Xbox One: Kinect Not Required, But Still Packaged With It … Of Course [Op-Ed]

Xbox One Kinect is no longer required to make the console function, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still in the package.

Microsoft has gone back and forth so many times with almost everything about the Xbox One that even the pre-order gamers don’t really know what they’re getting. We’ve seen the unboxing of the console by Major Nelson, as previously reported by The Inquisitr, but so many concepts surrounding the system seem to change every week. Nobody knows what to expect from Microsoft’s next generation console.

First there was the used game DRM policies and always on internet requirement, which are still in question seeing as Microsoft seems to be planning to put it back in the end, but not all the way (what?). Then there was the headset issue, which may or may not be bundled with every console.

The latest in the back and forth stories surrounding the Xbox One involves the Kinect. While the console will reportedly no longer require the Kinect in order to function, that doesn’t mean the peripheral won’t still be bundled with it. So basically we shouldn’t expect a bundle without the peripheral to be sold at a lower price to compete once again with the now much-favored PlayStation 4.

Then again, they could change that announcement next week for all we know. For now, the Xbox One Kinect will still be in every box, but it won’t be necessary. If Microsoft ever makes up their mind what the console will or won’t do, they might stop losing what respect they have left among the remaining fans.

Microsoft needs to keep the games working the way they do with the Xbox 360, include the headset with the console, and be willing to sell the console without the Kinect for a lower price. And they need to stop flip flopping. Gamers who pre-ordered the console already are probably getting anxiety attacks just wondering what exactly their $500 console will come with or even do when they actually get it.

What do you think of the Xbox One Kinect not being necessary but still being included in the bundles?