So late last night an alleged Microsoft insider took to the NeoGAF boards and posted a ton of Xbox One rumors — future games, release dates, new consoles, the works. One of the rumors involved the future release a 1TB Xbox One without a disc drive for $399. It's an idea that may sound appealing to consumers, but one that industry analyst Michael Pachter calls "dumb, dumb, dumb."
“If this rumor is true, it is one of the dumbest ideas of all time,” Pachter said said in an industry note (via VG247). “It would alienate GameStop and other retailers, and it would demonstrate that Microsoft can afford to release a 1TB Xbox One at $399 with essentially the same production cost as the $499 model with a 500GB HDD and a Blu-ray drive.
“That would likely cause gamers to believe that the model with a Blu-ray drive is overpriced, or would cause them to believe that Microsoft is greedy.
“I have three words for this idea—dumb, dumb, dumb," he added. For what it's worth, Pachter said he respects the people at Microsoft "immensely," acknowledging they are "far from dumb."
Pachter concluded his thoughts on the subject by saying "I don't actually believe the rumor."
Personally, I don't either. I think Microsoft would be smarter to release a Kinect-less Xbox One than a system without an optical drive. I need my physical discs; I don't need a Kinect. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem Microsoft is too keen on the idea of an Xbox One without Kinect. On multiple occasions, the company has rejected the idea of a Kinect-less SKU.
