MS Announces Kinect Free Xbox One $399

MS has just announced that it will offer a Kinect-less Xbox One starting June 9th for $399. This is huge news with 4 weeks to E3.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/399-xbox-one-without-kinect-launching-in-june/1100-6419601/

MS also announced that all entertainment apps on Xbox Live will be available to everyone. No more pay-wall.

Saw this in system wars and think its great news. I was going to be a no xbox guy this time around soley because of the Kinect, so this makes it so my record of having all the major consoles of a gen dating back to the nes/sms/turbografix16 era will be unbroken.

Wow, pretty surprising. While niether of these things were issues for me personally this is great news because it puts the Xbox One on more even footing with the PS4 and will no doubt help sell systems.

Last few months must have been rough on the MSFT leadership.

It's a good start.

I'm curious to see how this will impact their support for Kinect. The whole reason they bundled it from the start was to guarantee a larger user-base for it, right? Not bundling it in with every Xbox One seems like it'll lead to far less of them being sold. Could definitely spur trouble for any Kinect-only games in development. Wonder if that will hurt the system's overall support in the long run.

It may hurt Kinect but overall I think it was hurting them more than dropping it will. I know it was the sole reason I was not buying one.

#collectionofbadideas.

Been to busy with school and other life happenings to post in a while, but I couldn't resist...

It's good to see the industry reject Kinect. I'd always believed and hoped that the device would die a miserable death and now it has, because it has brought no good to conventional gaming in any appreciable way. Controls became less responsive instead of more as a result of this abysmal device, and this decision will now put it on life support so Microsoft can quietly pull the plug in a few years.

Is it also mean that I find this news humorous to console warriors who defended the device's inclusion as a necessary evolution of the market? The market purged a tertiary device that didn't work well for the most important thing -- games. And that's a good thing at the end of the day. The sooner Kinect gets flushed like the turd it is (and flushed it will be, despite Yusef Mehdi's protestations to the contrary), the sooner the market can move forward.

As for Microsoft, I have to wonder where this leaves them... Their brand is damaged, perhaps badly. They came along with this ill-conceived device that was supposed to control how and when the player could play games, and a controller that played games badly. They then boasted about how the Kinect was central to their vision and could never be removed. They spent God knows how much on a worthless NFL deal, then spent God knows how much more buying exclusivity on an online-only shooter that actually caused hardware sales to drop instead of go up, leading them to drop the price on hardware and pack-in said "best game of the generation" (Microsoft's words, not mine), and sales went down even more. They've spent the better part of a year trying to unfuck the Xbone, but is it really worth it? I suppose I'll have to shelve the "Expect Less, Pay More" motto, but is "Expect Less, Pay the Same" any better?

Is another $50 off and the removal of the motion control detritus going to change the inertia? I say no, but I've long given up on Microsoft. It's obvious they have no viable vision of the future of the hobby, and I guess that's the worst thing of all -- when I heard the news today, I really didn't care one way or the other. The Microsoft that came out guns blazing with the 360 is dead, and in its place is some disfigured, confused sycophant that has come crawling back on its knees like an unfaithful spouse.

What a disaster this system has been. What an absolute, unmitigated disaster. I'm just surprised people are surprised that they dumped the device (Hello, Pedro!)

Oh, don't get me wrong. They were definitely right to remove it. It was the only thing stopping them from selling it for $400. I just wonder what the long-term effects of this will be. They originally posited the Kinect as an integral part of the Xbox One's design (as evident based on the interface was basically made with voice commands in mind). With it now being but a peripheral, I have to imagine their plans for what this system was supposed to be have to change drastically, especially in regards to getting developers to use the darn thing. It'll be interesting to see what the adoption rate on the Kinect will be once this goes into effect.

I'm hoping this will also force them to redesign the dashboard interface into some far less cluttered and unwieldy, because as it stands, navigating it with a controller is a pain. I shouldn't have to use voice commands for easy navigation just because they didn't create an intuitive UI.

@Shame-usBlackley:

Nice to see you post and I love the post itself. Great job.

@c_rakestraw:

Agree with all that also, I just think it at least puts them in position to right the ship. they need to definitely re-focus on games. I think Shame-Us summed up some of the problems they are facing nicely.

There have been many big public changes to the Xbox One throughout its development and post-release. I think Microsoft needed to hear the public outcry of its unpopular plans and features, or else it would not be nearly as popular as it is currently. Considering this news, I am pondering about the future of Kinect. Motion gaming will certainly reach a "futuristic" level of sophistication, thereby making something like the 360's Kinect be a distant memory, but the future of the Kinect brand is what I now have doubts about. Kinect 2.0 certainly has some visionary features for the living room such as a heartbeat sensor and facial recognition. How many people got an Xbox One for anything besides playing games as the main reason? Also, stuff like the NSA PRISM program being leaked by Snowden last year and the ability to turn on a computer webcam undetected keeps many people cautious about such features. Years from now, there will be great motion gaming. Microsoft deciding to pull back after supposedly going all in with the Xbox One shows they are not quite ready for it as a developer.

I think the Kinect is great part of the system for navigating and interacting with it but doesn't really have any games that are a must have for it. I do find it a bit sad to see Microsoft drop it because now it's now something every system sold will have so developers won't be as encouraged to try and utilise it. However if this helps to sell more Xbox One's then for that I can be happy with.

Agreed, it's a cool accessory to have for everything except gaming right now. Kinect 1.0 at least had Child of Eden.

@mattykovax: Thanks, it's good to see you are still posting here as well!

The other thing I find myself thinking is the devastation this will wreak on the Xbox division's bottom line, and how they will chase Sony on price this entire generation. And let's face it -- Microsoft was never keen on dropping price even when they were competitive; the 360 went for top dollar for the better part of 6 years, poor sales be damned, and most times, we saw "added value" bundles rather than true drops. Microsoft needs to get over that shit, pronto -- it worked fine when they were up against a Sony that was hamstrung by a super-expensive console, but that isn't the case this time. I also think this generation is going to go with a more conventional curve of around 5 years, which means consistent price drops to reach the mass market. I expect a $299 PS4 by next Spring, at which point Microsoft will be faced with two decisions: chase Sony further down the price rabbit hole, or continue to hemorrhage marketshare.

I think perhaps Microsoft's biggest issue right now is that they still have never truly led a console generation. I don't think they have any clue what is necessary to win a generation, and simply doing the opposite when customers cry foul is not any kind of sound strategy, although it certainly looks better given how awful Microsoft has run their division in the last three years or so.

At least they care.

I can't believe you people ! This is bad news..... We need Kinect ! :(...... At $399 ofcourse.

It was hurting them overall. And they may still sell quite a few Kinect 2.0 as a separate device rather than people spending $500 for with the console. You'd be amazed how many people will spend $400 now and then $80 later for Kinect 2.0, rather than $500 right now.

As always you are jumping the gun here. The brand is not damaged. Do we need to remind anyone of RROD? And this console gen has only just begun. Lewis Ward of IDC is already predicting that the Xbox One will take the lead in North America in 2015, with the new $399 Xbox. The system has not been a disaster and would have been had MS not made any changes. This is a business first and foremost, and many business often change product direction or navigate differently to be successful.

It was a smart move by MS and one they needed to do. And most of all this benefits the consumer base. So long as MS delivers software, many gamers will forget this years down the road.

Devastation to the bottom line...Did you see Sony release its financials today..1.3 billion dollar loss, 4th loss in 5 years. CEO and top brass have taken a 50% pay cut and forfeited all bonuses. The question is how much wiggle room do they have as a company to sustain price drops early into the console cycle.

So, they finally did it.

Truth be told, I wasn't expecting this at all. Seems a bit strange they didn't wait until E3 to drop the bomb though. This is by far the largest roadblock removed for me towards picking up a One, but then again looking at what I have.....what's the point? It's the same price as a PS4 now, and MS really has no IPs that I must absolutely have, nor have they been very intent on getting any new ones out. The only game their system has that I'm mildly interested in is Titanfall, but I don't support EA so that's out, and Halo, but 343 so far has failed to recapture what Bungie did in their heyday, for me at least. And GeoW, but Epic's no longer at the helm.

But it is good to see that they've also removed apps from behind the pay-wall though.....but again, I get all I need on that front on my PS4 and U.

For me, their DRM play last E3 is still ingrained in the back of my mind, and I've no doubt that they're going to slyly attempt to head in that direction at some point. Plainly put, I've lost any degree of trust in MS, and it's going to take a lot more than offering a Kinectless SKU at a lowered price point to regain it. The system's weaker but now the same price as the PS4 (not enough), yet the PS4 is getting all the better performing multi-plats, and whatever else MS eventually puts out I can more than likely get on my PC. Eh. I'm happy with my PS4, U, and PC for my gaming needs now.

Even with this news, MS has nothing to offer to me except bad memories, lacking exclusives and performance with worse multi-plats, and questionable intentions. I'm not laying 4 big ones down on those prospects.

Great news. Now I'll get one sometime this year or early next year. Kinect and always-on internet were the things holding me back. Congrats to Microsoft for (finally) getting it right.

You know I'm glad they announced this now because news like this is at the level of something you'd hear at E3. This tells me that Microsoft is very confident in their E3 game line-up which pleases me greatly. I'm very excited for E3, I think it should be some pretty fantastic stuff.

@Areez: Just like I was jumping the gun about the evolution of the marketplace and Kinect, eh, Henry? Just like Microsoft's "vision"? Speaking of jumping the gun, did gamers forget about all the other awful moves Microsoft has made so easily? If so, explain why the tremendous dropoff when their biggest game of the year had come out? And really, your dismissal of the RROD is myopic as well; the RROD might be a reason they are experiencing difficulties right now. Even with the absence of polling data, it's foolish to believe that product recalls and massive consumer failures leading (or nearly leading) to class action suits doesn't hurt the brand of any product; it only calls into question the timeframe on when such damage occurs.

Sorry, if you feel the events of the last year haven't damaged the brand, you've got your head in the sand (or elsewhere). You have continued to espouse theories that simply don't hold water and stand in stark contrast to the realities of the market, and that, really, has been Microsoft's problem all along -- too many fellows like yourself within the division, Henry. Too many guys who knew in their hearts things were very bad but were too blind or scared to speak up. The bottom line is this: the 360 dominated in North America and the UK and it is losing in both those territories now. And nearly a year after the unveiling, Microsoft is still trying to figure out just what the Xbone is. If you don't believe that has hurt the brand, then you're smoking something.

As for analysts with wild predictions, well, we saw plenty of those declaring North America would be won handily by the PS3, and we can see how that turned out. Microsoft is desperate. They dropped the price by $50 and bundled Titanfall in and it didn't do anything. In fact, the number of consoles sold went down. Their problems are far more pandemic than simply price. I applaud your devotion though. :)

I already have one

By biggest game of the year, you are referring to TitanFall. Titanfall had two things against it. First it is a niche FPS that features online play only. That kind of game caters to a specific demographic. Two the game was also to be released on the Xbox 360 which cannibalized any potential new Xbox One sales. We could also argue that strong February sales for the Xbox One in anticipation of Titanfall hurt March sales.

Regarding brand, the brand is not damaged. Are third party developers pulling away from development or supporting the Xbox brand? Is Insomniac stopping development of Sunset Overdrive? Is EA pulling back support of the Xbox brand as they have done with Nintendo? Epic games is going to announce a new exclusive IP for Xbox and Crytek has something else in the works too. Do I need to go on? If the brand is damaged than why is the Xbox One out clipping the 360 by 65% at the same point in their life cycles? Why is this version of the Xbox the fastest selling version to date? I am presenting facts here and not theories chief. You are making claims that the brand has pandemic issues outside of price. I have presented you with facts that say otherwise and will elaborate even more on how important price is, this early on in a consoles life cycle.

The $499 price tag was hurting MS and was going to continue to hurt MS so long as they were $100 more. History shows us, in the gaming industry, that the most expensive console has considerable challenges. The PS3 is the most recent example of this. However, look at the momentum the PS3 generated after its price continued to drop. Also, early into a console life cycle, it is price that drives sales, as software is limited, that changes as the cycle matures. So what MS has essentially done is offer a variety of choices, something that worked well from a business stand point last generation. This is a very smart business decision as it now allows MS the ability to forgo any potential loss financially on units sold (which would have happened had they just lowered the current model), and switches the focus from price to software now.

The only thing MS is trying to figure out, is how to keep pace and eventually out clip Sony. That is it. They know what the Xbox One is, and the only one who is struggling to figure out what it is, is you. Remember that this is a business first and foremost for both Sony & MS. You cannot make assumptions from a game enthusiasts point of view because you neglect the most important aspect, that this is a business. You can write off respected industry analyst like Lewis Ward, or invest firms such as Goldman Sachs, who have even greater insight and pulse on the business side of the gaming industry than you do. And if you believe that you have greater insight as to what is plaguing MS, may suggest that you take your butt over to Wall Street and stop wasting time here. :-)

It would have overshadowed absolutely everything else they did at E3. They obviously want the focus at E3 to be software, as Henry said, now that the prices are even software becomes the most important thing.

@Randolph: Randolph you are right, they want games to be the focal point now. When Phil Spencer was promoted, he talked about games and more games. Announcing this prior to E3 allows them to focus on games.

Possible games at E3, new Phantom Dust, new Perfect Dark, Forza Horizon 2, new IP exclusive from Epic games, something new from Crytek. New indie games, and Sunset Overdrive.

Yep. Means this E3 will be solely about the games. Should be fun. Really looking forward to seeing what everyone's got ready to announce.

This is great news for Microsoft but I still think that Sony does better and I like the PS4 more than XboxOne.

@Shame-usBlackley: lol i came here to gloat but you have already gloated enough for the both of us.

I think this is a step in the right direction though. Yeah, they fucked up, but they did 180 on nearly everything last year and now they've done a 180 on Kinect and XBL Gold. It's may not be enough to win the generation, but little things like offering XBL Gold refunds to those who bought it just for Netflix and other apps go a long way towards repairing the brand. If you read GAF and other gaming sites, they've already started to come around. All that's left for MS to do is have a strong outing at E3 and all will be forgotten. Just like it was with Sony last gen.

As for the analysts. The same firm, IDC, predicted this last gen. lol

System Wars is that way.

Makes sense. Perhaps MS'll give me a few more reasons to pick up a One, though exclusives is pretty much all I can be persuaded with at this point as why would I be interested in getting the worse multi-plats? And there's still the DRM....

@S0lidSnake said:

@Shame-usBlackley: lol i came here to gloat but you have already gloated enough for the both of us.

I think this is a step in the right direction though. Yeah, they fucked up, but they did 180 on nearly everything last year and now they've done a 180 on Kinect and XBL Gold. It's may not be enough to win the generation, but little things like offering XBL Gold refunds to those who bought it just for Netflix and other apps go a long way towards repairing the brand. If you read GAF and other gaming sites, they've already started to come around. All that's left for MS to do is have a strong outing at E3 and all will be forgotten. Just like it was with Sony last gen.

As for the analysts. The same firm, IDC, predicted this last gen. lol

MS's 180s, even those back in favor of the gamer, still give me no sense of confidence in the company. Since their DRM announcement a year ago, it makes me even more hesitant. Whose to say they're not going to do the same thing on that front? I think they're just waiting until the prime opportunity to begin moving back in that direction, hell they even admitted that the only thing they felt they did wrong was the approach, not the policy itself. People seem a little more willing to re-embrace MS than I'd think at this point.

I'm with Shame-us on this, the Xbox brand has been heavily damaged in my eyes, and that's going to take a while and a lot of effort to regain. Probably this whole generation, if they survive that long.

I don't see Microsoft going back to their previous DRM at all for this current generation.

I referred to Titanfall as Microsoft did, however, it's laughable for you to try to damage control the fact that the game hurt rather than helped the Xbone. The press, serving as surrogate mouthpieces for Microsoft, had already decreed the game to be a game changer, and as a result, everyone expected the game to be the second coming by the time it came out. I mean, one preview stated that his poor widdle heart couldn't take the awesome of Titanfall. It was fucking ridiculous and embarrassing. Further, you can argue that strong February sales hurt March sales, but you'd be dead wrong; for many reasons, but primarily because the game came packed in with the system and the system was sold at a reduced price.

As to brand damage, you honestly feel that a complete lack of vision regarding what the product is (something that has NEVER happened before with a console) and what it will be still being unsettled isn't having an effect on it? What the Xbone is this week may not be next week. They have reversed positions after proclaiming they'd NEVER reverse positions. People like yourself bought into this bullshit and went on forums and tried to sell it, and now you're trying to backpedal when it failed (and it DID fail, you'd have to be blind and ignorant to think all these changes were brought on by anything BUT failure). The 360 was still supply constrained at this point in its life. In a few days, NPD is going to come out, and you're going to see some disastrous figures for the system, and those numbers are going to get even worse while the few who were going to buy wait for the drop to hit in June. You can keep Baghdad Bobbing this thing all you want. I don't have to expend energy beating on you when your own predictions and bulging biases are doing a fine job on their own.

Price is a big factor, but strangely enough, hearing you try to sell that now seems oddly ironic. Should I post some of the things you said about price prior to and around launch? Just say the word. The common thread between your facts and theories is that they've both been consistently wrong. You claimed Kinect was essential to the system. You were wrong. You claimed the price would not be a big factor. Now you're backing off on that. You claimed the market was trending towards tertiary devices based on flimsy logic pulled from the mobile market. You were wrong on that, too. Seeing a trend here, Henry? You need to stop being so focused on defending the Xbox and take a step back and assess what is really happening here.

Finally, I'm not talking about Lewis Ward, I'm talking about you, and if there's one thing I can bank on, it's that you're going to be wrong on just about every assessment of this industry you make, simply because you're forcing yourself to side with a company that is on the wrong side of history.

I wish I could take your --and Microsoft's-- word for it, but MS has made a version of the Xbox One without Kinect when they stated before it was an integral part of that console.

Yeah but taking out Kinect was something that many people wanted going back to the DRM, which they took out because many people didn't want that either, isn't the same thing.

@S0lidSnake said:

@Shame-usBlackley: lol i came here to gloat but you have already gloated enough for the both of us.

I think this is a step in the right direction though. Yeah, they fucked up, but they did 180 on nearly everything last year and now they've done a 180 on Kinect and XBL Gold. It's may not be enough to win the generation, but little things like offering XBL Gold refunds to those who bought it just for Netflix and other apps go a long way towards repairing the brand. If you read GAF and other gaming sites, they've already started to come around. All that's left for MS to do is have a strong outing at E3 and all will be forgotten. Just like it was with Sony last gen.

As for the analysts. The same firm, IDC, predicted this last gen. lol

I still don't think it's fair for people to conflate Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's intentions with the Xbone.

Sony made a terrible mistake and recovered from it somewhat, but only when one disregards how far they fell from the PS2. That's what Areez fails to realize -- brand damage can be tough to wash away. Sony mitigated some of the damage with the PS3, but when you compare how far they fell from the PS2, it was a bad fall for the brand.

What Microsoft did with the Xbone was not just a colossal mistake, it was a fist, intended to be rammed up the ass of the gaming community, forcing them to bend to Microsoft's will. The public told them not to do this, but they did anyway, making a myriad of other mistakes on top of the first. And then their attitude was "**** off if you don't like it." And now they're in trouble and all of a sudden, they're "listening."

Sony made a dumb move, Microsoft tried to kill video gaming as we know it. If some people are willing to let a hundred dollars make them forget that, then they deserve what they get. I don't care if they give the fucking thing away at $5 car washes, I wouldn't buy one. It was a device born of ill-intentions and bad ideas. Now it's a less powerful, slightly cheaper, slightly less-offensive collection of bad ideas.

Sure. One is software and the other is a peripheral among other things, yet they were both incorporated into the five-hundred dollar version of the Xbox One. They are similar in that regard.

No what I mean is that taking stuff out because of consumer demand compared to putting things back in is different in the realm of changing their stance on something. You're worried that Microsoft will put the DRM back in place because they changed their stance on Kinect being included with every system. Both things were taken out at the request of consumers so I can't see them putting DRM back in the Xbox One later in sort of "Ha, ha, gotya" kind of way, it would quite literally kill the system off overnight.

I am not worried. I am just being careful. When a company starts changing things that were once mandatory, it makes me wonder what else has been called that, yet in reality it is only like that because someone marketed it to be.

@BranKetra: Yeah I can understand being careful and I understand wondering about companies changing things that were once deemed mandatory but in the specific case of them bringing back the very DRM that was removed due to consumer backlash, it just really does not seem like a realistic possibility at all. The only way that this would come would be in next gen systems and only if other manufacturers were doing the same. The verdict for this type of DRM has already been decided for this gen.

You are right. I am over-thinking this.

@Shame-usBlackley said:

@S0lidSnake said:

@Shame-usBlackley: lol i came here to gloat but you have already gloated enough for the both of us.

I think this is a step in the right direction though. Yeah, they fucked up, but they did 180 on nearly everything last year and now they've done a 180 on Kinect and XBL Gold. It's may not be enough to win the generation, but little things like offering XBL Gold refunds to those who bought it just for Netflix and other apps go a long way towards repairing the brand. If you read GAF and other gaming sites, they've already started to come around. All that's left for MS to do is have a strong outing at E3 and all will be forgotten. Just like it was with Sony last gen.

As for the analysts. The same firm, IDC, predicted this last gen. lol

I still don't think it's fair for people to conflate Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's intentions with the Xbone.

Sony made a terrible mistake and recovered from it somewhat, but only when one disregards how far they fell from the PS2. That's what Areez fails to realize -- brand damage can be tough to wash away. Sony mitigated some of the damage with the PS3, but when you compare how far they fell from the PS2, it was a bad fall for the brand.

What Microsoft did with the Xbone was not just a colossal mistake, it was a fist, intended to be rammed up the ass of the gaming community, forcing them to bend to Microsoft's will. The public told them not to do this, but they did anyway, making a myriad of other mistakes on top of the first. And then their attitude was "**** off if you don't like it." And now they're in trouble and all of a sudden, they're "listening."

Sony made a dumb move, Microsoft tried to kill video gaming as we know it. If some people are willing to let a hundred dollars make them forget that, then they deserve what they get. I don't care if they give the fucking thing away at $5 car washes, I wouldn't buy one. It was a device born of ill-intentions and bad ideas. Now it's a less powerful, slightly cheaper, slightly less-offensive collection of bad ideas.

When you mention the fall from PS2 to PS3 you forgot to mention other important factors. First, price hurt the PS3, second Nintendo sold ridiculous amounts of Wiis, three MS cut into Sonys market share with the Xbox 360. Sony considerably faced more competition last generation then they did with PS2.

And this whole idea that MS was trying ram their fist up the gaming communities rear, is so childish. I mean really? The gaming community seems to do more bitching and whining than they do gaming. And the crying is inconsistent as MS is held to another standard. Where was the crying when Sony implemented DRM for DriveClub? Sure they eventually reversed it, but I didn't see anyone crying about it? Where was the out rage when Sony lied, by advertising online that Watch Dogs was 1080p 60fps.

It amazes me, how gamers somehow believe that they know the motivations behind a company. To say MS tried to kill video gaming as we know it, is a thoughtless comment. MS to an extent tried to implement new ideas, with how we interact with games socially and consume them. The marketing behind those ideas was terrible and they did not do an effective job communicating them.

So here we are stuck, because many gamers lack the ability to think big picture. By the way, everyone should read this article :

http://www.cnet.com/news/why-the-death-of-microsoft-xbox-one-vision-means-we-all-lose/

Guys like you are satisfied with next gen game consoles being defined by a simple power upgrade. Improved graphics is just not going to cut it. And if game consoles continue to only offer power has an upgrade each generation, than consoles will eventually become obsolete. While I do not see that happening, I do see consoles becoming an all inclusive entertainment device, and do see a time where consoles will no longer use discs. DRM is coming Shame-Us, digital content is coming soon. It is a better business model for developers and console makers to do so. What are you going to do when Sony and MS eliminate discs and go full digital? MS gave you a preview of the future, perhaps much earlier than what people were comfortable with.

I will leave you with this last quote from the article I linked above.. which reminds me of you and everything wrong with gamers...

"Ultimately, the end result of the widespread pressure for uniformity in the industry will be a perpetuation of the more malignant undercurrents entrenching console gaming in its bloated, risk-adverse traditions. Instead of fresh takes that incorporate new technologies and take bold chances, we're now likely to get more of the same: more cycles of selling sequels and turning riffs on established game genres into franchises, all for what have become overly marketed PCs that just happen to be plugged into our TVs.

The fight for the living room, for fully realized next-generation entertainment that transcends gaming, has been reduced to the same tired squabbles that render console war discussions vapid and self-defeating. More choice for consumers has become Microsoft's forced doublespeak for an offering that closely resembles that of its competitor, a decision made solely to boost sales and keep fanboys from foaming at the mouth."

@MirkoS77: I dont blame you for doubting Microsoft, but I highly doubt they will put the DRM back in. That will not only kill the brand, but also earn them some class action lawsuits. It is not something they will do. I am 100% sure of it.

As for whether or not they are sincere about this, of course not, but does it really matter? All every company cares about is their bottom line. MS looked at the April NPD numbers and decided to announce the price drop now instead of at E3. They looked at the 4:1 Preorder advantage PS4 had coming out of last E3 and reversed their DRM decision. Then did the same with indie self-publishing and quite a few other things. In the end, those things were done to get in the good graces of their consumers and thats all we can hope for.

Maybe they will go back to being arrogant next gen. Sony's already put a paywall behind online multiplayer and lied to everyone about Drive Club multiple times now, so they are going back to their old ways already now that they are successful once again. I just dont think MS will become complacent or arrogant anytime soon. At least this gen. They are now desperate and thats good news for the consumer.

So firstly hey said the system needed to be plugged into the internet 24/7, then they flipped and said it only needs a checkup every 24 hours. Then they said the One will never be sold without the Kinect because it's a very large part of the systems capabilities, now they flipped that too.

I can't believe people see this as a positive. Who wants to give money to a business that lies so much?

it seems Ubisoft is happy about this

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-extremely-happy-about-xbox-one-price-cut-says-it-s-a-great-move/1100-6419663/

They weren't lieing, they made these changes because consumers have been asking them to. Listening to consumer feedback is most certainly a positive thing to do.

I was hoping Microsoft would actually do something innovative with the Kinect when they made it mandatory in all systems. Other than exclusives and small power differences, what's the real difference between the Xbone and the PS4?