Does it make sense for Microsoft to ditch Kinect?

[mutantsushi]

I don't think Kinect alone can really get them a significant cost/price advantage...
Maybe XBone has a SMALL cost advantage vs. PS4 with Kinect removed, probably $25 at most.
But PS4 has demonstrated 2:1 advantage in demand, which can be leveraged for higher volume discount w/ suppliers.
Removing Kinect would just be ONE PART of a MS price war strategy, they would still need to throw more money down the pit hoping it works.

Removing Kinect may EQUALIZE the costs, but I think any further investment would be better spent on exclusive development/purchases...
INCLUDING for Kinect... if there really is any game concepts that make good use of it, then MS should be showcasing that.
Not games where you can turn Kinect off and still play the same basic game, but where it is central to the experience.
I don't know if those really exist for AAA games, but hey, I'm not closing the door to that happening, if MS can step thru that door and deliver the goods.

But currently I don't think including Kinect is helping MS sales, so removing it at least lets them re-allocate investment that now goes into materials,
and send that into game development, which is a better usage if Kinect isn't leading to higher profit margin per console currently...
If they are happy with that profit margin, they would do better by putting it into games which could increase console sales AND/OR 1st party game attachment rate.