There’s been yet another change to the configuration of Microsoft’s Xbox One before it officially lands in South Africa and this time it’s a big one. Xbox’s Phil Spencer has announced, via the Xbox Wire news service, that the Xbox One will be available in June in “…all markets where Xbox One is sold” minus the Kinect peripheral.
This is a pretty big move for Microsoft, especially since it comes with a price drop, since it turns the Xbox One from a voice controlled media center into a much more standard gaming console. This is going to make at least a few people happy, considering the apathy that some gamers have directed towards the motion controller.
The Kinect-less Xbox One will be available from 9 June at a $400 price point (R4,200). This should mean that the cheaper edition will be available in South Africa at launch but the Kinect-featuring version will also still be available.
Microsoft announced a few other new additions, one of which is long overdue. The company’s Deals with Gold, which includes special pricing for Xbox Live Gold members, will be launching for the Xbox One in June. And then there are the apps available on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. From June, Xbox gamers will not need a Gold account to access the apps available to them – this means that you’ll finally be able to stream cat videos over the YouTube app without having to pay Microsoft a monthly subscription.
Source: Xbox Wire