New Xbox One Experience won’t have Kinect gestures

In an interview with Windows Central, Partner Director of Program Management at Microsoft Mike Ybarra announced the exclusion of Kinect gestures from the new New Xbox One Experience (NXOE). This comes as a surprise to fans of the console as the Kinect has always been part of the Xbox One hardware lineup.

Ybarra elaborated on the decision:

With gestures, the reality was the usage was very, very low. So for now, we’ve cut that from the New Xbox One Experience.

The team will also continue to monitor user feedback about Kinect gestures and if fans request it, he continues.

The Xbox One Kinect was an upgrade over its predecessor and Microsoft often touted the then new device’s capabilities. Even with the upgrade in power, the Xbox One Kinect still suffered from the same issues as its predecessor, such as unrecognised gesture and voice problems.

Read more: 5 possible reasons why the PlayStation 4 is outselling the Xbox One

Launching in 2013 under and under the leadeership of Don Mattrick, the Xbox One came bundled with a mandatory Kinect sensor included. In 2014 Microsoft announced it would be selling Xbox One consoles without the bundles unit, which helped lower the console’s price by US$100.This move not only helped the company compete with the PlayStation 4 in price, but also allowed developers access to resources reserved for the Kinect sensor.

The NXOE will be launching internationally on 12 November and will include the ability to play 104 backwards compatible Xbox 360 titles.