Microsoft has finally pulled the trigger on delivering an Xbox One model without Kinect for $399. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer confirmed the same on Xbox Wire and said that all markets in which Xbox One was sold would receive the new model from June 9th onwards – which coincidentally, is the day of Microsoft’s E3 media briefing.
Spencer had a lot more to announce than that though. Games With Gold is finally coming to the Xbox One in June and will launch with Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault for free. If you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription for Xbox 360, it will apply for the Xbox One as well – you’ll even receive an extra game for the Xbox 360 with Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition joining Dark Souls and Charlie Murder.
You’ll also be able to use apps such as Machinima, Twitch and Netflix without requiring a Gold membership.
As for the future of Kinect, Spencer stated that, “To be clear, as we introduce this new Xbox One console option, Kinect remains an important part of our vision. Many of you are using Kinect for Xbox One every day. In fact, more than 80 percent of you are actively using Kinect, with an average of 120 voice commands per month on each console. Some of the most popular voice commands include ‘Xbox On,’ ‘Xbox Broadcast’ and ‘Xbox Record That.’
“We will continue to offer a premium Xbox One with Kinect bundle to deliver voice and gesture controls, biometric sign-in, instant personalization, instant scanning of QR codes, and enhanced features only available with Kinect in games such as ‘Kinect Sports Rivals,’ ‘Just Dance 2014,’ ‘Project Spark’ and more.”
Spencer also revealed that they will be selling Kinect as a standalone product for Xbox One in Fall.
What are your thoughts on these announcements? Let us know in the comments.
