14 DAY TRIAL // The team at Microsoft in charge of the Xbox One announces that it will launch the standalone version of the Kinect motion tracking system that was initially bundled with the home console on October 7 of this year, and that the price is set at 149 dollars or Euro.
The details are almost exactly the ones reported earlier by a source inside the company, but the inside man has failed to notice that the package will also include a free game, Dance Central Spotlight from Harmonix, which has been specifically designed to use the capabilities of the peripheral.
The official Microsoft announcement states, "Xbox One is better with Kinect, making games, TV and entertainment come alive with premium experiences. The Kinect experience includes voice and gesture controls, biometric sign-in, instant personalization, instant scanning of QR codes, and enhanced features only available with Kinect in games such as Kinect Sports Rivals, Dead Rising 3, Project Spark, and more."
When the Xbox One was first announced, the company said that Kinect was an integral part of the experience and that the device would be crippled if the motion tracking system was to be removed from the core package.
The situation changed when the platform failed to deliver the sales that were expected, and the peripheral was quickly eliminated starting in early June, which resulted in a price drop and the doubling of purchases.
Microsoft adds, "We’re excited to offer you more choices for purchasing Xbox One – with Kinect, without Kinect for $399, bundled with games like Madden NFL 15 or Sunset Overdrive, or by adding the standalone Kinect sensor at a later date. It’s a great time to choose which Xbox One option works best for you as we look toward the exciting new game launches coming in the months ahead."
At the moment, the rival PlayStation 4 from Sony has managed to get past the 10 million in sales milestone and shows no sign of slowing down in the coming months.
Microsoft does believe that it can attract new buyers for the Xbox One by offering unique entertainment experiences, like the Nightfall series based on Halo, which will arrive before the end of the year.
Rumors have also been suggesting that another price cut will bring the price of the console down to just 349 dollars or Euro, but Microsoft has denied that it needs the radical cut in order to stay competitive.