Xbox One S skipping on a Kinect port poses one too many questions

Microsoft  revealed its refreshed Xbox One S console just a few days ago and it packs in plenty of extras like a new Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Design Lab and even an Limited Edition “Gears of War 4” Elite controller. Alongside, Microsoft also spoke about Project Scorpio that it claims will be the most powerful gaming console ever . But that is reserved for the holiday season of 2017 and right now the only new console Xbox fans will be interested in is the One S. While it does feature a sleek new design in “robot white”, supports 4K Ultra HD for Blu-ray movies and HDR support for video it also misses out one other important hardware feature that everyone almost skipped on, a port for Microsoft’s Kinect accessory. Polygon who had a chat with GM of Marketing for Xbox devices, Matt Lapsen, reports that Microsoft removed it in order to make the console “as compact as possible”. But The Verge claims that it indeed marks the end of the Kinect accessory. Microsoft’s focus with the Xbox One this year is indeed its digital voice assistant, Cortana. And the company has big plans to bring it to the Xbox One in a big update that is coming this summer. Removing the Kinect port, an accessory, that many thought was the coolest bit of the Xbox 360, clearly hints that Kinect is indeed dead and Microsoft may have no plans to revive it anytime soon. With console makers including Sony, going heavy on VR launches this year, it becomes obvious that Kinect has lost interest and Microsoft has given up on it. Project Scorpion will be picking up where the Xbox 360 left off, taking Xbox fans into the realm of Virtual Reality in 2017. That leaves Xbox fans with a few reasons as to why they should look up to the One S when there is something much better headed their way in 2017.