According to an email from Microsoft and updates on Amazon, Gamestop and Best Buy, Microsoft has announced official pricing. With a release date of November 4th, Microsoft plans to launch a couple of different official options for those looking to dive into the world of controllerless gaming.
For just the standard Kinect sensor bar with included Kinect Adventures early adopters are looking at $149.99. For people who are just getting into the 360 for Kinect (so, unicorns) there is a bundle available. This bundles a new 4GB Xbox 360 console with the Kinect sensor bar and Kinect Adventures for $299.99.
I am kind of surprised that there is no 250GB bundle at launch. I get that they are going for the more casual audience with the cheaper 4GB system and trying to draw in that casual Wii business but I am not sure how that is going to work out. Bundling Adventures instead of Kinect Sports seems odd to me as well. Perhaps they are trying to differentiate from the Wii and Move but having played Adventures I just don’t know that THAT is the strong game to lead with. At least they are bundling a game though as the pricing sounds a hell of a lot more attractive than $149 for just the sensor or Wal-mart’s $199 and choose a game we reported on last week. It still puts the package at a higher price point than the Move and even with the cheaper 4GB bundle the price is $100 more than just going with the Wii solution.
It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out. It may be more reasonable to assume that people will leave the Wii for the Kinect given the tech is different and could be conceived as a step forward from what they already have over the Move which looks like the same thing with a ping pong ball on top. On the other hand, those same people may feel more comfortable with what they already know and are just looking to upgrade into HD with the Move. Or secret option C: They will stay put and not give a shit about systems they don’t own.
As for the hardcore crowd, it may be a challenge to convince them that these new motion control systems are going to treat them better than the Wii did and offer up more than shovel ware. It seems like if either has an edge in this department it is the Move as it is cheaper and seems to be offering more legit games than the Kinect does. Only time will tell but at least Microsoft is offering pricing that makes sense finally.
So what do you think about the pricing? Who do you think will come out on top and are you interested in motion controls in the first place? Let us know in the comments below.
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I have talked with a few friends about getting the Kinect and so far most replies have been “Hell no, too expensive!” — which I think is a lie.
These are the same folks that happily drop $400 for a new phone, so I sincerely doubt the $150 price point is the problem.
I think most of us are just waiting to see the software that takes advantage of the video camera and reviews on it. As someone who bought a Wii at launch and waited 2 years to finally have fun with it and finally gave up after realizing it’s a gimmick, I’ll be watching the reviews with a hawk-eye to see how quickly and accurately the motion tracking is.
I want one goddamn thing: the play virtual tennis in my living room in HD with a friend online.
That’s all I’ve ever wanted and I’ve NEVER come close to being able to realize that dream.
After your reporting from E3, I really think PS3 Move is going to do that for me, but I’ll have to wait and see on that as well.
Both the consoles are getting new life blown back into them that is for sure.
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The only compelling argument I have for the Kinect is Dance Central. That was really fun and I enjoyed myself on it a lot. I can’t see paying $60 for any of the other games Kinect is offering. From my time with the Kinect I can say that it does what it is supposed to but so far I haven’t seen anything that makes that experience worthwhile aside from one game. So I just can’t justify a purchase not just because of price but because of software.
The Move has a price I can live with and games I am interested in playing so it is much safer bet for me.
As it stands right now I think the Move will be a day one purchase for me and the Kinect is wait and see if ever at all purchase.
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Agree, that’s where I am as well. I’m convinced that the Move (at launch) is the most-likely peripheral to give me my tennis-match in the house with a real feel to it… and I’ve owned the EyeToy for 3 years and have yet to figure out what it’s actually for.
The Move I think is a bit more expensive than Sony lead on at E3… it’s something like $39 per ice-cream-cone, then another $29 per directional controller, and then you have the EyeToy for $29 or 35 if you don’t already own one, so for two people to play it’s $140-160 ballpark anyway, just like the Kinect.
That being said, I own the EyeToy and only want one Move, so I guess $60-70 or so, which I’m willing to do once a good sports game comes out that reviews highly with the motion controls.
As far as Dance Central, you are the 3rd person to comment so highly about that title… I can’t picture what it was about it that was so fun, was it actually accurate enough to tell if you were doing proper shoulder-rolls and stuff with the dancing or did you just have to basically get your body in the right position?
I never got into DDR though either, so I’m not sure if it’s a personal preference for dancing games, or something about that title in general.
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Yeah as far as the Move is concerned I am just looking at getting one controller combo so since I have no Eye toy I am looking at the bundle and the navigation controller. I think it is sort of a raw deal not to include the navigation part in the bundle but whatever.
Dance Central scans your body so it can recognize your particular movements and sync them up with the controls. So even though I was flailing like a jackass it could still read what I was trying to do. It is essentially like playing Rock Band with your body instead of hitting buttons and strum bars. I felt ridiculous while I was playing but it was also a lot of fun.
As far as the actual accuracy of the movements, the other stuff I played on Kinect seemed to be really accurate. Joy Ride in particular did a good job of picking up subtle details of my movements so as I was ‘driving’ it noticed small corrections I was making on the ‘wheel’ and controller really well. I usually suck at driving games but I did pretty well on Joyride. I just don’t see that particular game really offering up enough gameplay to justify a Kinect purchase.