Kinect-less Xbox One doesn't sound very likely

One of the juiciest rumors circling around is that Microsoft will introduce a Xbox One bundle without Kinect later this year, presumably at a lower price point than $500. But new comments from Microsoft United Kingdom marketing director Harvey Eagle make that possibility sound pretty far-fetched.

"We're in it for the long haul," Eagle told the BBC today following the announcement of £30/$50 Xbox One price cut in the UK. "Kinect is absolutely integral to Xbox One."

Speaking with GameSpot earlier today, Eagle did not name-drop Kinect specifically, but said the complete Xbox One package--comprising the console and Kinect--is something Microsoft is committed to.

"We are just a few months into a generation that's going to last for many years to come. We see this therefore as a marathon," Eagle said.

Microsoft said previously that it has no plans to ever release Xbox One without Kinect because, in fact, Xbox One is Kinect. The two are fundamentally linked, he said in August.

"They are not separate systems. An Xbox One has chips, it has memory, it has Blu-ray, it has Kinect, it has a controller. These are all part of the platform ecosystem," Xbox executive Phil Harrison said at the time.

Microsoft also announced today a special $500 Xbox One Titanfall bundle that includes a black system, Kinect, a wireless controller (but not the specially branded Titanfall controller) and a one-month Xbox Live Gold subscription. Xbox Live Gold is required to play Titanfall.