The Kinect Adapter Is Discontinued

Back in 2010 Microsoft released the Kinect for the Xbox 360. Their motion tracking camera went on to become one of the quickest selling electronic devices of all time. Unfortunately the success of the Kinect was short lived but, despite this, Microsoft still forced its younger sibling, the Kinect 2.0, on early buyers of the Xbox One.

Back in October of last year, Microsoft announced that production of the Kinect for the Xbox One had been cancelled. Now, just over seven years after the original camera went on sale, the Kinect has finally been put to rest as Microsoft kills production of the USB adapter required to plug the camera into both the Xbox One S and the One X.

A spokesperson from Microsoft had the following to say on the matter in a conversation with Polygon

After careful consideration, we decided to stop manufacturing the Xbox Kinect Adapter to focus attention on launching new, higher fan-requested gaming accessories across Xbox One and Windows 10

It's a bit of sickening move on behalf of Microsoft. There are plenty of Xbox gamers out there that still get hours of fun from their Kinect. A lot of those gamers might have bought the original Xbox One shortly after it launched, before the Kinect was removed and the console was given a massive price cut. These people, me included by the way, are now in a situation that if we want to upgrade to the One S or One X, we can't do so without leaving the Kinect behind.

Considering the Xbox One Kinect adapter was free in the beginning for those looking to upgrade to the One S, I can't understand why Microsoft would do this. They were hardly selling it for profit in the first place and I really though it would be something they would keep a limited supply of for fans who desperately needed it to upgrade.

What do you think folks, would you rather Microsoft kept the adapter for fans that needed it or are you glad to see the back of the Kinect and all that sails in her? Please feel free to leave any thoughts on the matter in the comments below.

Image From pcmag.com