One of the last of the previously announced, unpopular, policies on the Xbox One was the always-on Kinect sensor but today Microsoft seem to have reversed their stance on that too.
Though representatives from Microsoft had previously said that the Kinect sensor could be “completely turned off” in the Xbox One settings, many people were skeptical because it would still be listening for a voice command to turn the system on. However, today, in an interview with IGN Xbox One Chief Platform Architect, Marc Whitten, said:
Xbox One is designed to work with Kinect plugged in. It makes gaming better in many ways – from the ability to say “Xbox On” and get right to your personalized homescreen, to the ability to control your TV through voice, Smartglass and more. Kinect allows you to search for your content, instantly move between games and your personalized dash and more with just your voice. Kinect helps you pick up and play by automatically knowing which controller you have in your hands. No more need to interrupt your friends game or navigate through multiple UI screens to sign in and tell the system which controller you are holding. It will even bind the controller to the console if its currently unbound – no searching for special buttons! Of course – these are just a few of the system wide benefits of having Kinect. Games use Kinect in a variety of amazing ways from adding voice to control your squad mates to adding lean and other simple controls beyond the controller to full immersive gameplay. That said, like online, the console will still function if Kinect isn’t plugged in, although you won’t be able to use any feature or experience that explicitly uses the sensor.
This would seem to confirm that Xbox One owners can indeed unplug the Kinect 2.0 sensor (and likely set it in the closet next to the Kinect 1.0) and never have to worry about it.
Now, if only the would come up with a less expensive, Kinect free, version of the console. I can dream, can’t I?
By Scott Grant
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