While the news that a new redesigned Xbox One (where the removed Kinect will result in a $100 drop) is good news to some, while others are feeling a bit jipped.
Many who have already purchased an Xbox One at its original retail price tag of $499 are now looking to Microsoft to make things right monetarily. However, they search in vain, as the Xbox manufacture has recently stated they have no plans to compensate anyone who paid the full price for the next-gen system. A representative for the company confirmed that, “As with many first generation products, the offerings can be expected to change and evolve over time. Kinect remains an integral part of our vision. Xbox One is better with Kinect, making games, TV, and entertainment come alive with premium experiences.”
Essentiality, the translation of this statement is that those who picked up their system on launch day (or in the months following) received more in the box than folks who will purchase theirs next month (IE: the Kinect 2.0). Thus, the price increase was justified (whether you agree or not is another story). Yusuf Mehdi, who is chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi, was also asked if Microsoft has some kind of good will gesture planned in the wake of the redesign’s release. Unfortunately, a reference to their free content via their Games with Gold program is the best he could muster. “Part of what we’re trying to do is really deliver value…and that’s part of what we’re doing with some of the Games with Gold value offer that we’ve brought. One of the things that we did is we’re bring an extra game to Xbox 360. So we’re always trying to reward our best fans with more services.” Says Mehdi.
For those who still want to take advantage of the Kinect’s motion sensing technology (but want to save a few bucks up front in June) will have to wait until the stand-alone peripheral is released this fall.