Microsoft Believes It Will Sell More Kinects in the Long Run

Microsoft's head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, says that the company's new Kinect-less Xbox One will ultimately lead to more sales and a greater number of Kinects in gamers' homes.

"This might seem backwards, but I believe the decision we made to allow people to buy Xbox One without Kinect included, in the end, will actually lead to more Kinects in the market," he said, speaking with Polygon. "I believe that you've got to sell the console before you can sell Kinect."
The price drop to an "entry price" will attract more buyers, Spencer says. "We've got to be competitive with the Xbox One console, and then we're going to allow people to add Kinect later when they can. They can buy it standalone. If they want to buy it day one, I still think that's the best Xbox One experience over the long run, but giving them choice will let us grow the largest install base of Xbox One customers, and those who choose to, will actually add Kinect to it as well."
He also says that the new Kinect-less Xbox One will allow developers to choose when Kinect is part of their game's experience, and that "that's the way it should be."

The Kinect-free Xbox One became available on June 10 at a lowered price of US$399; Microsoft's chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi defended the decision to release a new, Kinect-less Xbox One.
When Microsoft first announced the Xbox One, it was revealed that the console wouldn't function if Kinect was unplugged, leading some to worry about privacy. Since then, the company decided to reverse this policy.