Amidst the flurry of news surrounding Microsoft’s newest console, the Xbox One, one of the odder announcements was the fact that the latest Xbox needs to have the new Kinect plugged in at all times. Xbox’s UK marketing director Harvey Eagle has stated that if the motion capture device is not attached to the machine, the new Xbox is not able to function in any capacity.
Some are worried that this means that attempting to play the Xbox One in a confined or cluttered space will be impossible but Microsoft representatives assured reporters that the new Xbox will be able to work regardless of where they play.
When asked about potentially playing the Xbox One in a bedroom, Eagle had this to say:
“We use the living room almost as a moniker – that’s where we assume the best screen is in the house. But if you like to play in any other room in the house, the Xbox One will deliver the same quality of experience whatever the environment.”
While Microsoft is trying to downplay this always on feature, people can’t help but be slightly skeptical considering the current model requires a fair amount of open space and distance to function properly.
It is interesting to see the development team making the original add-on accessory mandatory in their next console, along with what advances the company has made in motion tracking and voice recognition. While this means that we are in store for some interesting new ways to play games, it is important to remember that some of the more fascinating things that were developed for the Kinect came out after it was modded by the public.
Hopefully by the time the holidays come, we will have played a bit of the Xbox One to see if this addition is warranted.