Polygon: MS needs to admit the XB1 Kinect is a peripheral, not a pack-in.

[vcfan]

Almost no one would want to buy the Kinect separately if they were given the choice.

 

Kinect sales reach 24 million

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kinect-sales-reach-24-million/1100-6403766/

 

right...

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

right...

Well, one argument is right now "no one" would with no compelling software and initial console sales typically down to the hardcore buying.

You're using end of life kinect 1 sales as well, I doubt as an add on kinect 2 would hit that many given the motion control gaming bubble being popped, and virtual reality on the horizon.

And trooper MS getting out of the console race would be terrible for the market. I am strongly against a one console future, let alone leaving Sony and Nintendo to battle it out. Three is a charm, and with Nintendo frequently living in their own bubble its often down to MS and Sony to force each other to provide our industry with competition.

[trooper11]

Well, one argument is right now "no one" would with no compelling software and initial console sales typically down to the hardcore buying.

You're using end of life kinect 1 sales as well, I doubt as an add on kinect 2 would hit that many given the motion control gaming bubble being popped, and virtual reality on the horizon.

And trooper MS getting out of the console race would be terrible for the market. I am strongly against a one console future, let alone leaving Sony and Nintendo to battle it out. Three is a charm, and with Nintendo frequently living in their own bubble its often down to MS and Sony to force each other to provide our industry with competition.

Kinect can survive without dedicated software while its just a feature of the X1 platform. I think MS likes this becuase it learned last gen that most developers had little interest in creating a Kinect exclusive experience. So now its not suppose to stand on its own and therefor can survive by offering new UI options (auto sign in, tracking controllers to do things like pause a game when sat down, switch profiles while in a game when someone else grabs the controller, etc), voice commands, and then the gaming related experiences just come along as developers want. There would be no immediate pressure to deliver a big library of titles and MS can just let developers use whatever parts of Kinect they want to.

Of course the above wont work if consumers reject the platform due to a lack of kinect based games or disinterest in the other things it can do.

As far as MS leaving the market, I'm really not sure what MS can do to differentiate itself from Sony and be successful. They can't equal the developer size of Sony's first party, so they can't outdo them there. At best the X1 becomes a ps4-lite. I mean look at the reaction to the spec difference alone. Nintendo has a console that is far less powerful than the X1 or the PS4, but they have their own identity. MS and Sony are fighting over the same identity: High end gaming console market. The only winner there is the one with the best hardware specs and the software that lets developers take adavantage of it. If Sony has really won that, then there really is no where for the X1 to go. No one is going to pat MS on the back for a strong 2nd place finish. Last gen was lucky for both companies becuase there was not quite enough advantage on either platform to result in a clear choice.

[neoadorable]

Trooper, in this case you are over simplifying things. MS has stacks of resources, they dealt with a distant second with the first Xbox, and people said that was it, they'd leave the market. Didn't happen. This isn't Sega we're talking about here. The X1 will do fine as a second placer. I don't expect it to pass PS4, but it won't matter as much because relatively I'm pretty sure the current duo was much cheaper to develop and is cheaper to make, plus it won't be another 8 year thing. Five at most.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

People really need to think longer term than a few months after launch, both Sony and Microsoft want these consoles to last another 8 years or so, so looking at them after ~4 months and going "Well X has failed" or "Well Y is useless" is extremely short sighted. The Kinect might be not be really useful now because no games depend on it, but what's important is that now game developers can rely on it so they can build the functionality into the game at a base level, instead of having it as an optional component like with the 360 (Where even storage was optional)

[+mram Subscriber²]

I get wanting an X1 without Kinect, but why does the TV integration harm you if you arent using it?

 

This is running into another old argument about whether a console is allowed to offer features beyond the sole purpose of gaming.  I would say any feature that does not impact your ability to just play games should be ok.

 

Would you want to buy the car that came with a trailer, but cost $1000 more than other cars?

 

Seriously, this is bundling and I didn't ask for it.  Microsoft has pulled this crud in the past and had their pants handed to them.  Same tactic. 

 

The Kinect does not impair my ability to play games, I'll concede that.  But you must in turn concede that the price for the entire XBone system is high enough to make me consider the peripherals that are included.  For example -- I can get a XB360 for 299 list price.  It has oodles of disk space (for the unit), tons of software, an optional Kinect, and I have lots of money to spend on games.

 

But the entry point for XBone starts at 499.  Then I need to buy controllers (60 a pop) then the game itself that I want to play (60 bucks is safe).  So hypothetically if I wanted to play a game, for example Forza racing with my kids, I'd plunk down 620 bucks for the privilege. That's only getting one extra controller also.

 

To answer the previous poster -- technically no if the price were 399 this would still be a factor given that game development is slowed given the requirement for kinect interoperability and the price for the unit is still high.

 

Understand that the biggest wow features of the XBone have nothing to do with gaming.  I know people might respond to this and say "well then don't buy one!" but that really doesn't help the market.  I want the XBone to succeed, but at it's strengths, not at Microsoft trying to gain traction into markets they really have no reason to go to.  And all of that has an impact on our wallets.

 

And not to be overly negative, I'd say that if the XBone were 399 and could also play XB360 games, then we'd be in serious business.  The idea that you have to sacrifice everything, dump everything, require kinect support, etc ... all makes the whole thing kind of stupid at no benefit for the consumer.

 

[PGHammer]

So it's not really the Kinect that's the issue. It's the $100 difference that's the real issue isn't it..??

I know making games isn't cheap, but I would give the FULL version of Kinect Sports away for free when it drops.

This will give them some slight breathing room from all the critics (consumers and media). And if the game is actually good it will make Microsoft look even better. And somewhat show Kinects justification.

Microsoft is doing all it can, to not sell the Xbox at a loss. The numbers are good for XB1 sold through to consumers. But the competitions numbers are out of this world and it's smothering Microsoft rather they admit it or not.

Kinect is a non issue if the price were $399.

And Sony is losing money on PS4 - this Sony actually admits.  It may be great for consumers, but if Sony loses money on every PS4 sold, what does that mean for Sony (or those that bought a PS4) if the company goes under, taking the platform with it?

 

While Microsoft has a higher price (with XB1) than Sony does, they also are not losing money on XB1, either - and that is despite Kinect 2 being included.  Why should Microsoft bail out Sony by doing it any favors?

[+JHBrown Subscriber¹]

I agree with what was stated by Polygon. When I had my Xbox One, the Kinect was placed back in the box after the novelty and lack of properly receiving/hearing commands frustrated us.

[0nyX]

At the time it seems Microsoft has some difficulties to overcome regarding XB1.

 

They are offering a weaker system, at a higher price than competition and justify that price with the inclusion of a peripheral of undetermined so far real life value and usability. Add to all this the majority of games running at xbox 360 resolution levels which is something the more technical advanced buyer pays attention to and statements from game developers about the lower technical specification and power of the machine (Sniper Elite)

 

I think polygon is trying to ring the bell at Microsoft.

[neoadorable]

People really need to think longer term than a few months after launch, both Sony and Microsoft want these consoles to last another 8 years or so, so looking at them after ~4 months and going "Well X has failed" or "Well Y is useless" is extremely short sighted. The Kinect might be not be really useful now because no games depend on it, but what's important is that now game developers can rely on it so they can build the functionality into the game at a base level, instead of having it as an optional component like with the 360 (Where even storage was optional)

Finally some proper perspective, though I don't think the current phase is meant to last quite that long. And why did the quote show up separately? ^^

[blerk]

At the time it seems Microsoft has some difficulties to overcome regarding XB1.

 

They are offering a weaker system, at a higher price than competition and justify that price with the inclusion of a peripheral of undetermined so far real life value and usability. Add to all this the majority of games running at xbox 360 resolution levels which is something the more technical advanced buyer pays attention to and statements from game developers about the lower technical specification and power of the machine (Sniper Elite)

 

I think polygon is trying to ring the bell at Microsoft.

 

Removing Kinect won't do anything about those limitations though. If they are true, and MS cannot 'unlock'/optimize more power, then if you remove Kinect, you've taken away one big reason to buy the platform (the other being exclusives). Kinect brings something unique, and has the potential for great things. Take that away, and your defense against the more powerful system (PS4 + PC) is weakened. 

[George P Global Moderator]

MS will just drop the price in time and keep the Kinect in the SKU, it's the type of device that developers need time to work with, we're only at the start for this gen, people who are complaining now I have a feeling will complain when the same package costs as much as the competition, then the argument for taking it out doesn't hold up because the price gap will be gone. And looking at the two companies financially the last thing Sony wants at this stage is a real price war IMO. Sure, fans win in the end but if one company is close to tanking because of it then what?

As it stands, both systems can wait for me, Lim not going to buy either anytime soon, i'll be gaming on my PC till more exclusives come out.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

People really need to think longer term than a few months after launch, both Sony and Microsoft want these consoles to last another 8 years or so, so looking at them after ~4 months and going "Well X has failed" or "Well Y is useless" is extremely short sighted. The Kinect might be not be really useful now because no games depend on it, but what's important is that now game developers can rely on it so they can build the functionality into the game at a base level, instead of having it as an optional component like with the 360 (Where even storage was optional)

 

But nothing revolutionary can happen to motion gaming experiences, we're still going to see the same experiences we seen all last generation. We know what to expect, developers know the limits of what they can pretty much do - Yes Kinect 2 is far more accurate, but thats not saying that much as Kinect 1 was pretty poor in this regard. The Move was more accurate and haz buttonz, and did it get anything revolutionary? Not really, maybe a lot more lightgun based titles but they've been around since the 80s. Besides that the only things accuracy actually did was cause arguments about what was the better tech on online forums (see me and Andy arguing), not really produce any compelling games.

And as I've already said motion gaming doesn't have the same spotlight and wow factor it did last generation. Even Nintendo didn't just opt for something more accurate on the Wii U, they tried to bring something new in, the tablet. With virtual reality almost a reality, what does motion gaming have left to wow anyone and somehow make itself more relevant to the developers who have already "tapped it out" last generation and don't really care any more? Neither Sony or MS were able to find a killer game for their cameras for launch besides touting the tech behind them at E3. Quite honestly as Andy said, developers seemingly only really care about adding components of voice/motion into their games now, not trying to make motion the main component. Unless of course you're one of the only successful genres of last gen, fitness, dancing or mini-games. All I hear now in developer interview is "the tech is really good, but.... we're not going to do anything that compromises our key goals/targets, what we have done is allow the game to take a picture of you! and on the sidelines during a football game you can shout and swear!!!!". The honeymoon period of trying to shoehorn a whole game around the hardware for the wow/something different factor hardly even exists any more.

I mean what do you genuinely have confidence in seeing over the next 1~2 years that isn't just something that is responds more accurately than its previous gen counterpart? To be honest we heard the whole give developers longer, think to the future with motion gaming last generation, and bought it if not for anything other than the benfit of the doubt. And I would ask you all, how often were you using a motion based game in the past 2 years? How many compelling games hit at the end of last gen, a time period notorious for some of the best games as the hardware gets maxed out? All the GOTY awards I seen were going to games played from A-Z with a traditional controller, and if any of them did have some built in voice commands or smile at the camera opportunities, those things were completely optional.

 

MS just seem to be a bit out of touch with reality thinking Kinect 2 is their answer to keeping the crown they're still holding onto right now over Sony with the 360 (I'm sure it's still ahead worldwide). Kinect didn't really do that, PS Move sold 15 millions units by March 2012 (give them the benefit they've hit 20m by now), having a cheaper console, being to market first, having better online components and compelling games did (Halo/GoW/COD exclusive content/etc). Sure the Just Dance and Lose weight you fat arse HD remix helped sell to the causal/mums&dads/overweight gamer crowds, but those experiences aren't exclusive to any vision MS may see, we seen them start on the Wii and pop up all over the place on the PS3/360 and then fizzle out a bit. The actual experiences are not going to change that much now either, dancing remains pretty much the same, MS now say they can track sweat beads roll down your arse crack and see your heart beat, but fitness is fitness, some fancy graphics and charts don't lose your weight and then you move onto your next fitness fad that you expect to lose your weight with no effort.

 

This time around Sony went to market first, have the cheaper console and have caught up on the online side with PS Plus offering compelling games each month and cross game voice chat being free for everyone (one of the last things missing). As are the media apps free to use. It's like a bit of a role reversal, and then there is MS being stubborn to change some things they simply need to now to get with the times (no silly paywalls on an Internet Browser or Netflix). The cheaper console really is the most important thing though, if you don't think that (not aimed at you personally), you haven't been around for the last 10 years and witnessed the effect of a slim console/price drop. Even the PS2 sales were heavy loaded in the mid-to end of the generation. Check the graphs here to see the first few years for each and notice even the PS3 initially tracking the PS2. Getting out in front at the start allows you to almost dictate your opponent, as Andy said as well, MS drop the price, Sony drop the price. If they remove Kinect though the price can go down further and put more pressure on Sony as I'd be willing to bet a Kinectless XB1 is cheaper to produce than the standard PS4 (that GDDR5 memory....).

[McKay]

Right now my Kinect gets used 90% to navigate the UI. Pretty much everything is so much faster with it. Skipping 4-5 steps to fire up a different app or game by saying "Xbox go to Y" etc. Saying "Xbox Record that" instead of having a share button. Especially when someone sends a message or you need to get to friends from within a game, easier and faster to say "Xbox go to messages/friends" than jump to home and find it.

[BajiRav]

Sony needs to admit the PS4 is just a beefed up PS3 with indy games and not next gen console.

 

see what I did there? I am sure all kinect haters will love this article just because it is anti-Kinect but if you want just a next gen gaming console, go with PS4. Why bother with XBO?

 

How can anyone make such a statement in 3 short months after launch? Sony should have buried PS3 in early 2007 with this attitude.

 

Voice commands could be easily implemented on any basic microphone array, you could even have had it built into the system or controller.

 

The kinect main purpose is the hands-free control / gesture controls in the OS and in games. (Not sure how many use this feature though)

Microsoft took the gamble and it didn't pay off, calling it a peripheral or part of the system really makes no difference.

You keep on saying this but you are wrong - if "any basic microphone array" could do this, PS4 would have better voice control than Kinect or our TVs will have them.

 

You don't get to pick and choose hardware features to your liking in a game console. It's the whole package. You may not like it but it is what it is.

 

Microsoft took the gamble and they still have time to prove it. It's too soon to call "it didn't pay off".

[aviator189]

I don't mind kinect, but they should have at least launched with a kinect game.  Not launching Rivals at launch was a huge mistake.  It probably wasn't ready, but still...

 

But man, a 399 xbox one sku would sell butt-loads, especially with a ton of great games coming out for the x1 this year.  

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Sony needs to admit the PS4 is just a beefed up PS3 with indy games and not next gen console.

 

see what I did there? I am sure all kinect haters will love this article just because it is anti-Kinect but if you want just a next gen gaming console, go with PS4. Why bother with XBO?

 

 

Cmon, surely you can really do better than that with your counterargument to those in here... There's not even any irony or anything smart about saying the above. To brand everyone as a kinect hater to discount what they're saying is just silly as well, sure there are people who dislike the device, but there's others in here saying it's about price first and foremost. Not simply a dislike to a camera. I'm sure many would hook it back up if they had a killer game to use it with, but that's what I question above in what are you waiting for? What evidence is there left to suggest there is a motion based gaming experience we haven't seen yet?

 

You don't get to pick and choose hardware features to your liking in a game console. 

 

 

Actually we have been doing so for the past decades or so, we've been handed the box and 1 controller for many years, hence the title of this article. Polygon and many others are trying to say to MS you cannot convince us a peripheral is not an add-on. Kinect is a supplementary experience to the Xbox, it is not integral, the controller can do what it does. When it comes to addons we have indeed been buying them separate for years, or at the very least had multiple SKUs, some with them packed in, others with the basic of whats needed - A box and a controller. Understandably people prefer this, as you can spend to your budget and not be forced to buy things you aren't going to use, or would rather buy later. Heck remember Sony didn't even include a memory card with the PS1/PS2? :p

 

The argument about needing some specific number of owners to magically produce GOTY content is a very futile argument, one seen often, and it's swatted away quite viciously by Polygon themselves

 

The common defense of the Kinect is that developers wouldn't support it unless it was forced on consumers. This assumes that a fragmented user base would cause a low level of support from the industry.

 

That attitude is presumptuous and consumer-hostile. Why not have Microsoft and developers create something that compels people to pick up the hardware first, and then see how well it does? Pushing a product on the public with the hope that it will be useful once we have it is a cruel inversion of how product adoption should be handled.

 

The forced pack-in proves something we already knew at the beginning of this generation: Almost no one would want to buy the Kinect separately if they were given the choice.

 

 

Allow players who like the unit to purchase one separately if they'd like, but let's stop pretending that developers are going to jump back on board the motion control train, or that the expensive piece of hardware is required to accept voice commands that may or may not work.

 

 

and the questions I asked earlier about where are all the "GOTY" Kinect games on the 360, because 24 million units sold is hardly something for a developer to turn their nose up at if they did genuinely have some sort of revolutionary motion based idea in their head.

 

You know, what are MS seeing that Sony aren't? Sony are happy to go down the traditional route with their camera and yes do a pack in bundle, but also give the consumer the choice they're used to, in not needing to have it. MS have already conceded you don't need to use Kinect, going from requiring it to be plugged in, to now being able to be left in the box, and that only hurts the argument that it does need to somehow be mandatory that it's included. In an essence MS have already agreed with the consumer shouting at them that Kinect should be fully optional when they allowed XB1 owners to leave the Kinect 2 in their cupboard. Why not just go one step further and get their price down to $399 with a bundle without it and put some pressure on Sony? How could that really be a bad thing? At the end of the day inflated numbers won't pull wool over developers eyes, if there's anecdotal evidence just now to suggest people are leaving the Kinect unplugged and do not want to use it, how is that that far away from that device not really "existing" in that persons house? Some of us just aren't going to play dance/fitness games, and aren't all that keen on using our voices to control things.

[the better twin]

Inaccurate motion controller fails to live up to expectations? Shocker.

Been saying this since Microsoft ditched the core gamer with the first Kinect. The few Kinect fanboys left have been living on the promise of "future potential" for the last 5 years.

Ditching the Kinect wont help. They still have a weaker box. They need a radical reorganisation of the Xbox division, delivering the kind of games and new ips they did under J Allard and Peter Moore. 

[vcfan]

Well, one argument is right now "no one" would with no compelling software and initial console sales typically down to the hardcore buying.

but he's not making the argument that "right now no one will buy it". if he did, he wouldnt be calling for microsoft to make it a separate peripheral instead of including it in the box. If only the hardcore are buying today, then its jumping the gun on coming to such conclusions.

 

The Kinect adds cost and frustration, and at this point there's nothing on the horizon that will make it more attractive. Microsoft is charging every player for a feature they may not want, even if drastically improved. It's time to make the Kinect a peripheral, not a pack-in

You're using end of life kinect 1 sales as well, I doubt as an add on kinect 2 would hit that many given the motion control gaming bubble being popped, and virtual reality on the horizon.

completely disagree. i believe it will explode once microsoft opens up the box to everyone. BUILD is supposed to be big on xbox. I expect people to build some cool, new things.

there is so much untapped potential in this area, thats why even apple snatched up the company who's tech microsoft used for the OG kinect.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

 

Again, this has nothing to do with whether you like Kinect or not.  As I said, it comes down to what strategy MS wants to take.  So you really dont need to prove to me that you liked Kinect in the past, it changes nothing.

 

MS can win the pricing war without removing Kinect.  I pointed out that if they choose to lower the price, they would take a financial hit.

 

If they truly believe that Kinect is worth an investment for the future of the console, then they can simply take losses that Sony is unable to take.  That is a rough path for sure and I'm sure MS would avoid that at all costs, but my point is its possible.

 

If they dont believe in Kinect long term, they will simply drop it and erase it from history.

 

You misunderstood, the first part of my post was in reply to you saying:

 

I thought you guys didnt follow Polygon for news?  Oh well, I'm sure this one was an exception.

 

Well it was inevitable that people would start writing stories about this.  This topic has been discussed over and over since the first Kinect was released.  Now that Sony has a sales lead, people are trying to come out and claim that they know why the X1 is doing so poorly and what they must do to fix it.  Everyone has their own theory.

 

I just assumed you were lumping me in with "guys" because I've been so outspoken about it. My opinion is obviously subjective but the rest of my reply and the others I made aren't based on opinion.

 

As for Microsoft taking a loss, if it were so easy to do that then they would have done it from the start. Release the X1 for the same price as the PS4, take the hit, claim untold amounts of good faith from gamers and reap the rewards because people have Kinects for developers to build for. Clearly it's not possible otherwise they'd be doing it instead of lagging in sales. Even if they do it in the future, it's not ideal when investors are calling for the subdivison to get the chop, Elop reportedly wants to sell them and it's already deep in the red since the original Xbox launched. They need to start making money for a change.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

but he's not making the argument that "right now no one will buy it". if he did, he wouldnt be calling for microsoft to make it a separate peripheral instead of including it in the box. If only the hardcore are buying today, then its jumping the gun on coming to such conclusions.

 

completely disagree. i believe it will explode once microsoft opens up the box to everyone. BUILD is supposed to be big on xbox. I expect people to build some cool, new things.

there is so much untapped potential in this area, thats why even apple snatched up the company who's tech microsoft used for the OG kinect.

 

Multi-million based developers/publishers have had a whole generation to impress us with motion, and as much as I approve of indie development, glorified tech demos are going to win over no-one long term. Look at Sony's The Playroom. Cool stuff a camera can do, used for 30 mins then never played again. Tech demos and promises of potential have burned many of us, me included last generation.

 

An answer of but there is untapped potential! just doesn't cut it any more. You're going to have to convince people with tangible evidence that something still exists that isn't a fitness/dance/mini-game or a completely cool use of a camera, but something pretty pointless for the gamer in the long run - Like something in the science or security field.

 

Compelling software needs to be built for gamers, not for doctors doing operations with cameras or for us to scan in pictures of household objects to mess around with in 3D/paint for 10 minutes. People already hacked Kinect on the PC, how many PC gamers/owners have gone crazy over it since then? We see absolutely crazily cool uses for it, but it's usually something niche (like open heart surgery), not something that would mandate everyone who buys the console to have to own the device.

[the better twin]

potential

lol. My post was prophetic.

[trooper11]

Arguing over the merits of Kinect is BS in my opinion. you guys are just arguing against walls. Those that find value in Kinect will never convince those that do not and vice versa. So instead of rehashing the same arguments, focus on what MS' options are and if you think the situation is so terrible that it warrants MS taking drastic steps to correct it. Honestly, who cares what you or I think about Kinect itself.

But nothing revolutionary can happen to motion gaming experiences

You know, you could have summed up your into post to just say this and it would drive your point home.

Kinect offers absolutely nothing to the X1 experience. That is what many people around here and the internet community at large believe. Well if that is the case, MS has a real problem on their hands. They are carrying around dead weight and need to cut it loose.

 

Inaccurate motion controller fails to live up to expectations? Shocker.

Been saying this since Microsoft ditched the core gamer with the first Kinect. The few Kinect fanboys left have been living on the promise of "future potential" for the last 5 years.

Ditching the Kinect wont help. They still have a weaker box. They need a radical reorganisation of the Xbox division, delivering the kind of games and new ips they did under J Allard and Peter Moore.

That still wont help them. Even putting out 'good games' wil be overshadowed by just how weak the X1 really is. If games are going to barely look any better than the 360, then what is the point? The intenret will simply drown them out and the winner assured.

 

 

As for Microsoft taking a loss, if it were so easy to do that then they would have done it from the start. Release the X1 for the same price as the PS4, take the hit, claim untold amounts of good faith from gamers and reap the rewards because people have Kinects for developers to build for. Clearly it's not possible otherwise they'd be doing it instead of lagging in sales. Even if they do it in the future, it's not ideal when investors are calling for the subdivison to get the chop, Elop reportedly wants to sell them and it's already deep in the red since the original Xbox launched. They need to start making money for a change.

Did I say it would be easy? Nope. They didnt do that becuase it would be very dangerous to do so. The options I laid out only exist becuase apparently it is now an emergency. In times of emergency, you have to be willing to make the tough decisions.

So again, MS can choose to take the serious financial hit and still keep Kinect, or they can drop Kinect all together. Your right though, the Xbox division may not even be around long enough for this to matter. They could be scrapped next year if the emergency continues.

[LaP]

Right now my Kinect gets used 90% to navigate the UI. Pretty much everything is so much faster with it. Skipping 4-5 steps to fire up a different app or game by saying "Xbox go to Y" etc. Saying "Xbox Record that" instead of having a share button. Especially when someone sends a message or you need to get to friends from within a game, easier and faster to say "Xbox go to messages/friends" than jump to home and find it.

 

A mic on the console itself would work as well as a mic on Kinect for that.

[trooper11]

A mic on the console itself would work as well as a mic on Kinect for that.

 

 

People would not be happy with that.  At least it can be seperated from the console as it is now.  That would just cause even more unhappiness.