It doesn't seem very smart. They are significantly increasing the cost of their console just to boost Kinect support? At the same time they are going to boost PS Camera support as third parties will throw the same features into the PS4 version.

Given how it has been going for MS, keeping it bundled only makes sense if their plan is to try and reclaim some of the costs of all the R&D by forcing it on early adopters, before dropping it next year before the PS4 is too far ahead. The Kinect will just be another casualty of the botched reveal, and will be the last thing they will drop to complete their 180.

Nope.

http://www.vgchartz.com/yearly/2011/Global/

You know you are on a website where this data is only a few mouse clicks away right? There's never any need to be wrong about hardware sales.

Only to the wishful thinker.

You can't draw parallels between PS3/360 and PS4/Xb one and conclude that Xb one has a shot at outselling PS4. You're assuming all things are equal aside from price and game library, when they are not. Playstation as a brand is still preferred over brand Xbox in most markets. This means PS has an automatic advantage with the customer base before any other considerations are taken into account. And that means Xbox has to overcome that automatic advantage before it reaches parity, and then is has to do even more in order to be able to pull ahead.

Xbox 360 had a price, early launch and game library advantage early in the generation, but it wasn't enough to end up ahead. Xb one doesn't have those advantages, certainly it is disadvantaged on price and while arguably it has an advantage on game library (though that is largely opinion) any advantage it has is slight by comparison to PS3/360. On the flip side 360 had a high failure rate giving it a reputation hit. Best that can be hoped for at this stage is that Xb one won't be hamstrung by such a thing.

Xb one is at a distinct disadvantage on many fronts. Kinect is in the plus column no doubt, but I don't think it's nearly enough to bring it up to parity with PS4's advantages.

X1 is designed to work without kinect, you can unplug it completley its launching in countries that dont support there languages, and i will guarantee you flag ship titles like halo will work without kinect, they didnt work without a hard drive!

I dismiss Kinect because i like games, i want to play Titan Fall, the next Gears of war and so on. These titles wont be any better for kinect they just make the console more expensive for me. 

Kinect is a peripheral it is not X1. It does minor gimmiks in games i dont want and it does menu navigation that im sure i will cope using a pad for instead, ive been doing it for 30 years with a pad, it might be easier to launch a game with kinect BUT i can cope with pressing A on the Pad, i will have to be holding the pad to play the game anyway. 

I was thinking that the Xbone will probably take the most of from the Wii customers, since the WiiU is not up to the task. All because of Kinect. So it might be that the Xbone will be the holiday seller instead of the Wii this time around. And they can always drop the price to get there if needed.

Yeah... That's like when I buy a PC, although my tower has a slot for a Blu-ray player, since I don't want that feature, I'm not getting one. Even though my tower was built with slots for such a feature... 

Or I get a phone that can go online via 3G or 4G... But because I don't need that feature, I'm not subscribing to a data plan... Those greedy cell phone makers... They want me to upgrade and are selling me those phones at such a higher price because they're including these features in all their phones!!! So unthought out on their part!!! How dare they include that feature and give me a choice to use it or not based on my own decided monthly phone plan!!! 

-__-

That's when it comes to your argument about the PS4. Which is quite poor.

Now, when it comes to your position about Kinect and its integration with the XBO, I agree with you that it's just like the Wii-U Gamepad. It's part of the system. At least, from what MS is saying so far. But until I have been shown real evidence that the console is better with it, that it really is necessary to the system unlike the original Kinect was for the 360, then I won't be convinced it's better to have it included with every XBO. 

MS didn't convince me I needed Kinect with the 360. All I saw was a neat gimmick. They have to work their ass off now to prove to me that this time is different.

I am very interested in how people can come to the conclusion that the XB1 has been designed to work without the Kinect.  Just like my car was designed to work without the instrument panel working.  Sure, I can turn on the car and drive it to where I am going.  I might get a speeding ticket or run out of gas, but it will still do it's primary function.  So, you are right, the XB1 is capable of not using the Kinect. 

Based on your interest in only playing games, I suggest that you buy a 360 or PS3.  Both the PS4 and XB1 are way overpowered and capable to just play games.  Lots of wasted capabilities that you needn't pay for.  They are also much cheaper, and that seems be a driving factor in your determination.

Unfortunately for you, you find the purpose of the design of XB1 to be a gimmick and useless to you.  If you feel you must play next gen games, get a PS4 and you won't have as much unneeded capabilities.

im stunned you cant get your head rounnd it, your example is terrible, theres is no major function on the Xone that cant be accessed without kinect.

I want to play the next gen games including the exclusives, im getting a ps4 first as its cheaper and more than likley will have the better versions of multiplats in terms of performance, but i do want an XOne for its exclusives down the line.

Body motion tracking wont play any part in the types of games i like to play. Voice control will never take off mainstream in games certainly not this gen, too many languages and accents to support so devs will never risk doing anything major on that. 

You make me laugh that you even suggest there over powered for games, there is NOTHING not a single thing that they will ever run that will require more power than the games running on them.

So instead of the worlds worst analogies try listing actual features that GAMERS will miss by not plugging in there kinects.

Millions of gamers are narrow minded and can't think outside their next gaming fix. Its nifty to have and certainly pays for itself with 10 years of added convienence.

Just seems that PS4 is just playing things ridiculously safe.....protecting the status quo of the scared-of-change gamer.

Don't assume that i don't understand your point just because i disagree with you.  I think you need to try to get your head around that.

If my analogy is so bad, give me an axample of something you can't do in your car that the instrument panel stops you from doing?  If you understood the analogy, then you wouldn't have said it it was bad.  No one is ever going to say that the XB1 can't be operated without Kinect.  My analogy clearly states that a car can be driven without an instrument panel.  Like the Kinect does to the XB1, the instrument panel adds functionality and convenience to the car.  I drive my car all the time without ever looking at the instrument panel without any problems.  You can use the XB1 without the Kinect and have no problems.  The Kinect is a feature of the XB1, not just an accessory.  If you don't want the kinect, don't get the XB1.  You aren't demanding that Sony remove the hardware associated with the move technology are you?  Have you demanded that SOny removes the software too?  How about either the ethernet jack/wifi(whichever you deem useless)?  What about the 8 gigs of ram(wasn't really needed yet)? 

What you really want is a console with only the parts that fit YOU.  The PS4 and XB1 are designed to play games.  They are both designed to do many other things too.  What you want is to make blanket statements(see bolded in your comment) about your particular needs as if they fit everyone.  What's funny is that how many people said the same BS back when the PS2 launched.  "why can't it be cheaper?" or  "It's cheaper if it didn't have DVD"  Then the PS3 came out and the same BS "why can't it be cheaper?" or "It's cheaper if it didn't have bluray".  The designers of the systems aren't just looking at the ability to play games, as the hardware to do so now enables them to create whole new capabilities by putting a few more things built in from the word go.  No one is telling you to like every feature on each gaming system, that's why there are 3 main consoles to choose from. Pick the one that fits you.  Your the one who wants all of the games from every console(me too), then live with the features that have no interest to you.

The people complaining about the Kinect part of XB1 need to get their head around the fact that it was a design choice to make that part of the system.