Xbox One Now Kinect Less OPINION: Fail

Well it took a year. One year, 52 weeks, 365 days and that's as far as I'm prepared to go on that. 
WARNING: This Article is basicly a giant "Abe's Take" 

UPDATE: Xbox One Owners wanting a little more than a "promise" are banding together on the official forums in attempt to get microsoft to address the situation. Some hoping for a compensation others hoping they reverse the choice  

As of June you will be able to buy an Xbox One at a minor discount without the Kinect which will make some people happy and may even stimulate sales.

Not me though...

E3 2013 - E3 2014 that's how long it took for every major detail about the Xbox One to do a U-turn and the console no longer resembles it's self. Many a "fan" has been calling for this from day one and Microsoft out right denied it would ever happen, phrases like "the Kinect IS the Xbox One as much as the controller is" and "Kinect is next gen" Surrounded the system at it's announcement event, E3 and even it's launch party but apparently Microsoft just had to to that last U turn. Apparently made in the name of "choice" but giving the gamer the choice whether to buy a Kinect or not maybe the devices downfall.

The previous Kinect wasn't quite what was promised when it first appeared as project natal but if you speak to developers their concerns wasn't things like lag, play space or image quality, It was install base. They just didn't know if their game would reach a kinect user or not. The decision bundle it's new version with every unit stuck accord with developers and every lunch title fore the X1 used it in some way. Battlefield 4 let you lean around corners (as would Thief months later), Dead Rising 3 had you commanding allies and luring zombies with out having to navigate though a tiered menu and shaking zombies off using the controller instead of a rapid press QTE. Even the UI and functions of the X1 are tailored to the Kinect there is no RECORD THAT button and it's far easier and quicker to navigate the menu's and invite friends using the Kinect. They'll have to add buttons for the Kinect functions cluttering up the UI further.

A Kinect less X1 should of appeared further down the line in the form of the oft rumoured "lite" version that would been with out a blu-ray drive and delivered at a low cost.