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by beardfu 4596 days ago
The system will function without Kinect plugged in, Microsoft reversed the always on requirement:

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/xbox-one/get-the-facts

>Xbox One does not require a Kinect to be plugged in for the system to function.

You can supposedly control the use of your data according to the fact page also.
2 comments
tostitos1979 4596 days ago
Thanks, I missed that they changed this requirement. As an owner of all 3 of the previous generation of consoles, the always-on camera + voice was an absolute deal breaker for me.

I'm still going to hold off for a few reasons. The first is the requirement for XBox Live Gold. It makes no sense to me why I have to pay $$$ to Microsoft in order to watch Netflix. My PS3 does quite fine without a subscription. I was a fan of the Halo franchise but after the "incidents" with Bungie (Halo shoot'em ups) and Ensemble (lesser known for Halo Wars, more known for Age of Empires), I feel bad supporting the franchise with my $$$.

I'm also getting old and have less time to play games on my consoles. My iPad used to get a lot of game-related usage until the games started becoming "free" and continuously bugged me for in-game coin purchases.

Maybe I am just out of touch.

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duvet 4596 days ago
The PS4 requires Playstation Plus to play online but I'm not sure whether apps like Netflix require that.

I had the same issue with Halo. Ultimately, I'm not going to support the Xbox One due to likely surveillance. At least with the PS4 the camera isn't forced on you at purchase. Although the PS4 camera does seem to have similar features like facial recognition. I wonder whether that will encourage anything malicious.

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tostitos1979 4596 days ago
Wow ... no multiplayer without PS+? You seem to be correct and this is a step back for Sony in my opinion. I thought they were the humble ones this time around and not pulling this crap.

PS+ doesn't seem to be required for Netflix and Amazon though.

Source: http://mashable.com/2013/11/07/playstation-4-facts/

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jrajav 4596 days ago
> You can supposedly control the use of your data according to the fact page also.

I'd trust this to apply to Microsoft's contractual use of the data, but not to the NSA's expansive powers under current laws.

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