From day 1 Microsoft marketed Project Natal as the next biggest and most integral advancement of the XBOX system, and they have been flogging it as such ever since. As the peripheral grew from Natal to the Kinect we know now, Microsoft have been doing everything they can, every step of the way to convince us we just gotta have it.
Since the Kinect was developed post 360 launch, the last gen console could never be sold as ‘Kinect required’ and so to pick up the slack, Microsoft spent the next several years throwing everything they had at the new sensor. The years before E3 2014 felt almost as though Microsoft had developed some hideous Kinect tunnel vision, as every year featured more and more doomed purple case instalments. Kinect demonstrations gave us some of the most cringe-worthy, laughable and horrible E3 showcases for years – E3 2012 alone gave us what will go down as arguably the most teeth grittingly awful performance of recent years, remember Usher? I can’t even talk about it without grimacing.
XBOX One Development
The passing of the last generation sparked an amazing opportunity for Microsoft, as the development of the XBOX One hit the ground running. The 360 had been a fantastic machine, and it’s popularity spurred a great deal of excitement, intrigue and anticipation for what would come next. Only Microsoft royally botched that as they announced always online DRM, an attempted end to used games and more importantly, Kinect required. Claims were made, statements were released, as the community was told the XBOX One simply could not function optimally without the Kinect sensor link. MS launched itself into almost immediate disfavour with these deliberately restrictive ties, the consequences of which still echo around every console sale, and played a large role in many gamers’ conversion to Playstation.
Regardless of how gamers felt about the decision, the security that a Kinect necessary console gave developers was opening new doors and offering studios the go ahead to sink money in new projects with the promise of every XBOX One owner having immediate access to the sensor. We all knew the attachment of the extra sensor would push the price up, but there was never any question that the console would sell regardless. The opportunity the necessary link offered studios was perhaps the greatest benefit of the decision that many of us hated so much. When Microsoft chose to pull this, they chose to pull the security they had promised to devs. They chose to out their earlier claims about XBOX functionality as hard faced lies – and while the decision promised greater console sales, it once again rocked the gaming community’s faith in the company.
E3 2014
This year’s E3 was a massive one. Being the first of a freshly launched generation in gaming held the bar high for all major conferences. With the recent launch of the XBOX One and PS4, Sony and Microsoft were under a lot of pressure to really bring everything to table and sway gamers in their favour. Microsoft presented first.
It was a total break in tradition for MS, as for the first time since the announcement of Project Natal, Kinect was absolutely no where to be found. After forcing the peripheral into solus fixed packs, telling us the console just could not function without it, after promising developers complete Kinect support, there was not one Kinect demonstration of substance! They offered us absolutely nothing to warrant the purchase of the XBOX One Kinect, after forcing us to purchase the exact same piece of kit they were now totally ignoring. All of the years Microsoft spent discussing the hardware when we really were not interested, and the only time it would have served them massively to showcase some great new features and games that made us feel as though we hadn’t wasted our cash on a gimmick, they failed.
Kinectless XBOX One Confirmed
The reversal of Microsoft’s Kinect policies had opened the doors for a Kinect free XBOX One console a long time ago. The community had been under no illusion, although the confirmation of the pack was not confirmed for months after the initial console release. Many gamers, including myself, were suckered into buying the console at launch with Kinect. We then saw a total lack of support at E3, and finally the confirmation of standalone console pack. Amazing. I suppose it could be said that we were foolish for buying the console so early on, however I am of the opinion
The new solus saw XBOX One sales rocket exponentially as a massive chunk of the overall cost was knocked off with the kit evidently nobody had been interested in. The console was finally closing the gap and beginning to truly rival the PS4. The Kinect free console pack was definitely a shift in favour for gamers, pulling in new sales, better bundles and lower prices – but it also left many of us totally in the dark. It lead me to consider perhaps selling my own Kinect. I never got any real use from on 360, besides the odd game of Fruit Ninja Kinect, and I thought I could put the credit towards a new game, why not!
Kinect $$$ Value
Well this is why not. When I said the Kinect is worthless, in terms of cash value, it seriously is.
GameStop £0 / $32
GAME £0
CEX £5
Grainger Games £12
You can buy and sell the sensors on eBay for significantly more, averaging at around £30 / $50. In reality, those values will be pennies compared to how much a brand new boxed Kinect will be when Microsoft inevitably launches one. Many retailers don’t trade in the hardware at all, as the cash pay out would be far greater than the market can offer, as they just do not sell. This is a sad fact that has been proven by the incredible lack of sales for the Kinect bundles now the stand alone console is available.
All of that being said, I do really like my XBOX One. It’s not a matter of straight up bashing, but that massive gaming conglomerates such as Microsoft have a duty to support hardware they have forced into the market. MS have made many mistakes in the first year of this generation, and the half decent support of Kinect could be a big step into turning that around. In the past they have been over saturated by Kinect, and now there is a complete drought. In this instance, Microsoft could really take a leaf from Playstation’s book – the Kinect could be a great piece of optional hardware, were it, and the market, treated with due respect. No more blatant bullshit.
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