Kinect Adapter Used Prices Soar After Microsoft Discontinues Xbox One S/X Accessory

Kinect adapter prices are soaring on the used market following news that Microsoft has discontinued the accessory required to make the camera work on Xbox One S, Xbox One X and Windows PCs. The information was relayed to Polygon via a Microsoft spokesperson.

“After careful consideration, we decided to stop manufacturing the Xbox Kinect Adapter to focus attention on launching new, higher fan-requested gaming accessories across Xbox One and Windows 10,” the statement reads.

In many ways, this development marks the final nail in the coffin for any chance of a Kinect revival in Xbox One’s future. While Kinect was originally sold as a necessary component for the original Xbox One hardware in 2013, it was unbundled from the box by June of 2014. As of last October, Kinect manufacturing had ceased entirely. Kinect adapters were originally included for free to allow the optional Kinect to function on Xbox One S, but the product’s retail price later rose to $39.

With patterns established and return on investment continuously low, it’s no surprise that Microsoft has decided to remove the final trace of Kinect from the market. Few games made use of the technology on an exclusive basis, and many of those that did now offer support for traditional controls. As nice as Kinect voice commands can be to navigate the cluttered Xbox One OS, the camera never caught on in the way Microsoft originally envisioned.

That reality offers little condolence to those who actually planned on attaching a Kinect to a newer Xbox One. Since the news of discontinuation broke Tuesday afternoon, eBay auction prices for adapters have jumped to over 10 times their suggested retail value. If you want to get a brand new Kinect adapter in the box, it could cost you as much as $400. While there are plenty of unaware sellers still offering them at normal prices, we suspect those listings won’t last long. Those in the know would call the situation a scalper’s paradise, so it may pay to snag one even if you never plan on finding a Kinect to use it.

Much of the discontinuation discussion has focused on Kinect’s lack of relevance in gaming, but this news could also have a knock-on effect in other industries too. As recent as 2016, studies were being conducted inside medical facilities across the globe to espouse the camera’s benefits for body imaging. The device’s ability to detect heart rate and breathing patterns has become a research topic over the past few months. Paying inflated second-hand prices for adapters may be required to keep those worthy projects underway.

Elsewhere in the tech industry, the basis for Kinect is making waves for Microsoft’s rivals at Apple. A similar camera array is the secret behind the Face ID feature found exclusively in the iPhone X. As Microsoft kicks Kinect to the curb, its core technology still has a bright future ahead of it.

Would you be willing to pay $400 for a Kinect adapter? Will these skyrocketing prices eventually come down? Tell us in the comments section!