Microsoft: Xbox One won't require Kinect to function.

Update: Microsoft has insisted that while the Xbox One is no longer dependent on Kinect to run, it's still very much integral to the experience.

Microsoft "isn't interested in splitting the development base", said PR boss Albert Penello speaking on Neogaf, strongly suggesting that the console won't be shipping without the peripheral.
He also went on to reiterate that users' privacy is 100% safe, insisting that Microsoft won't be pulling a "gotcha".

Original article...
I spy with my little eye another retreating Xbox One update from Microsoft, this time regarding whether the console will require Kinect to function.
"What happens if your Kinect breaks? Like if it falls off the top of your TV onto a hardwood floor or something? Will the console cease to function?" asked a questioner in an Ask Microsoft Anything Q&A on IGN.

That resulted in a long, drawn-out answer from Microsoft about the benefits of Kinect.
"Xbox One is designed to work with Kinect plugged in," stated Chief Xbox One Platform Architect Marc Whitten in response.
Whitten went on and on about how the Xbox One Kinect makes "gaming better" for another 165 words.

"That said," he wrote (finally getting point of the original question)"...like online, the console will still function if Kinect isn't plugged in, although you won't be able to use any feature or experience that explicitly uses the sensor."