Kinect 2.0 not requiered...

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by Rincewiend, Aug 13, 2013.

  1. JarodRussell

    JarodRussell Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2009
    The amount of backpedaling on Microsoft's side regarding the XBox One is too damn high.
     
  2. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2004
    Location:
    Mannheim, Germany
    It's also Economics 101 to not pour money into a failed system in the hope that it somehow miraculously becomes a success.. at one point you have to decide to pull the plug.

    Now when the Xbox made its debut way back against the PS2 Microsoft damn well knew they had a huge battle in front of them and to break into that market they were prepared to lose insane amounts of money but they knew that the videogame market has huge possibilities so they were filing the Xbox losses under investment for future generations.

    Now they are an established player in the videogame market so that gamble paid off and no matter what we may believe the XO will be a success.. it could have been a bigger success without the abysmal launch handling but it is what it is.

    Now the thing is.. how much do people want the Kinect? Is it more of a (still novelty) toy to amaze friends for a short while while you browse menus Minority Report style or is a serious device with possibilities we may not realize that may change usage habits?

    MS wanted by force to have their customers adapt to their vision on how the XO should be used and the customer showed them the middle finger so MS cried uncle and went back to the drawing board (something unprecedent at this scale and it shows how scared MS is to lose this console race).

    Now the only thing remaining is the 100$/Euro/whatever gap between the PS4 and XO and that could still be a dealbreaker for many people. It is hard to convince people for an extra device they don't need to play most games or watch Videos/hear music and they will ask themselves why they need to pay extra 100 bucks to use the same features as the PS4.

    Games won't be such a big factor.. only the most hardcore buy a console for a single gaming franchise like Halo or Metal Gear Solid (many big games are cross platform anyway) so unless MS really pulls out a row of exclusive killer games (unlikely) or they really get out some features for the Kinect 2 that make it an unique experience like the original Wii (seriously.. having a group of people bowling with this small white controller was a huge blast) it may look dire for MS.

    So i fully expect them to offer a Kinect-less version at some point.. i don't believe it will be at launch as they will still try to push it but if that doesn't work expect one in 2014 including some marketing bullshit to justify that and make themselves look good.
     
  3. PKerr

    PKerr Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2003
    Location:
    Tampa Fl
    Agree 110%.
     
  4. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Location:
    Great Britain
    But what if you wanted something that only came with that model and no other. Like say an exclusive game that will never be availble on other console. What do you do then?

    You have two options decide you can do without it or get the one you want even if it comes with something you don't want right now?

    Can you say for certain if the next gen consoles last as long as the currant gen consoles that you will NEVER EVER want to use a certain feature that it has?
     
  5. PKerr

    PKerr Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2003
    Location:
    Tampa Fl
    I'd be in the do without crowd, if Microsoft wants my money then they will accommodate me if they don't I'll find someone that will, in this case Sony does perfectly.

    Here's the thing, I love playing video games but I'm not going to DIIEEE if I can't play something, I'll just find something I can play or find another interest.
     
  6. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Location:
    Great Britain
    Which is fair enough. I suspect the majority of the buying public don't care that the XBox One has Kinect 2.0 as standard. They'll buy the console for the games they want to play, simple as that. Sure there might be a minority that won't buy it because of Kinect 2.0 or some other feature that person doesn't like.

    Companies try to please the majority of people though what can happen from time to time is a vocal minority drown out the largely silent and happy enough majority.
     
  7. PKerr

    PKerr Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2003
    Location:
    Tampa Fl
    That may be but believe me that extra $100.00 will factor in at some point for more people than not.
     
  8. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    Glasgow
    ^^^Once Kinect 2 was not mandatory for the system to work my hands were free, so i cancelled my day one pre-order, i saw no point in having to pay that £100 extra for a device that will sit in a box unused next to the last version, i had no option when it was mandatory because i wanted the main unit.

    Now i can quite happily wait till a kinectless sku hits the market. :)
     
  9. Rincewiend

    Rincewiend Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2001
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Phil Harrison interview:

    http://www.computerandvideogames.co...phil-harrison-on-xbox-ones-core-games-charge/

    Lots of other non-answers though...
     
  10. FPAlpha

    FPAlpha Vice Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2004
    Location:
    Mannheim, Germany
    Yeah right.. platform ecosystem my ass. More like trying to shove something down the throats of the consumer.

    Can work if you have no or insignificant competition but in this case it may backfire in a big way. I fully expect him to eat his words when MS releases a non-Kinect version of the Box next year.
     
  11. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Location:
    Great Britain
    Only time will tell, but last time round the 360 and PS3 did well in different markets.