* about us.

These are things that are very marketable for sale. ...and this is a company that basically hands everything over to any government entity that wants it for any reason without question. I think there's pretty good reason to put on a tinfoil hat on this one.

 

I kind of want to get one and set up some mannequins. Give them names. Talk to them...about pressure cookers and jihad

...and then one day, loudly murder one right in front of the thing. Maybe start carving it up. I wonder what would happen.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Reaperman

[JamesD]

The XBOX ONE was (?) a laundry list of what Microsoft wanted, not what gamers wanted.

Microsoft wants to monetize everything, charge for everything, control everything and maintain ownership of everything.

A brilliantly stupid way to treat your customers.

 

Frankly, the user setting to turn off Kinect doesn't impress me because they still have the power to turn it on any time they want.

Give me a freakin off switch that physically disables it and THEN I'll consider it to be disabled.

[Mord]

Next is people complaining that they have to buy the Kinect with the system even though it isn't mandatory anymore.

 

Well, until Microsoft confirms there will be a version of the Xbox 1 for sale that doesn't include a Kinect, I'd say it's still mandatory to buy one. (As it will still be priced to include it.) It just won't be mandatory to have it watching you.

[Reaperman]

So if xbox one is taking pictures of my wiener every day, can I finally attach one of them to my profile without looking like *I'm* the bad guy?