Microsoft Confirms Kinect for $149

[Saucycarpdog]

Frankly, I can see this device failing.

Any xbox 360 users here? Check your friends list and ask them if they will buy Kinect. Most of them will say no. All of my friends who I have asked said they won't.

As some have said above, there is not a lot of interest in the product as of right now. The xbox user base is mostly made of people who would rather play halo, call of duty, or gears of war. You might also want to take into account this fall and winter lineup.

Halo Reach, Fable 3, and Black ops are the big competitors this year. Millions will be flocking to get these major titles. Do you think that people will want to spend $150, money that could be spent on the above games, just for a add-on and a wii-like game? Look at the above games again and try to say yes.

Plus, what if you don't like Kinect Adventures? What if you want more of a hardcore title like Dance central? Well, you're going to have to shell out $50 to make that happen. Your total is $200. That money could have been spent on those major titles.

Also, I am not hating because I like to. I don't like the Kinect because when the Wii came out, I really did like it. It had a bunch of classic games like Zelda that reminded me of childhood. Plus it was a new idea and form of entertainment. Nintendo was truly serious about it. Microsoft and Sony on the other hand just want to do it because they found a market where they can cash off of.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Well, now I have another reason to not want to get it. That is too much money Microsoft!

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

These prices seem reasonable. No, really. $100 for a Kinect plus $50 for the poster-child game that goes with it... that's pretty reasonable.

The problem with this logic is that a massive majority of the people who buy the Kinect don't give two shits about the "game" that comes packaged with it. It's kinda like when you try to hype-up Wii Sports by calling it the most-owned game of the current generation... yeah, only because it was packaged for free with the Wii. I can guarantee you that less than 50% of people who bought the Wii spent more than a few hours actually playing Wii Sports.

Now, if they eventually release a bundle that doesn't come with the game and has a significant price-drop (at least $30, but you know that Microsoft doesn't consider the game to be worth $50), then maybe your point will carry a little more weight. Though even at only $120 some people will consider it to be too high of a price.

for all intense purposes i think i was the first to do that Price is Right gag when this was unveiled as Natal, just wanted to say that(so when this fails i can yell i called it to all,and if it succeeds never mention it again) , altho everyone probably heard in their head....

secondly i think 49.99 would have been the ideal price that everyone would have bought this add on

You can go ahead and play that sound-clip for yourself. The phrase is "for all intents and purposes [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/for_all_intents_and_purposes]". Amusingly, the wiki page actually points-out the misconstruction you just posted, so at least there's some consolation in that you aren't alone in failing at the phrase.

 

[Sougo]

"Kinect, which allows players to control their games using only their natural motions and voice commands, has the potential to make gaming more accessible for consumers put off by the sheer number of buttons and triggers on modern controllers."

WHAT!? I'm sorry, who the hell was complaining about the buttons?

 

[Baldr]

How does this appeal to the mainstream market?

Wii total investment: $200 USD
Kinect total investment: $450 USD

Maybe I'm alone here, but I would just buy one of those cool black Wiis. Software lineup is better for the Wii anyway.

Your wrong, at Walmart:

Total Price of 360 bundle including Kinect + 1 game: $460
Total Price of a Wii bundle + controllers + 1 game: $480
Total Price of a PS3 + Move + 1 game: $600+

The 360 is still the cheapest option for motion control.

 

[Keslen]

When are these hardware retailers going to realize the following two simple facts?

Fact #1: The average consumer is only going to buy software for hardware they already own.
Fact #2: The price point for buying hardware is a major concern to the average consumer.

Putting these two facts together clearly states that the hardware should be given away next to free to encourage more people to purchase the software. I can point to a good dozen games (or more) for the XboX 360 that I would have purchased a long time ago if I'd had the hardware to run them on, but that hardware is too expensive for me to afford. How many others are in the same boat who don't have the means or motivation to say anything (spoiler alert, it'll be a f*** ton)?

Bottom line: Set the price point for your hardware dirt cheap so more people will have it and thus buy the games you make for it?

What's that you say? Most of the games released for your platform are craptactist shovelware and not worth a tenth of the price of an average retail game? Well (however obvious it may be to an average consumer), that's an entirely different issue and not really within the scope of a hardware price point, now is it?

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

So, Microsoft unveils Kinect without stating price. Retailers say price is $150. Microsoft says no. Microsoft says yes.

Is that the way things have formed? Just making sure.

Odds are it'll be 50% more here anyway since all the games are, and seems the slim version is oddly overpriced in comparrison to the normal. Damn this country!

Is there any info on the price of individual games yet? Are they full priced, or budget priced?

 

[wastaz]

I really hope that this Kinect stupidity doesn't put a dent in the otherwise great offerings of the 360. I really love my 360 (I own all of the current-gen consoles and plenty of games for each of them and the 360 is hands-down the one that gets the most love from me), but this motion-controlling thing is just stupid - and asking 150$ for it is just worse. As plenty of people before me has said in this thread, hardware should be cheap and software should be priced so that they make up the hardware loss on software sales. When I've bought my hardware I usually can't keep myself from buying a lot of software for it. Though buying the hardware, not doing that is -very simple- to keep myself from doing.

I wasn't really that into the lineup of games for the kinect (except maybe dance central, it looks quite fun), but for 150$ just to get the hardware I'll not even consider the kinect until there's at least 5-10 games for it that I -really- want. I did the same thing with the PS3 (waited until there was at least 5-10 exclusives that I -really- wanted to play) and it worked perfectly (grabbed most of them used for nothing at all).

With that said... The PS3 isn't exactly better. The "move" is probably one of the most disappointing reveals I've ever seen. "Oh, so you re-invented the nintendo wii and managed to make it look sillier?". At least Kinect has the "no-control"-thing going for it.

I predict both the move and the kinect spawning an endless deluge of shovelware until dying a quiet death. Sadly, they will both suck a lot of money from MS/Sony that could have been used for actually doing something worthwhile.

 

[DTWolfwood]

ok so Kinect has to be used standing up. Anyone called them out on their commercials showing the family playing sitting on the couch yet?

Kinect also only supports 2 player. commercial shows 4.

So now its coming for $150...

O man this is gonna be a really good laugh when they show us the sales number for this thing \o/

 

[Tales of Golden Sun]

Unless the games on it are really, really awesome, I'm not going to get this.
Just too much money for a HD version of the Wii, one of which I already have and enjoy thoroughly.

"Kinectimals, Kinect Sports, and Dance Central"

Seems to me like you'll be buying Kinect on launch day! How can those games NOT be awesome?

------

Way too expensive. Not that I have or want an Xbox... but still.

are you being sarcastic?

Indeed, I am.

 

[veloper]

a massive flop
100% certainty
or lower the price

 

[Mako SOLDIER]

Well, I think the price is pretty fair considering you get a game with it. The odds are that (in the UK) GAME will do their usual 'it comes with this game but we'll happily do an instant trade-in for a different one' thing, so the fact that it comes with Kinect Adventures isn't that limiting really. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if bundles that contain a different game start to crop up closer to launch.

That said, I actually like the look of Kinect Adventures. Sure, it's a minigames collection, and sure it's a bit gimmicky, but it still looks like fun and it'll still help to get some extra exercise into the day. I'd still be far more inclined to buy it at that price if it was Your Shape: Fitness Evolved that was bundled in with it, but that's just because that's my favourite of the launchy titles. I wonder why they chose not to bundle it with Kinect Sports? Perhaps to distance themselves from the inevitable (not to mention glib and grossly oversimplified, like pretty much every eyetoy comment in this entire thread) Wii comparisons?

 

[subtlefuge]

How does this appeal to the mainstream market?

Wii total investment: $200 USD
Kinect total investment: $450 USD

Maybe I'm alone here, but I would just buy one of those cool black Wiis. Software lineup is better for the Wii anyway.

Your wrong, at Walmart:

Total Price of 360 bundle including Kinect + 1 game: $460
Total Price of a Wii bundle + controllers + 1 game: $480
Total Price of a PS3 + Move + 1 game: $600+

The 360 is still the cheapest option for motion control.

What? Really?

Gamestop has black Wiis with 1 Wiimote,1 Nunchuck, 1 Wii Motion Plus, Wii Sports, and WiiSports Resort for $200. Therefore, at Gamestop: price of Wii bundle plus 7 games equals $450. Not to mention that all future retail titles will be $10 less for the Wii anyway.

 

[Gamegodtre]

These prices seem reasonable. No, really. $100 for a Kinect plus $50 for the poster-child game that goes with it... that's pretty reasonable.

The problem with this logic is that a massive majority of the people who buy the Kinect don't give two shits about the "game" that comes packaged with it. It's kinda like when you try to hype-up Wii Sports by calling it the most-owned game of the current generation... yeah, only because it was packaged for free with the Wii. I can guarantee you that less than 50% of people who bought the Wii spent more than a few hours actually playing Wii Sports.

Now, if they eventually release a bundle that doesn't come with the game and has a significant price-drop (at least $30, but you know that Microsoft doesn't consider the game to be worth $50), then maybe your point will carry a little more weight. Though even at only $120 some people will consider it to be too high of a price.

for all intense purposes i think i was the first to do that Price is Right gag when this was unveiled as Natal, just wanted to say that(so when this fails i can yell i called it to all,and if it succeeds never mention it again) , altho everyone probably heard in their head....

secondly i think 49.99 would have been the ideal price that everyone would have bought this add on

You can go ahead and play that sound-clip for yourself. The phrase is "for all intents and purposes [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/for_all_intents_and_purposes]". Amusingly, the wiki page actually points-out the misconstruction you just posted, so at least there's some consolation in that you aren't alone in failing at the phrase.

thank you for the correction

 

[swytchblayd]

....
Excuse me while I go laugh my ass off a cliff.

Considering that I won't even be touching this whole "motion sensing" movement that's been going on (rather ironic choice of words there), I couldn't give a horse's ass, but it's fun to laugh at everyone who'll waste their money buying this on the day that it releases anyways. Because, let's face it, unless it's fully compatible with everything else, it's only worth buying for those new games that'll use it.

...Sadly, I can see every Halo f4nb()i dropping $150 for this hunk of shit just so they can play Halo Reach, so I guess someone will have to buy it. On the other hand, I have yet to hear Sony releasing Resistance: Reach or Ratchet & Clank Future Motion Madness or something absurd like that, so I can probably guess correctly that, once again, anyone with a PS3 is going to be buttfucked in these current wars -.- Not that I have much brand loyalty, but it still saddens me that the makers of the system I once loved so dearly have gone completely bonkers as far as I can tell t-t *plays taps*

 

[frago roc]

I need to try before I buy, and unfortunately, that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Plus I have so many games I need to beat before i invest in more video games, yay for bills.

....
...Sadly, I can see every Halo f4nb()i dropping $150 for this hunk of shit just so they can play Halo Reach...

I didn't rage to your trolling, do I win?

 

[Rect Pola]

Why do they keep calling the Kinect a "controller"? It's a camera. Yes, you use it to control a game, but that's like saying a whistle is a controller because I can control a bunch kindergardners with it.

 

[Kalabrikan]

Meanwhile the EyeToy is on sale for $30.

 

[Dragonforce525]

$149!? Why would I pay for that when I can embarrass myself for free?

 

[Jezzascmezza]

150 bucks (More like 220 in Australian dollars) for a glorified eye-toy with a bunch of half-arsed games that make Wii Sports look like a masterpiece?
No thanks Microsoft.
I like Gears, I like Halo, I like Xbox Live.
But Kinect?
Just no...

....


...Sadly, I can see every Halo f4nb()i dropping $150 for this hunk of shit just so they can play Halo Reach

I thought they'd confirmed that Halo Reach wasn't using Kinect in any way, but I could be wrong...