Xbox head Phil Spencer today announced that Xbox One will soon be unbundled from Kinect, leaving the system-only package with a final price of $399.
Kinect-less bundles will become available June 9, alongside discount service Deals with Gold. A sister program to Games with Gold (and rival to PlayStation Plus), Deals with Gold will offer Xbox Live Gold members significant discounts on digital titles.
Forza 5, Ryse: Son of Rome and “a few other surprises” will be featured in the service this June, and Microsoft promises savings of 50 to 75 percent on some titles. Whether such a massive discount will hit the two poster-child triple-A titles remains to be seen.
Answering yet another massive outcry from players, it has also been confirmed that entertainment apps will become available to all Xbox 360 and XOne players, regardless of whether they are an Xbox Gold member. This confirms an earlier hint and, coupled with the other changes, puts Xbox One on par with PS4 in many ways.