A Kinectless XB1 won't happen BUT...

[freedquaker]

I don't think MS wants to release a Kinectless SKU but MS is a very practical company so they will ACT somehow in a direction which is not far off. Now let's analyze...

a) They know that XB1 is too expensive currently. Regardless of what they would (politically) claim regarding the value of XB1, people just don't buy it (the claim). A price decrease WILL come. The question is when? Microsoft is also a realistic company, so they won't bring a straightforward price decrease this soon. But they will either price discriminate (perfectly legal) like bundling a free accessory or a game  (and effectively decrease the price by $60 to some), or go by unofficial price discounts (as in Europe) etc...

b) Kinect cannot go away, this would have unprecendented backlash and worse future repercussions. However, they may HIDE the Kinect. In other words, they may integrate the Kinect into the machine, which is both cost saving and more convenient. So I believe there is a good chance we will see an XB1 SKU with an integrated Kinect in the future revision sold for $399. This way, they will both keep the Kinect (and their integrity) by saving money and passing it on to the customers, the main reason for which is to boost the demand.

This way, Kinect will still be on the table for those who exclusively want its functionality but it will not be the focus and so disturbing to those who dislike it, and the machine will be cheaper to manufacture as a whole. But we need 1-2 years for this to happen (if any).