
According to GameStop there seems to be a growing interest on the Xbox One since the recent price cut. With the Kinect now being removed from the package, Xbox One consoles are being sol for $399 (the same price as Sony’s PS4).
In the recent financial earnings call Tony Bartel, GameStop president, said: "I definitely think we're already seeing in our stores [that] there's a stronger demand as a result of the price drop. The good news for us is... we'll sell a lot more units. And that means there will be more [Xbox One] units out there to put software on."
It has been over 10 days since Microsoft announced that they will be shipping the Xbox One without Kinect. The Xbox One will now be sold for £349, 399 Euros and $499 AUD from 9th June. This decision has been made supposedly due to consumer feedback but I guess anyone could’ve told Microsoft this was a good thing to do.
Although the bad side is that many of the developers were not even told about this decision and thus were left in the dark. Additional concerns regarding the future of the Kinect has also been voiced by several members in the gaming community. Since the Kinect was there with every Xbox One, there was more incentive to work on apps and features that take advantage of it. Now that might not be the case and the Kinect might again be pushed to the background.
However Phil Spencer did come forward and say that the Kinect still is important to them, "Kinect remains an important part of our vision. We will continue to innovate on Kinect. I think it's an important differentiator for us."