Super great," tweeted Harmonix director of publishing John Drake. You can see Harmonix developers' reactions to the announcement on Twitter, as Fantasia isn't out until Fall 2014. You'll probably see Harmonix' Fantasia: Music Evolved, a new Just Dance, and whatever Kinect thing Microsoft has Rare on this year.
While the Kinect-based offerings haven't been great so far, the chances of a major Kinect-based game have now dropped to zero. It moves the sensor from being a pack-in with every system to being a peripheral, and developers don't tend to support peripherals in meaningful ways. More importantly, this change throws the Kinect out to die. It's telling that many of these changes have been announced heading into E3. While Titanfall probably helped move some Xbox Ones, its launch didn't push the Xbox One ahead.Īs the PlayStation 4 began to break away in sales and graphical prowess in multi-platform titles, it became imperative for Microsoft to even the odds. Even in the best case scenario, the Xbox One is 2 million behind its rival. According to March NPD releases, the Xbox One has only shipped 5 million consoles, while the PlayStation 4 has sold 7 million. It points to a big vote of no-confidence in the Xbox One's current path against Sony's console. These are good announcements from Microsoft, but they largely bring the Xbox One and Xbox Live Gold into parity with the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Plus.
XBOX ONE WITH KINECT PRICES WINDOWS
Under new CEO Nadya Satella, Microsoft has been quick to change direction on Windows and these Xbox announcements are a part of that same strategy stop taking on water and right the ship.
XBOX ONE WITH KINECT PRICES FREE
Microsoft is also launching a VIP program for Xbox Live Gold members, offering "free games, monthly deals, and other great benefits." The free Games With Gold promotion continues on Xbox 360 in June with Dark Souls, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, and Charlie Murder the promotion launches on Xbox One with Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault. June's discounted titles will be Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome. Since video apps won't require it, Xbox Live Gold will be getting a boost from the new Deals With Gold program, which will discount games 50 to 75 percent each month. Starting in June, anyone with an Xbox 360 or Xbox One can use apps like Netflix, HBO Go, Twitch, Skype, Machinima, GoPro, Red Bull TV, the NFL, MLB.TV, NBA Game Time, NHL Game Center, and OneGuide without paying for Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft is also backtracking on requiring Xbox Live Gold for entertainment applications. "To be clear, as we introduce this new Xbox One console option, Kinect remains an important part of our vision." Gotta change those marketing pictures.
You want a wide variety of options in your games and entertainment experiences and you also want options in your hardware selection," wrote Xbox boss Phil Spencer in the Xbox Wire news post. "We've heard that you want more choices from Xbox One. The company will be offering the standalone Kinect sensor this Fall, but the price point wasn't disclosed. The new price point offers the system without the all-new Kinect that Microsoft was positioning as a necessary item when the system was first revealed.
Microsoft announced today that the Xbox One will be available on June 9 at $399. Around six months out from the launch of the Xbox One at $499 with the Kinect as a pack-in, Microsoft has decided to release the system in a new configuration. Is there something you think we should be reporting on? Email didn't take long.