Xbox One with Kinect at launch was “right call”, says Microsoft

Microsoft has defended its decision to sell the Xbox One bundled with Kinect, stating it was the “right call” for launch.

Xbox Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Yusef Medhi, has spoken out on the company’s decision to launch the Kinect-free Xbox One.

Speaking to Forbes, Medhi believes the company made the right decision to keep the Kinect in the box when originally launching the Xbox One back in November.

“I think it was the right call to bundle with Kinect. In the beginning of a new console generation, you’re trying to set the bar for a new experience, and I think we did that with Xbox One”, said Medhi. “The proof is really in the usage. 80 per cent of people are using Kinect which is remarkable compared to the last generation.”

“We’re doing 120 voice commands on average a month with over a billion commands issued. People who wanted the experience came and bought it. we were sold out through all the holidays. I think it was the right call, and now is a good time to offer more choice for people who haven’t been able to get that experience.”

Some Day One or early Xbox One adopters are worried that the latest news means Microsoft is abandoning the Kinect altogether, so Major Nelson a.k.a Xbox Live’s Larry Hyrb has taken to the social media forums to quell those fears.

“Of course we’ll still work to improve Kinect”, added Hyrb on Reddit.

Medhi also reinforced this in his latest interview, highlighting that the decision to offer a Kinect-free Xbox was made in conjunction with developers.

“We made this decision in conjunction with our games publishers and our entertainment partners. As you can imagine, we have really strong relationships. The two of us looked at the problem the same way. We love Kinect, we love the way it’s going and the possibilities. At the same time, we also wanted to have a broadened base of users.”

Read more: Kinect-free Xbox One stinks of Microsoft desperation