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Microsoft: Xbox One Won't Require Kinect To Function
UnknowingFool writes "Microsoft has reversed course on another aspect of the Xbox One. Though Xbox One will come bundled with a Kinect sensor, the console will work without it. Critics were had suggested that an always-on video and audio sensor could be used to spy on users. Microsoft's Marc Whitten said, 'Games use Kinect in a variety of amazing ways from adding voice to control your squad mates to adding lean and other simple controls beyond the controller to full immersive gameplay. 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.' This is the latest reversal from Microsoft since they killed the phone-home DRM and made it region-free."
Will it still not require always-on and Kinect-connected after a year? I'll wait to see.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I think a substantial portion of the population WILL still use it. Microsoft's stance change solely means they want to turn off the most vocal naysayers, that's all there is to it.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
I think developers, knowing that players will at least have the hardware, will be free to make Kinect required for their specific games. I'm imagining some kind of art on game cases to specify this, like there was for the 360.
The fact is, most games/developers weren't going to use that rubbish anyway. That kind of control simply isn't the future because people don't WANT to play games and use interfaces that way. It's FAR more of a hassle to wave your hands around than it is to just push a button or move a control stick. If it was 100% reliable like handheld controllers are it'd be one thing, but the kinect as it stands has like a 40% success rate at actually understanding what you're trying to get it to do.
Sorry Microsoft, but it just doesn't matter any more.
You've told us where you'd like to go with this, you've as much as told us you don't give a shit about what it is that we want.
So, as much as I like my XBox 360 -- I won't be replacing it. Certainly not with this thing which is more about what Microsoft wants than what is good for consumers.
My XBox 360 got banished from a network connection when I started seeing ads in the home screen and in the games -- and as much as you keep trying to back pedal, the damage is done, and I am not interested in your shiny new toy.
Maybe if you hadn't acted like such arrogant assholes who said "this is what we're making, deal with it", consumers wouldn't be saying "well, we're not buying it, deal with it".
Instead, I can say quite heartily ... not buying it, don't care, and go pound sand.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Simple answer, really...
They'll see if they can slip all that DRM and restriction back in once enough customers have bought one. They'll claim that piracy is massive, and that they had to take drastic steps, etc.
Sort of like how Sony popped in that little update on the PS3 that killed OtherOS, but this time with an excuse that the common folk will rationalize.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Quite simply, the main feature Microsoft has been touting to advertisers is the ability to detect who is in the room and target ads accordingly. The gold mine is not in Kinect for games, its for the TV/Video/Music/Netflix/Hulu consumption and the "big data" of being to tell that there is a 30-35 white male (recognized and tracked via Bing), 30-35 white female (Not logged in but we know her profile), and another 25-30 female guest that we have an 90% confidence is person Y who has a bing account. Lets target Ad X, Y and not Z.
MS will put Nielsen to shame with all that mineable data. There will be still be people who leave the MS eye on all the time, at least now you have the option to unplug it.
unwillingness to admit that they were implementing features users did not like.
That's because with MS Office or Windows they never have to! They are too used to having users suck it up and deal with whatever unwanted features happened (or whatever wanted features did not happen).
Actually having to deal with customer demands is a relatively new experience for Microsoft.
You can't really apply logic to the actions of any of the console manufacturers. WiiU is a flop, Xbone is a train wreck, and the PS4 is only praised for not fucking up.
Did you miss all the updates the 360 received over it's tenure? Many added features, but most increased restrictions, closed loopholes, and offline ban-flagged consoles so that when they went back online they were instantly banned. Many updates actually removed features such as Facebook, Twitter, and Netflix Party mode. Granted they may have been sparsely used, but it comes down to the argument of who owns the right to define how the consumer uses legally purchased hardware and what rights the user has to modify said hardware if it's operating code is copyrighted by someone else.
Singling out the PS3 as if it were "exactly one time in console history" that a vendor changed the capabilities of a system is at best dishonest and at worst a feeble attempt to make the PS4 look less appealing while doing nothing to improve the standing of the Xbone. With all three consoles failing spectacularly, the clear winner for next-gen is Steam.