Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has finally acknowledged that Xbox One will work faster without the Kinect, following a great deal of speculation over the previous few months on the issue. A Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer that if Kinect is removed from the console, the additional resources will enable up to 10% faster GPU performance.
Extra GPU to be utilized
The executive said that the company is committed to offering developers new tools and the flexibility to advance the Xbox One games by using the GPU reserve in whatever way is best for them and their games.
However, there was no confirmation regarding whether the company will offer more 1080p 60fps titles to stand in direct competition to PlayStation 4. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stated that games of Xbox One are beautiful and have rich gameplay and platform features. Furthermore, the usage of GPU will entirely depend on the developers. The spokesman also confirmed that the company is working with a number of developers on how they can best utilize the GPU.
The comment follows the news that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will release a new SDK for developers in June to utilize the extra GPU resources previously required for Kinect. The software giant said that developers will have to find ways to utilize the extra GPU they are getting, and it would not be as simple as simply unplugging the Kinect from the console and getting extra power.
“Accessing the additional GPU resources is done by the developer, and how developers choose to access the extra GPU performance for their games is up to them,” it confirmed.
Microsoft Xbox One without Kinect equals PS4 in price
Although an increase in power will give an edge to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its competition with PlayStation 4, this does not bode well for Kinect. Kinect technology was presented as ground-breaking, but developers avoided it and it now seems that the GPU resources will be more important than designing a second control system.
Microsoft Xbox One prices were kept above that of PlayStation 4, citing that the former has Kinect technology. However, with the technology now being removed from the console the price will come down to PlayStation level at $399.
Developers will no longer be confused over selecting between the Kinect technology and greater speed as the new version will be the SKU without Kinect.
