Nope, you're missing what I've said. I've said that the first Kinect had problems, and that I'd like to actually be able to see that this one is improved first-hand before I buy it. I've said that I don't like that I have to make the extra $100 investment in the technology when I have yet to see it work successfully. I've also never said that the Kinect itself is a single reason I am currently planning to pass on the Xbox One for a bit. I've stated it's the combination of the $500 price (a result of the Kinect), the requirement of plugging the Kinect in (just sounds a little creepy, I admit slight paranoia), the check-in (think it's too punishing to some, even if it won't hurt me), and the lack of clarity on the sharing features (just because I want to know their function fully before I pass judgment on them). I've stated that I have a problem with the Kinect. I've stated that I don't CURRENTLY plan to get an Xbox. I've not said that one is entirely related to the other, because they simply are not. If my ONLY issue was the Kinect, I'd still get the Xbox. Instead, there are 4 or 5 meaningful things that I don't like, so I want to wait to see how this all develops right now.
I agree, testing it at Best Buy is an option. I don't like the idea of doing it (just because I don't like the thought of playing a Kinect game in public, making myself look like a goofball), but that's a personal preference that I don't consider as having any weight in the discussion. I could try it as a friend's, and that WOULD be what I end up doing, in some cases. However, I'm kind of the go-to person among my family and friends with this stuff. So, if I'm telling people I am holding off on getting the Xbox One for a variety of reasons, it is likely they will as well (not trying to make myself sound important, it's just the way it tends to go--I was the first person I knew with an Xbox, the first with an Xbox LIVE subscription, the first with an Xbox 360, the first with a Zune, the first with Windows 8, and I would have been the first with Windows Phone, but I couldn't upgrade at the time). Point is, it's LIKELY going to be that I have to take the plunge on the Xbox One before anyone I know and am around will do so (it's possible my cousin in Texas gets it first, but I can't exactly drive 12+ hours on a whim to go try his console out in November, when finals are about to start, haha).
I'm not asking Microsoft to abandon their goals whatsoever. I AM asking for a console without a Kinect, but I'm more-importantly asking for a better pricing model. I could warrant $400 with the Kinect, but not $500. Yeah, the "it's only $100" argument or the "if $100 matters, you shouldn't be buying it anyway" arguments exist there, and they're semi-valid. However, it's not just "$100," it's a 25% price increase from $400 to $500. I can also say I typically get around $400 for Christmas, but not quite the $550 or so a console would cost after tax. I've also suggested that Microsoft could make these new Kinect requirements a later-on feature, like after an OS update in a year or two. At that point ,the console costs will likely have come down enough to where they could make a Kinect bundle $400, drop the Kinect-less option, and add the Kinect plug-in requirement.
I'll add that I'm a little confused with this staunch defense of everything. I mean, people have long criticized Apple for requiring a specific connector for their phones to work, which costs about $20-30. We're then willing to support than same vision for a $100 Kinect, call it "the future," and then defend it to the death, it seems. We hate the DRM on music and movies, and we voted EA the worst company in America for 2 years because of their Online Pass, in an attempt to earn some money off of used games. Microsoft uses this check-in system to attempt to monetize the used games market as well, and people defend that. Sony released the PS3 at $500, while the Xbox 360 was $400 (for the HDD version), and we dogged them for that, despite they were using the Blu-Ray drive as "the future," in a way that worked out well for all of us (as Blu-Ray beat out HD-DVD and had a greater storage capacity). Microsoft touts the Kinect as "the future" (and not in a way that is as widespread as Blu-Ray has been), uses it to release the Xbox One at $500 (while the PS4 is $400), and that gets defended as well. I'm just unsure (beyond the loyalty to the logo) why something folks here castigated other companies for in the past is now a similar matter which they are defending Microsoft for, claiming it's some kind of "revolution of gaming."