Even though Microsoft hasn’t recently removed the Kinect from all base Xbox One bundles, resulting in a cheaper price, Phil Spencer says they haven’t abandoned the camera technology and remain committed as ever. It’s a “great part” to the overall Xbox ecosystem, Spencer told Edge.
“It’s not abandoned. We’ll continue to build functionality to make it a valuable part of the ecosystem.” The only reason it was stripped from the Xbox One bundles was so Microsoft could create more price conscious options for their fans.
“Price point’s really important for the console–we saw that over the holidays in the UK and US, where we did well when we dropped the price, which was great,” Spencer said. “And I want to make sure consumers have choice on how much they value the functionality of Kinect when they buy a console. If you want to go buy a Kinect console [bundle], then they’re still available. I think it’s a great part of the ecosystem. And if you want just a console, and either add Kinect later, or Kinect’s simply not something you’re interested in, we give you that choice as well.”
Spencer also went on to add that Microsoft still has many, exciting new plans with ways to improve the Kinect in order to heighten the overall Xbox One experience. But he says they won’t be forcing game developers into utilizing the gesture-controlled techniques in their games as they encouraged them to do so in the past.
“There are genres where Kinect works really well, but if you’re playing Halo or Call Of Duty, there’s not really a scenario that says, ‘Hey, I need a Kinect,'” Spencer stated.
Let us know in the comments below what you think of the Kinect for Xbox One. Is it worth the extra $50?