After much criticism and several twisty decisions, Microsoft has finally decided that they will be decoupling Kinect from the Xbox One. This movie immediately makes the console much more attractive as it’s now evenly priced with the PlayStation 4 at $399. The new SKU will hit retail this June.
Some may state that this is a desperate move on Microsoft’s part to improve sales, however according to Xbox marketing lead Yusuf Mehdi, the price cut isn’t just too ramp up sales.
“For us, it has not really been about that,” he said to Endgadget. “We have 80-plus million Xbox 360 users today who want an Xbox One, and many of them tell us, ‘For me, it’s an affordability issue. I’m gonna get there, it’s just a question of time. If you make it more affordable, then I’ll upgrade faster.’ So this is an opportunity to really make it easier for them to get there at their pace.”
I find this rather interesting as Microsoft has continuously listened to consumer feedback and has made some drastic changes to their original controversial DRM vision. This really begs the question why Microsoft advertised the Kinect as a must have in the first place?
Do you agree with Microsoft’s decision to cut down the price or do you think this is a slap in the face of people who bought an Xbox One with Kinect? Sound off in the comments section below.