Mike Nichols, chief marketing officer for Xbox, states that the majority of Xbox One Kinect owners still utilize the device on a regular basis, but not for gaming.

It may come as a surprise to some, but Microsoft claims that the majority of Xbox One owners that also own the Kinect peripheral still actively use the device. However, they are using it more to navigate menus and to sign in to their Xbox accounts than to play video games.

This news comes from Mike Nichols, the chief marketing officer for Xbox:

"Overall, we don't break down how many console users have Kinect and how many don't. That's a level of granularity we don't want to get into. I can say that the people with Kinect still make up a very, very sizable portion and that those people do use it quiet frequently. Less for games, but a lot more for biometric sign-in and user interface."

Nichols declined to state exactly how many Xbox One Kinect owners frequently use the device, but it stands to reason that most of those that purchased the Xbox One with Kinect would like to get as much mileage out of it as possible.

There was once a time when Microsoft insisted that the Kinect was an integral part of the Xbox One ecosystem, but they have since moved away from that. Microsoft even claimed that the Xbox One would never be sold without Kinect, but due to struggling sales compared to the competition, the manufacturer eventually offered Xbox One without Kinect.

Back when the Kinect was sold with every Xbox One console, though, many games utilized optional Kinect features. Since Kinect has been removed from the equation, we've seen significantly less support for the device in games, as many expected, with Kinect-only titles virtually non-existent at this point.

Because of this, it certainly makes sense that most Xbox One Kinect owners are using the device for other purposes, such as making selections on the user interface and navigating menus. That being said, one of the ways that players navigate the system using Kinect will be made obsolete in the Xbox One's next system update.

Gesture controls, that is, using motions with one's hands to make selections on the device, are going away. Microsoft discovered that people hardly used them anyway, and considering the voice controls are significantly faster and more convenient than the gesture controls, the decision makes sense.

While the Xbox One was once connected to the Kinect at the hip, it's clear that the device will not be a major part of the system's future. With Microsoft aggressively pushing a variety of holiday bundles without Kinect, it's safe to say that Kinect will become more irrelevant to the Xbox One experience as time goes on.

For the Xbox One Kinect owners out there, do you still find yourself utilizing the device on a regular basis? Have you used it to play any games? Tell us all about your Xbox One Kinect experience (or lack thereof).

Source: Polygon