Microsoft’s recent changes to the Xbox One has led many people to speculate what the final box will come with. As first announced in late May, Microsoft revealed that the Kinect 2.0 will be bundled with every Xbox One. It was a required hardware peripheral that players needed to turn on if they ever wanted to play on the new system. As Microsoft was met with heavy backlash these past few months, they have recently decided to change their policy requirements; making the Kinect non-required.

This type of change, which sees players voluntarily turning on the Kinect, has led many people to speculate that the Xbox One might not have to ship with the motion sensor hardware. This will allow Microsoft to decrease the $500 price point for their system, as the lack of the Kinect will allow for a cheaper starting price point. Something the North American company can use to compete with Sony’s $400 PS4 price point.

When asked by CVG if the Kinect will always ship with the One Phil Harrison, who is Corporate Vice President of Microsoft, answers,” Correct. Xbox One is Kinect. They are not separate systems. An Xbox One has chips, it has memory, it has Blu-ray, it has Kinect, it has a controller. These are all part of the platform ecosystem.”

It seems the Kinect will be a permanent member of the Xbox family. This type of decision eliminates lowering the price point for the system but does allow for the Kinect to play a much more integral role for the Xbox One and the Xbox eco-system.

Via: Gameinformer