Without Kinect does Xbox One face the stigma of being seen as a redundant Console?

[onQ]

A Kinect-less Xbox One doesn't seem to have a good selling point or 'It Factor' next to it's closest competition.

• There is exclusive titles but Halo seems to be the only one that will make a big difference in the line up so far that could make the Xbox One stand out.
  
• No price advantage that could make it the lowest hanging fruit for people who just want a new console.
  
• No technical advantages that will make games look or play better compared to it's competition (besides the push for cloud computing).
  
• There wasn't a years head-start that would make it the more established console on the market with more games & developers having a better grip on the hardware.
  
• It's not aimed at a different market from it's competition where it could escape the head to head comparison in which it pretty much comes up short in every area.
  
• It's not a smaller design making it easier to carry around & better for kids/teens who take their consoles with them from place to place.

Xbox One with Kinect was a vision that a lot of people didn't agree with but at least there was a vision before. Now it seems to be a question of "why is the Xbox One here?" & I have a scary feeling that Microsoft & some devs are starting to ask this same question.

Xbox One remind me a lot of the Sega Saturn.
Priced $100 more at launch then dropped the price to match the competition, 3rd party devs have a hurdle to jump over vs making the same game for the other system and it hasn't really made a case for it's self besides having exclusives but that didn't help Saturn much because people was able to find games that filled the void on the PS1.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I think so and have argued as much. Without Kinect, what's XB1's USP? Counterarguments were basically that MS could compete on software as that's what really matters. Not entirely sure this discussion warrants its own thread. All the points have been expressed already.

In favour
Consoles are about games and the experience. If XB1 plays the games and offers a good community and services, it still has value to gamers and can compete as a similar device with its own exclusives. Also, XB1 still has Kinect and the Kinect features for those who want them.

Against
Kinect was XB1's USP. Without it, it becomes a less-powerful me-too box with little to differentiate. Although technically it's still supported, not being standard, and not being target by MS who have said their devs like Rare don't have to make Kinect games any more, it'll be a very niche interface. For the core gamer who major interests are in cross-platform titles, PS4 offers better value and likely always will.

Then it can be dragged on a bit with discussion of social networks and wanting to remain with one's XBLive groups, and snowballing interest in the rival. We'll probably have a list wars about available/upcoming games showing one platform has way more/better games than the other. Joker will probably pop up saying XB1 should have had BC p).

No, I feel this doesn't deserve its own thread as it's not tackling anything new. Any particular observation could be rolled into the Business Discussion or XB1 post release examination or Kinectless XB1 fallout thread.