This is a discussion I've had with a number of people who each have wildly different opinions on the subject. I've heard justifications and points made for both sides of the argument but I've never found a logical endpoint to it, the root points where each sides opinions are founded on. I'd like to see if we can find that, or at least have an interesting discussion about the topic. The topic of this discussion is below.
Should the Xbox 1 continue to be bundled with the Kinect 2.0 or should it be sold separately as a peripheral?
Keep in mind the discussion is not about should it have originally been bundled, but if you can connect it to your argument then go for it. I will post my thoughts on the topic below.
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I am of the opinion that the Xbox One should not be sold with the Kinect as a bundled package for the following reasons:
1. While the features on the new Kinect are cool, none of them are necessary to use and enjoy most of the features the console has to offer. Aside from a few games either built around or built to be compatible with Kinect the hardware is entirely unneeded to use and enjoy ones console. Therefor the Kinect is not necessary for the console and is a periphery by its very nature.
2. The Kinect raises the price point of the console, making it difficult for gamers to justify the Xbox One over the PS4 unless they want the Kinect. This puts off a large part of the Xbox community and may lose Microsoft customers.
3. Those who want a Kinect are likely to buy one separately anyway, likely for the same total price once the discount on the xbox is applied.
4. Forcing people to buy the Kinect to entice devs to use it in their games is both assuming too much and is forcing the customer to pay for someone else's entertainment. By shipping a Kinect with every box, Microsoft is assuming that it will be such a success that everyone will be able to make use of it and will eventually want it. But what if this assumption turns out to be false? I do not believe that people should have to pay an extra $100 for the potential of innovative uses of the Kinect that wouldn't be there otherwise. Many people are utterly convinced that this device will revolutionize how gaming works, and many of us are skeptical or believe this to be downright false. Yet even those that do not buy into the concept are forced to pay for it to stay with Xbox. This is pushing longtime Xbox users to buy the PS4 and other consoles instead, hurting the user base. The games that everyone says will come are not guaranteed to exist even if everyone owns an Kinect, so in effect it is a luxury item and wishful thinking that has been bundled with the system.
Another aspect of this is that even if a number of good games for Kinect come out there are going to be a lot of people who don't want these games or who don't care about the voice commands and gesture controls, or even the body mapping or other such features. These people who stuck with Xbox will have payed an extra $100 for a piece of hardware they never wanted and possibly never used. This is extremely unfair to the customer. We should be able to buy what hardware features we want, and if it is not absolutely necessary for using the console for its intended purpose (gaming, television, etc…) then it should not be forced on the customer who did not want it in the first place.
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Personally if it were not for my interest in being a part of the Halo community as a forger, my connections to friends on Xbox Live, and the fact that I like the controller better I would buy a PS4 in a heartbeat. But these things are important to me (at least the first two are anyway) and I am not willing to drop them. I would prefer to stay on Xbox and in the end I probably will no matter what, but it's not just the extra hundred bucks that is keeping me from buying one before I have to, it's the idea that I'm being sold a piece of hardware that I do not want in order to benefit other people who did want it, and then only maybe if things work out on the software side if that. Here is hoping we see the bundle breaking up in the near future.
Should the Xbox 1 continue to be bundled with the Kinect 2.0 or should it be sold separately as a peripheral?
Keep in mind the discussion is not about should it have originally been bundled, but if you can connect it to your argument then go for it. I will post my thoughts on the topic below.
---
I am of the opinion that the Xbox One should not be sold with the Kinect as a bundled package for the following reasons:
1. While the features on the new Kinect are cool, none of them are necessary to use and enjoy most of the features the console has to offer. Aside from a few games either built around or built to be compatible with Kinect the hardware is entirely unneeded to use and enjoy ones console. Therefor the Kinect is not necessary for the console and is a periphery by its very nature.
2. The Kinect raises the price point of the console, making it difficult for gamers to justify the Xbox One over the PS4 unless they want the Kinect. This puts off a large part of the Xbox community and may lose Microsoft customers.
3. Those who want a Kinect are likely to buy one separately anyway, likely for the same total price once the discount on the xbox is applied.
4. Forcing people to buy the Kinect to entice devs to use it in their games is both assuming too much and is forcing the customer to pay for someone else's entertainment. By shipping a Kinect with every box, Microsoft is assuming that it will be such a success that everyone will be able to make use of it and will eventually want it. But what if this assumption turns out to be false? I do not believe that people should have to pay an extra $100 for the potential of innovative uses of the Kinect that wouldn't be there otherwise. Many people are utterly convinced that this device will revolutionize how gaming works, and many of us are skeptical or believe this to be downright false. Yet even those that do not buy into the concept are forced to pay for it to stay with Xbox. This is pushing longtime Xbox users to buy the PS4 and other consoles instead, hurting the user base. The games that everyone says will come are not guaranteed to exist even if everyone owns an Kinect, so in effect it is a luxury item and wishful thinking that has been bundled with the system.
Another aspect of this is that even if a number of good games for Kinect come out there are going to be a lot of people who don't want these games or who don't care about the voice commands and gesture controls, or even the body mapping or other such features. These people who stuck with Xbox will have payed an extra $100 for a piece of hardware they never wanted and possibly never used. This is extremely unfair to the customer. We should be able to buy what hardware features we want, and if it is not absolutely necessary for using the console for its intended purpose (gaming, television, etc…) then it should not be forced on the customer who did not want it in the first place.
---
Personally if it were not for my interest in being a part of the Halo community as a forger, my connections to friends on Xbox Live, and the fact that I like the controller better I would buy a PS4 in a heartbeat. But these things are important to me (at least the first two are anyway) and I am not willing to drop them. I would prefer to stay on Xbox and in the end I probably will no matter what, but it's not just the extra hundred bucks that is keeping me from buying one before I have to, it's the idea that I'm being sold a piece of hardware that I do not want in order to benefit other people who did want it, and then only maybe if things work out on the software side if that. Here is hoping we see the bundle breaking up in the near future.
