The past few weeks have been a bit crazy. In a move most of us didn’t expect, Microsoft decided it was best to back off on most of the policies it had been pushing for the Xbox One. That means that we won’t be seeing the restrictive DRM that would make passing used games along difficult, or the 24-hour check-ins that would almost require owners of the system to have a steady internet connection to play single-player games. It was shocking, so when the above image of a cheaper, Kinect-less Xbox One started to float around the internet, it was difficult to not at least consider its authenticity for a few moments. If the Xbox One didn’t need all those other features that seemed necessary before, maybe it doesn’t really need Kinect, either.
Well, according to Phil Spencer of Microsoft, the picture of this $379.99 model is an absolute fake. We reached out to the executive in order to put the whole thing to rest, and received a quick response from Spencer.
@JosiahRenaudin Fake.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) June 27, 2013
There you have it, folks. As of right now, you will only be able to buy an Xbox One at the previously announced price of $499.99. And yes, the Kinect technology must be bundled in order for the whole thing to work. There will likely be more rumors and unconfirmed images over the next few months (and probably a handful that are more convincing than this one). Until we hear anything from Microsoft proper, though, we’ll just have to throw everything into the rumor column.
