ms killed kinect by not having a killer game for it. we're about 6 months in and we still don't have any killer games even announced.

No, Kinect was pretty much over. Both consumers interest and developer support for Kinect went over a cliff with the 360 and the XO version has really shown nothing groundbreaking that would bring it back. If it had been unbundled with the XO, it would have sold poorly.

Microsoft wanted to keep it, however, which is fine, but they went the route of forcing people to buy it without delivering much to justify that. All that did was to make them look arrogant and to piss off consumers.

Then by your reasoning X1 sales should see a noticeable spike as all the people who complained about Kinnect 2 being bundled now rush out and buy one. I believe the large majority of people who allegedly disliked being 'forced' to buy Kinnect are Sony fans who just wanted to see another embarrassing 180. A few might have imagined the potential and possibilities long-term and actually wanted Kinnect destroyed as a viable control interface to maintain the status quo and ensure another Sony 'win'. Mission accomplished!

Microsoft made a number of potentially industry changing decisions early on but then let a group, largely made up of people who hate the company anyway, dictate the X1s future. We'll see how that works out.

One thing's for sure. Microsoft have once again demonstrated they have neither a vision for the future or anything vaguely resembling courage or conviction. Our man Spence is apparently a gutless prettyboy who's highest ambition is to get his 'likes' up on facebook. That's what you get for hiring the handsome. Imho. ;p

Well, yeah, I certainly do expect that to happen once Kinect-less console is actually released.

Any price drop will cause a surge in console sales, it's inevitable. It might not be enough to take over the PS4 for the summer, but it'll be more competetive in NA and the UK.

I really think that Kinect had not so much potential to begin with.

It's here for 4 years and I've never seen anything awesome on it, can't think it's a new step to gaming, or than any popular genre except for party/casual game will fit on it. It didn't become a trend in the industry, and it's hype was dropping on the 360.

I think MS was totally aware of it. They could not make it the main and only controller the same way the wiimote was. They could not achieve a strong lineup with games based on it.  In fact they still can't show anything great after 6 month.

So the kinect was really by essence a secondary device... just like a wheel you would use for racing games. They could not make it interesting enough to sell independently, so they bundled it. "Avoid fragmentation" is a beautiful way to say "the product can't achieve sufficient market share without force selling it in a bundle".

Incorrect, kinect had no potential ...

But by bundling it (and in the process making consumers hate it), they made it more unpopular than ever. Look at the PS Eye, over 1 million sold and it wasn't bundled. The Kinect should have been what Morpheus is trying to be- a future tech that is optional, and gains popularity due to its uses, not just because it was forced on consumers. 

If you don't make stuff like that mandatory, it will never be used. With that said, I don't really think Kinect is very great to begin with...

Actually I agree. The reason people accepted the original Kinect is that it could be bundled with a console for $300. It gave the 360 a second wind and was great for the casual who also wanted an established library of games for his/her family to choose from.

But then they shoehorned it into a $500 console and tried to sell it to the hardcore with no games that us kinect much even out. "Hey this is the future of gaming, even though none of our games really use it!"

Kinect's potential starts and ends at the OS. Gaming-wise it was always useless for me. Navigating with the voice control is neat but I have no interest in buying software for it.