Microsoft Will Make a Profit on Every Kinect
- Thread starter Logan Westbrook
- Start date
Quite frankly, I will be suprised if Microsoft makes any profit on Kinect, regardless of how much it sells. The Xbox and anything related to it has been an enormous money drain for the corporation for years. Even if they recuperate the costs they spent on developing and advertising the Kinect, all that will mean is that the money will then go to recuperating the costs they spent on the Xbox venture in general.
Certainly a good thing for MS, but not surprising since it seems they've scaled back the tech where ever they could over the design period. The Kinect they're launching shortly doesn't sound that much like the Kinect they first announced.
Yeah and that other group already owns a Wii or has resisted Nintendo's pink merketing so far. I don't see anyone buying a new X-Box + Motioncontrollmacguffin, because if people wanted to play motion controll mini-games (which is what the natal start offers) they would have bought a Wii. An people who already own a Wii will not buy a X-Box, because they alsready can play that sort of thing. Even if they do, if you buy more than one console, you peobably can't exculde yourself from the "hardcore"-crowd.FargoDog said:
The only way I see huge Motioncontrollmacguffin sales is if they make huge mainstream-titles exclusive to natal, which they won't do, because innovation is to mainstream as fire is to water, or if they drop the price of that stuff all together (150 Bucks for an Addon + one collection of mini games? You can get a whole Wii + Games for that), which would eliminate the point of that News Post alltogether.
From my view Microsoft and Sony didn't really expect the Wii to perform so well, so they felt like they missed out on something and hurried their own motion controll products. The only problem is that in today's huge industry "hurry" amounts to several years of developement in which the Wii wasn't sitting idly by and the community had more than enough time of growing bored of Motion controll games. The Natal Start-Up-Package starts where the Wii started several years ago. I can't imagine any way in which this thing is going to be the landslide-succes everyone is expecting.
Outwardly stating to the public that you are making profit on an item that you are selling to them is backhandedly saying that you are marking up something that could be sold for cheaper. I can't imagine a worse thing that you could say regarding the release of a new peripheral that's already being lambasted as being too expensive for the experience gained from it.
I hate Kinect. I hate Microsoft for how much they've been lying about the functionality of the system so Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smith are convinced that it isn't a technically flawed technology. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been lying flat-out about the pre-orders to build up hype in an attempt to make it the next Wii or Tickle-me-Elmo. The problem is that Tickle-me-Elmo was more entertaining for a longer period than Kinect ever will be.
Instead of spending $400 million on marketing, perhaps they should have spent that money to improve the technology so that it actually does the things they are advertising that it does (ie. reading finger waggling, being able to play in a party atmosphere, being able to use your hand as a gun (instead of playing whilst holding a controller)).
I want Kinect to die, but not because I am opposed to motion controls. I want Kinect to die because us as gamers should not have to settle for crappy technology being sold as the next big thing. We should demand better, and instead we're accepting that this is good as it's going to get this generation. At least Wii and Move have done pretty much everything that Nintendo and Sony, respectively, said that they would be able to do.
I hate Kinect. I hate Microsoft for how much they've been lying about the functionality of the system so Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smith are convinced that it isn't a technically flawed technology. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been lying flat-out about the pre-orders to build up hype in an attempt to make it the next Wii or Tickle-me-Elmo. The problem is that Tickle-me-Elmo was more entertaining for a longer period than Kinect ever will be.
Instead of spending $400 million on marketing, perhaps they should have spent that money to improve the technology so that it actually does the things they are advertising that it does (ie. reading finger waggling, being able to play in a party atmosphere, being able to use your hand as a gun (instead of playing whilst holding a controller)).
I want Kinect to die, but not because I am opposed to motion controls. I want Kinect to die because us as gamers should not have to settle for crappy technology being sold as the next big thing. We should demand better, and instead we're accepting that this is good as it's going to get this generation. At least Wii and Move have done pretty much everything that Nintendo and Sony, respectively, said that they would be able to do.
I wonder if it will also die from it's own version of the Red Ring. I mean, there has to have been some major things that they got rid of to make it work right?
One more post until you hit 666 :O. Certainly fits your confrontational posting style.Pirate Kitty said:
OP:
This is kind of how business works. Consoles are in the vast minority of products that are sold explicitly as a loss to the producer, and things like licensing, peripherals like this horseshit and marketing is how companies pick up the slack for a profit. Why are you bringing this up as if it's news?
Damn, nanja'd.aaronmcc said:
As is my usual response to anything concerning motion control, I'll just say this: make interesting games. Then we'll talk.
Way too much money on marketing, plus the reviews blackout signal this is going to end in disaster. The novelty and strong Nintendo brand got Wii out the gates, plus the console had promising titles and good reviews before release.
Now that's worn off Microsoft have to wow with good user impressions, instead they are throwing 2 billion(not just the Kinect) in marketing at the problem.
Now that's worn off Microsoft have to wow with good user impressions, instead they are throwing 2 billion(not just the Kinect) in marketing at the problem.
Doesn't this just confirm the idea that it is a video game parasite? If they had faith in the equipment and software they'd expect a profit on the games, not the hardware.
Basically, they're planning to shift a bunch of them into people's homes, and who cares if they actually play them or not.
Basically, they're planning to shift a bunch of them into people's homes, and who cares if they actually play them or not.
Who has a loungeroom that big?? That thing is HUGE! If I tried to run Kinect in my living room we'd probably trip over the couch!!Logan Westbrook said:
When you put a lot of money into something that means it...
Fails
Wins
I think they are going to fail...seems like they are attention whoring every chance they get...
Fails
Wins
I think they are going to fail...seems like they are attention whoring every chance they get...
Hate on motion control confuses me. No one is forcing you to buy the product, and those of us who are genuinely interested in the idea thing haters are stupid. If you don't like it, shut the hell up about it. Jeez!
OT: I hope that this takes off and they come out with some really fun games! It'll be good to get up and move around to break up the pace of Halo for hours on end.
OT: I hope that this takes off and they come out with some really fun games! It'll be good to get up and move around to break up the pace of Halo for hours on end.
I don't want to give them money for a glorified eyetoy.
I like my 360, but Kinect?
Maybe if they release a few games for it that look even remotely interesting...
I like my 360, but Kinect?
Maybe if they release a few games for it that look even remotely interesting...
Well, it's not always that simple. You see in the first line where it says "Kinect will not be a loss leader product"? Loss leader is the key term. A loss leader is when you sell a product for less than it costs to make (or give it away for free) in order to lure in customers to buy your other products, which are usually marked up significantly more.GamesB2 said:
An easy example is casinos. Casinos often spend a couple million dollars a day in free handouts at the door. They just say "if you come in inside, we'll give you this free stuff!" Likewise, alcohol is almost always served for free once you're inside and gambling. Believe me though, they make back waaaaayyy more than that in what people spend gambling. That's a loss leader.