14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has finally taken the big step that everyone was expecting and has officially announced that starting early June, all those who want can pick up an Xbox One home console package that does not include the Kinect motion tracking system and which only costs 399 dollars or Euro.
The company says that the announcement is linked to its policy of giving potential customers as much freedom as possible to choose the product best associated with their needs, but most analysts are saying that the decision was precipitated by the sales gap that the PlayStation 4 from Sony is currently creating.
A special version of Kinect will be launched in the fall, but a date or an actual price is not yet available, and Microsoft also plans to make a number of other changes to the Xbox One, including the launch of the Games for Gold service and the elimination of the subscription requirement for some entertainment apps.
Come June, the next-gen console might not be officially available all over the world, but it will be a very different device from the one that was launched late in 2013.
The Pressure of the Gaming World
Plenty of analysts and fans were expecting the price cut and elimination of Kinect to happen at some point in the fall of this year, but Microsoft has apparently decided that its next-gen console needs the change to happen faster than everyone predicted.
Contrast this with the original announcement for the device, during which the motion tracking system played a major role, and the various statements made in 2013 that showed plenty of Microsoft leaders explaining why the sensor was crucial for the success of the Xbox One.
Microsoft has caved in because of pressure coming from the gaming world before and the recent announcement is another sign that the company is ready to listen to what the public wants but apparently only when its business interests are directly threatened if it does not.
The June launch of the Xbox One without the Kinect and a lower price might help the prospects of the device in the short term, but it also represents a major problem for the company in the future.
Kinect Needed to Be Used Right
The version of motion tracking included in the Xbox One is very good from a technical standpoint, but Microsoft and the development studios associated with it have never managed to find a solid use for it that could justify its added costs.
The best solution for dealing with the issue would have been to find a number of development studios that had interesting ideas and try to make them reality as fast as possible, rather than support the device only via the rather limited Kinect Sports Rivals.
Microsoft now has to backtrack on statements, admit that it has made a mistake, launch a new version of its Xbox One and deal with the backlash coming from those who paid more in order to get it in its original form even if they were not enamored with motion tracking.
It will be interesting to see how the announced changes for the Xbox One will influence sales of the console and its associated games when compared to the PlayStation 4 from Sony, but Microsoft, even if it gains an initial advantage, will have to deal with this sort of pressure and questions in the future.