Microsoft (MSFT +1.01%) recently removed Kinect as a required accessory to its core Xbox One bundle, effectively backtracking on its previous insistence that the motion tracking device was an essential part of the experience of using the tech giant's latest video game console.
But the Fool's Steve Symington says in the following video that the move to finally promote the Kinect as an optional accessory isn't Microsoft's biggest blunder with the Xbox One so far. Instead, Steve says, Microsoft's most significant mistake was simply taking so long to do so.
The move makes sense considering that newly promoted Xbox head Phil Spencer recently insisted that gaming will be placed front and center for the Xbox One going forward. And the Xbox One's bread-and-butter hard-core gaming audience simply doesn't value the functionality of Kinect nearly as much as casual consumers do.
It didn't sit too well with gamers that Microsoft initially put gaming on the back burner in favor of promoting the $500 Xbox One bundle as a broader entertainment platform. Meanwhile, Sony (SNE +0.10%) opted from the very beginning to simply offer its competing Eye accessory as an add-on purchase, which meant the company could sell its PlayStation 4 for just $400. It should come as little surprise, then, that Sony has already sold an estimated 9 million PlayStation 4 consoles worldwide, compared to sales of just 5 million Microsoft Xbox One consoles.
To hear more from Steve about what impact Microsoft's decision could have for the future of its Xbox One console, please watch the full video below.
