Headset will not be bundled with Xbox One

The folks looking for headset accessory with their Xbox One will be in for a nasty surprise — there isn’t one. Ars Technica reported that among the list of accessories that Microsoft listed in November, there was a one-ear mono headset. Official Xbox Magazine confirmed with Xbox Support that the system does not come with a headset.

This is a change from Xbox 360, which includes a headset on $299 250GB model. By comparison, the Playstation 4 does include a basic mono earbud and microphone. Each Xbox One console includes the new Kinect sensor, which has a multi-array microphone that is capable of voice chat both in-game and with Skype, but gamers looking for a more traditional setup will be out of luck.

The idea is that Kinect and its multi-directional microphone will be enough to satisfy users looking for a headset. Kinect is sensitive enough to pick up quiet voice commands and it can filter out out TV noise. Whether this works in practice remains to be seen. A proprietary connection to the Xbox One controller makes it so existing plug in headsets for Xbox 360 won’t work. According to Ars Technica, Turtle Beach has said it will be providing an adapter that lets Xbox One head sets work on 360 controllers.

Sources: Ars Technica and OXM