Re: XBOX ONE Kinect Not Required!
08/18/13 12:15 am | #7
Forbes' situation likely never crossed the minds of the development team, just like the "always on" internet connection, with the US military. It took 2 seconds for that problem to reveal itself, because we live in a more closed off, isolated, and singular society, even though we're "always on", many of us don't even know our neighbors IRL, & don't think outside our own personal space-- so these gaming situations never entered devs' minds.
They didn't think about the military not being allowed private internet access at all times, or the situation of being a father not wanting their kids to see zombies' heads exploding-- or the possibility someone on your chat party can scream profanity, or talk about sexual situations.
I don't think a Kinect-free bundle is a good idea, either. Knowing 100% of consoles come with a kinect, is just like having another button. Does the 3DS circle pad pro (2 sticks) get a lot of developer use, when they know less than half the users have it?
Considering the huge success of the 360, they could have afforded to take a little hit off initial sales, until technology catches up. Instead of their head in the sand, they should have realized how the Kinect comes across to gamers, & they should have anticipated that Sony would release the PS4 for lower than $600, since the $599 PS3 got Sony into a mess. $499 was probably what they thought Sony was targeting, & they could spin the marketing that you're getting Kinect free.
When the facts from E3 came around, they should have used ONE press conference to announce all the changes, instead of trickling them out. Moving the price down to $399 would have still essentially still given us "Kinect free", so it would be a non issue, like they thought. Instead, all that money will be wasted in marketing damage control.
BUT, comparatively, both consoles are still cheaper than they could have been...