Xbox Live has long been considered a more vocally-engaged multiplayer service than Sony's PlayStation Network, largely due to the inclusion of a traditional mono headset with Xbox 360 - as oppose to PS3's sold separately solutions.
Microsoft staff recently confirmed the surprising omission of a traditional headset with Xbox One, and has today issued a statement to say that the bundled Kinect sensor will stand in as a suitable replacement.
"Xbox One does not include a pack-in headset accessory," said a Microsoft rep in a statement to Ars Technica. "Each Xbox One includes the new Kinect sensor, with a highly sensitive multi-array [of] microphones designed to enable voice inputs and chat as a system-level capability, both in-game and with Skype and other experiences.
"For gamers who prefer a headset, we have a variety of offerings that you can find on the Xbox Wire," they added.
We can only assume that in-game chat via Kinect will be achieved by having the voices of other players coming through your primary speaker system, along with the game's sound effects - which some may see as unfavorable.
It would assumedly also eliminate your ability to adjust voice chat volume or mute your own voice on the fly. The Xbox 360 headsets are, thanks to differing connections on the Xbox One controller, entirely incompatible.
Microsoft has recently updated its Xbox Wire site with more pictures and details for the sold-separately Xbox One headset, which is evidently a fairly conventional mono speaker setup, with volume and mute controls handily within reach of your thumbs while holding the controller - much like the very first-gen Xbox 360 headsets, which were oddly replaced with a headset that had controls awkwardly relocated away from the controller.
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Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/416253/xbox-one-kinect-to-stand-in-for-omitted-headset-says-microsoft/
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