Microsoft says Xbox One still won't be sold without Kinect

When Xbox chief product officer Marc Whitten said Xbox One doesn't need Kinect to function, many (us included) speculated about a Kinect-less bundle; it could be just the thing to match Xbox One's $500 price tag with the $100-cheaper PS4.

But Microsoft corporate VP Phil Harrison told CVG that it just isn't in the cards. Even though Xbox One can function without Kinect, it's still too important a part of the system to go without.

"Xbox One is Kinect," Harrison said. "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."

Microsoft has reversed direction on several of Xbox One's unpopular policies before, but it's getting a bit close to November for Microsoft to start pulling Kinects out of boxes.

"I have an Xbox One at home, and being able to walk in and say "Xbox on", and for the system to recognise me, launch and load my profile, and put my choices of content on the front page is a very magical experience," Harrison said. "It makes you think about your relationship with technology in a slightly different way. It's personal. It makes you think, I wish more devices would do this."