Microsoft: Kinect still huge part of Xbox One

Microsoft has confirmed that Kinect will still be a huge part of the Xbox One, despite yesterday's U-turn on its controversial DRM policies.

Now players won't have to be connected to the internet or register games, but it seems like the Kinect will still have to be plugged into the console at all times.

According to Xbox One product officer Marc Whitten, this is because Kinect is still "a really critical part of the architecture".

"We think it changes the way you interact with your experiences, being able to control the box with your voice or with gestures, being able to do Skype," he told IGN.

"And we want game and interactive entertainment creators to be able to know they can take advantage of it, and we want it to be completely consistent for our users. So we still are very committed to how Kinect transforms that experience."

Whitten also stood by the idea of cloud gaming, saying that games taking advantage of Microsoft's 300,000 servers will see the benefit.

"We still believe in how games and entertainment are transformed by being connected and powered by the cloud, and frankly you're going to see us really innovate against that experience," he added.

"We believe that most people, frankly, are going to continue to take advantage of the connected state and all that comes with it and that frankly it will be experiences like Titanfall taking unique advantage of the cloud, or Forza and drivatars that people are going to love and they're going to use."