Microsoft: Dropping Kinect could lead to more Xbox One games

The recent decision to remove Kinect as a mandatory console peripheral could lead to more Xbox One games being made, Microsoft has suggested.

With the Xbox One having launched last November, boxed alongside the motion-tracking Kinect add-on, Microsoft earlier this month confirmed that, in a bid to attract more gamers, it is to drop Kinect as a bundled accessory, reducing the console’s price to a PS4 rivalling £349 in the process.

Now, Phil Harrison, Microsoft’s European Studios Head has suggested that the decision to drop Kinect could ultimately result in more developers creating Xbox One games.

Question on the company’s move to ditch the bundled Kinect, Harrison stated: “Fundamentally that is good for opening up the Xbox One ecosystem.”

Speaking with OXM he added: “The more consumers who buy Xbox One, it’s a virtuous cycle for more developers to make and more consumers to play games, and that is what we’re committed to achieving and continuing.”

Although the decision to drop Kinect might be seen as something of an omission of fault, Microsoft is insistent than Kinect remains a priority moving forward.

Harrison stated that Microsoft is “committed to Kinect as the premium way to experience the Xbox One vision.” He added that 80 per cent of existing Kinect owners are active users.

The Kinect-free Xbox One will officially go on sale globally next month, offering gamers a new entry point to the latest Xbox ecosystem.

Read More: Xbox One vs PS4