Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.
Another backflip? Back in May, Microsoft said that you'll need have the motion-sensing Kinect plugged in at all times in order for your Xbox One to function, but now they're reversing course once again.
We already knew that you could turn off the Kinect, but now Microsoft says it doesn't have to be plugged in at all. Speaking to IGN, Microsoft's Marc Whitten shared the news that the Xbox One will indeed work without Kinect.
"That said, like online, the console will still function if Kinect isn’t plugged in, although you won’t be able to use any feature or experience that explicitly uses the sensor," he said.
Asked just how "off" the Kinect can be, Whitten answered totally off.
"You have the ability to completely turn the sensor off in your settings. When in this mode, the sensor is not collecting any information. Any functionality that relies on voice, video, gesture or more won’t work. We still support using it for IR blasting in this mode. You can turn the sensor back on at any time through settings, and if you enter into a required Kinect experience (like Kinect Sports Rivals for instance), you’ll get a message asking if you want to turn the sensor back on in order to continue."
This is yet another entry to add to the list of stunning reversals in Xbox One policy made by Microsoft over the past few months. In June, Microsoft switched course on Xbox DRM, and they've flipped on all sorts of other policies since then.
Microsoft has said they have no intentions of selling an Xbox One without Kinect, so the Kinect is still mandatory in that sense. But Microsoft has changed their minds once or twice before.
The Xbox One will cost $500, Microsoft has said. That's with the Kinect. For comparison, the PS4 will be $400. The Wii U premium package costs $350.
UPDATE: And here's Microsoft senior exec Albert Penello, posting on NeoGAF about the flip. (Bolded emphasis mine)
We still believe in Kinect. We aren’t interested in splitting the development base. The more demos I’ve seen, the more I’ve used it – the more impressed I am. The team feels strongly about Kinect, and I hope we’re able to prove that when you use it.
We also have a ton of privacy settings to allow people to turn off the camera, or microphones, or put it in a state just for “Xbox On” and IR blasting – there will be a lot of user control for that.
The thing we all understood, and hence this change, is that there are some scenarios where people just may not be comfortable. We wanted people to be 100% comfortable, so we allow the sensor to be unplugged. And clearly the “it dropped” scenario is possible.
The most obvious thing is watching a DVD/BD, or streaming a movie, or HDMI pass-through, your experience isn’t impacted (except you miss voice and IR blasting)
There is no “gotcha”, but obviously, if there is a game that REQUIRES Kinect (like Rivals), or something where Kinect IS the experience (like Skype), those won’t work.
That said, for people who have privacy concerns there are user control settings, which we believe are great.
Thoughts?
While I like the direction, two things still stick out to me.
1.) It's still bundled with the console. It's still 500 bucks.
2.) Just like the EA origin fiasco, I don't trust companies that do something horrible, turn around and axe what people hate, and say that it was because they care about the customer.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/12 23:03:52
“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.”
Expected.
Not good, though. New Kinect has lots of oppertunities. Microsoft is definiteky trying to change the console industry - positive or negative, you choose.
I like it.
Anyways, good for the paranoid people that are afraid of Kinect 2.0
The reason it is bundled is because of hardware adoption rates and developers pushing for it.
That is not even a joke. Developers more or less refused to develop Kinect integrated games with the 360 because the hardware adoption rate was so low.
I still don't see any reversal of the need to take it online with Kinect on for that first-time sign-up...and the fact that the options are opt-out means you have to operate it first-time with the Kinect running in order to turn it off. Perhaps overly paranoid to have a genuine complaint about that if it's quick enough to turn off, but the principle of it is still bad.
Short answer: this is only fixed for good by making Kinect opt-IN, not opt-OUT.
"Hard pressed on my right. My centre is yielding. Impossible to manoeuvre. Situation excellent. I am attacking." - General Ferdinand Foch
Sigvatr wrote: Never before, in the entire history of video games, have I seen so much pitiful back-pedaling like in the case of the Xbox 180°. It's hilarious.
agreed. Everything I read about the xbox one stinks of desperation. Which is kind of odd cause I guess they had really strong presale numbers. I'd much rather xbox put out a product and stick to it instead of all the back peddling. Seems like its just a money grab at this point to try to get as much of the pie as they can, which is perfectly all right since selling stuff is what there job is, I just dont like the flip flopping. When make all this crap mandatory in the first place if the community went nuts and you just change your mind? Did they bother to do any sort of research in the first place?
MS had a vision of what they wanted to achieve. Then they only got complaining. So they changed to the internet's wishes.
And what does the internet think about that? Yep, interner thinks MS sucks for doing what they asked them to do..
idk, at the moment there still isn't anything about the xbox 1 that makes me want to buy one. The only exclusives I ever really liked were halo and gears of war, but I havn't cared for the latest couple of games from either franchise so they arn't really a draw.
Not enough for me to justify buying a 500USD conole to play them on I mean.
thenoobbomb wrote: MS had a vision of what they wanted to achieve. Then they only got complaining. So they changed to the internet's wishes.
And what does the internet think about that? Yep, interner thinks MS sucks for doing what they asked them to do..
Thats why the internet pisses me off sometimes.
Ive liked the direction Microsoft has taken because they are listening
Ive liked the direction Microsoft has taken because they are listening
Same.
This whole thing smacks of "Damned if you do, damned if you don't".
You know you're really doing something when you can make strangers hate you over the Internet. - Mauleed
Just remember folks. Panic. Panic all the time. It's the only way to survive, other than just being mindful, of course-but geez, that's so friggin' boring. - Aegis Grimm
Hallowed is the All Pie The Before Times: A Place That Celebrates The World That Was
thenoobbomb wrote: MS had a vision of what they wanted to achieve. Then they only got complaining. So they changed to the internet's wishes.
And what does the internet think about that? Yep, interner thinks MS sucks for doing what they asked them to do..
I don't follow this at all, especially the idea that the internet is of one mindset.
One group of people didn't like the direction they were going, and voiced disapproval from the beginning. Now that they're axing all the features that people didn't like, those same people are liking it more.
On the other hand, there are people who like what microsoft was doing, but now that they're doing a 180, they don't like the way things are going and saying as much.
Unless there's a demographic out there that specifically says they don't like the original idea of the xbox 1, and don't like the idea of the xbox 1 without the features they complained about in the first place.
“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.”
Figured they would change on it. The system without the Kinect will come in time. I'll wait for that then I might pick up the system then.
I have no use for motion controls or voice commands. They will never be as responsive as a controller.
I have no delusion's on Microsoft listening to their customer's. They're listening to their pre-order numbers and nothing more. If they actually cared about their customer's they would have done proper market research to begin with and they wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. Instead they just dug deeper in and made the situation worse.
We as customer's dictate the future of gaming not Microsoft or any other company.
It did when they repealed their DRM policy. Prior to that, not only did Sony Stock rise by several points, PS4 preorders outstripped Xbone preorders while XBone preorders dropped.
They did in fact listen to the preorder numbers.
I fail to see how their decision is a bad thing. it's not like the Kinect must be mandatory for everyone, including the people who want nothing to do with it, for those who are excited about its new features to enjoy said features. Now everyone gets exactly what they want. I can toss the kinect back in the box and forget it exists and you can go on and enjoy it.
EDIT: To put it another way, would you propose that cable companies only sell cable in a single package with phone, internet, and DVR at full price, even to the people who only wanted cable and internet? Now all they need to do is sells a version without a kinect in it at $400 and I'll be sold.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/08/14 02:15:06
It did when they repealed their DRM policy. Prior to that, not only did Sony Stock rise by several points, PS4 preorders outstripped Xbone preorders while XBone preorders dropped.
They did in fact listen to the preorder numbers.
I fail to see how their decision is a bad thing. it's not like the Kinect must be mandatory for everyone, including the people who want nothing to do with it, for those who are excited about its new features to enjoy said features. Now everyone gets exactly what they want. I can toss the kinect back in the box and forget it exists and you can go on and enjoy it.
The problem is Kinect must be mandatory to justify developers actually utilizing the peripheral as a key element in gameplay, rather than simply a gimmick.
Developers pushed for the DRM on the One.
Developers pushed for the mandatory Kinect.
I would rather see where they want to go with it than just have the 360 2.0
I strongly disagree with the Internet at large being hypocritical here. Certainly for me, and for a few others I've discussed with, it's more a case of them having been idiotic enough to think the proposed setup was acceptable to begin with, and the damage is already done - even with the reversals, we can't exactly trust in the thing.
Or, to put it another way, in order of most appealing first, here's how they could have handled it:
1) Put out preview that online/DRM/recording features etc. will be optional. Release console as specified. - so far - this is where the PS4 is at. 2) Put out preview that online/DRM/recording features etc. will be mandatory. Reverse the decision and release with these optional instead. - so far - this is where the XBox One is at. 3) Put out preview that online/DRM/recording features etc. will be mandatory. Release console as specified. - a worse option than the flip-flopping - but at least they would have stuck to their guns. 4) Put out preview that online/DRM/recording features etc. will be optional. Reverse the decision and release with these mandatory instead. - if taken, this option would warrant such hellfire as to make people boycott the company for good, and I wouldn't blame them. Because MS are currently stating these things are optional, both XBox One and PS4 still have a chance of doing this.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/14 16:12:23
"Hard pressed on my right. My centre is yielding. Impossible to manoeuvre. Situation excellent. I am attacking." - General Ferdinand Foch
The problem is Kinect must be mandatory to justify developers actually utilizing the peripheral as a key element in gameplay, rather than simply a gimmick.
Seriously. That's your logic? "We have to force it on everyone or no one will use it!" Gee, kind of seems like your argument is that the market doesn't want the Kinect but it should be forced down their throats anyway in the name of some ambiguous agenda.
And of course there's always the argument; The Kinect has never been and will never be anything more than a gimmick.
The problem is Kinect must be mandatory to justify developers actually utilizing the peripheral as a key element in gameplay, rather than simply a gimmick.
Seriously. That's your logic? "We have to force it on everyone or no one will use it!" Gee, kind of seems like your argument is that the market doesn't want the Kinect but it should be forced down their throats anyway in the name of some ambiguous agenda.
And of course there's always the argument; The Kinect has never been and will never be anything more than a gimmick.
I approved of the original content they had planned because it will happen sooner than later, just don't think the customer base is ready for it.
I'm certainly cynical enough to agree with part one but no where near defeatist enough to agree to part two.
Thats how I look at the Kinect. I dont care what version it is, the thing is a POS. I absolutely HATE the Kinect on my xbox. We only have 2 games for it (one came bundled with it and the other we got from a yardsale for 3 bucks) my kids cant stand the thing, it never EVER works right, and I leave it unplugged because when it DOES decide to function, its always when Im watching Netflix and it does some crazy response to the movie/show I have on. If I have such a huge problem with it, why the hell would I want another one with EVEN MORE FEATURES! Ya....no thanks.
Im glad they decided to finally changed their minds and you can take it off though, thats a step in the right direction
LordofHats wrote: lmao. King, I just noticed a hilarious typo in my post XD
1 Kudos to whoever sees it first
Gee, and you edited it 6 times, too... I can't see one. Did you edit it out? SHARE!
Seriously. That's your logic? "We have to force it on everyone or no one will use it!" Gee, kind of seems like your argument is that the market doesn't want the Kinect but it should be forced down their throats anyway in the name of some ambiguous agenda.
And also, thank you for so righteously, vitriolically putting into words something I forgot to mention when it came to actually posting earlier...
"Hard pressed on my right. My centre is yielding. Impossible to manoeuvre. Situation excellent. I am attacking." - General Ferdinand Foch
Gee, and you edited it 6 times, too... I can't see one. Did you edit it out? SHARE!
Yeah I edit a lot XD I edited it out first but I put it back because it is funny (imo). Its still there.
And I will up the bounty! 5 Kudos HINT: Its something you'd normally completely overlook cause its blatantly obvious which word I actually meant but its not the one I typed down!
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/08/14 21:38:49
The problem is Kinect must be mandatory to justify developers actually utilizing the peripheral as a key element in gameplay, rather than simply a gimmick.
Seriously. That's your logic? "We have to force it on everyone or no one will use it!" Gee, kind of seems like your argument is that the market doesn't want the Kinect but it should be forced down their throats anyway in the name of some ambiguous agenda.
And of course there's always the argument; The Kinect has never been and will never be anything more than a gimmick.
It's a logic that seems solid, given KC's statement about Kinect.
Right now, most of the reasoning behind not wanting Kinect with the One is "I don't need it for the 360 and I didn't like it on the 360, so I don't want it on the One". The market does not want the Kinect because they seem to be under the impression that the Kinect is being completely unchanged.
Kanluwen wrote: The market does not want the Kinect because they seem to be under the impression that the Kinect is being completely unchanged.
People don't want the Kinect because we don't care. We all watched the conference Kan. Still don't care.
"We need to force everyone to use and pay for the Kinect so they can see how awesome it is" is a stupid line of thought. And for once (to my joy) the market actually voiced its disdain for such silliness. All the Kinect features that you're excited about are still going to be there. Why do you care if someone else chooses not to avail themselves? You really think Microsoft is going to just let the Kinect die? That would have happened years ago if they were so inclined.
"Hard pressed on my right. My centre is yielding. Impossible to manoeuvre. Situation excellent. I am attacking." - General Ferdinand Foch 
