Once More, With Feeling: Microsoft Has ‘Absolutely No Plans’ To Sell Xbox One Without Kinect

Microsoft wants to make it perfectly clear the Xbox One will never be sold without the Kinect.

A week after corporate vice president Phil Harrison told CVG, “Xbox One is Kinect. They are not separate systems,” he reiterated the point to Metro.

“Absolutely no plans at all,” Harrison said. “We think Kinect is an integral part of our platform. All of the magical experiences that you get, both as a games-player and also the way you navigate the system are made even more amazing because of Kinect.”

Harrison said Microsoft has shown how the Kinect makes the Xbox One experience “more amazing.” He said the majority of what the company showed at its reveal in May was only possible through the Kinect. He also discussed the unique features that the Kinect brings to certain games such as Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome. He also extolled the Kinect’s ability to enrich games in even the most subtle manner.

“Whether it’s a gesture, a very subtle gesture like touching your head to bring up some additional context in the game, or using your body to lean while playing a controller-based game.. We think these augmented experiences, where you have a controller-based game which is made better because you have Kinect at the same time,” he said.

Last week, Harrison talked about the Kinect’s ability to recognize the user, making the relationship with the console more personal.

“I have an Xbox One at home, and being able to walk in and say ‘Xbox on,’ and for the system to recognize me, launch and load my profile, and put my choices of content on the font page is a very magical experience,” he said. “It makes you think about your relationship with technology in a slightly different way. It’s personal. It makes you think, I wish more devices would do this.”

Earlier this month, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox One will not require the Kinect to operate but that it enhances the console’s functionality.