14 DAY TRIAL // Games industry analyst Michael Pachter has revealed that Microsoft will release towards the late 2014 period a cheaper Xbox One console priced at $399 or €399 without a Kinect sensor in order to avoid being overtaken by Sony.
Throughout recent weeks, quite a few reports have emerged about a cheaper Xbox One version, with some saying that Microsoft is willing to eliminate the Blu-ray drive in order to save money.
Now, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has thrown in his own prediction about a lower priced Xbox One, saying that the Kinect sensor will be the one to go.
"I think the big potential change is to unbundle Kinect. If they unbundle Kinect, I’m not sure that’ll necessarily mean a different Xbox One. I think that means a Xbox One without the camera and microphone array in the box. If you think through what Kinect does and what it’s necessary for," he said in his Pach Attack show, via DualShockers.
"It’s necessary if you want to play a Kinect-enabled game, and there really are none that make any sense except Dance Central on the Xbox 360 and Kinect Sports. I mean, really the rest of them are not that fun, and I don’t think very many people really bought them or care."
Pachter has pointed to current sales figures and emphasized that Sony's PS4 will keep on growing if Microsoft's Xbox One keeps its current price.
"Microsoft needs to get rid of Kinect and get the price down to 400 now, or Sony’s going to beat them. I think Microsoft cares enough that they’ll probably consider a price cut, and the only way they can do a price cut is to unbundle Kinect. So that I think may happen. I would not expect that in the first half of 2014."
As of yet, however, Microsoft is staying strong and won't admit to any price cut.