Microsoft announced today that on June 9th, a new $399 Xbox One will hit the market, marking a $100 decrease in the console’s price. The catch? It won’t come with a Kinect. Yes, the peripheral once described as “an essential and integrated part of the platform” will soon be demoted to a stand-alone purchase come this fall.
This likely spells the end of Microsoft’s love affair with the Kinect. The peripheral was brought in at the same time as the Sony Move controller, both trying to capitalize on the motion control craze started by the Wii.
Unfortunately, the Kinect had a number of issues ranging from input lag to needing a large play space. Microsoft tried again with the Xbox One’s Kinect, adding better functionality and a slew of interesting, if not at times creepy, features. A lackluster game library and continued lag problems, however, seem to have put the final nail in the coffin.
Will the price drop finally get you to buy an Xbox One? If you own one already, do you feel like the Kinect is worth the extra $100 dollars? Let us know down in the comments or tweet us at @GameSkinny.
