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Kinect, along with an 'arcade' Xbox 360 Slim and various Kinect games, have been priced by Microsoft for both Europe and the US. Living room motion-cam Kinect will be available bundled with an Xbox 360 Slim (with 4GB of flash memory) and the game Kinect Adventures for a retail price at £249.99. Alternatively, Kinect (and a copy of 'Adventures) without the new Xbox 360 will cost £129.99 - somewhat higher than desired by retailers and consumers. Despite the various rumours pointing at the now official £130 price point, customers and retailers alike were expecting Microsoft not to announce the add-on at such a steep price, with many hoping to see a sub-£100 price. Those hopes, have now been dashed.
But it's not all bad news - Kinect's retail games will have a friendlier price of £39.99 RRP, a price point that's £10-£15 less than current recommended price for Xbox 360 retail games. However, it's only good news if those price points are reflected in stores - Several major retailers such as Game, Play.com, and ShopTo are failing to see the price reduction, and in some cases ignoring it completly - preorders for upcoming non-Kinect titles, such as Halo Reach and Fable 3, which hold a recommended price of £49.99 RRP, are currently available for less than Kinect launch games.
When rumours started circulating over a £130 price point, ShopTo's Igor Cipolletta said, "Predictions of Kinect price being over £79.99 will do little to engender early adopters and thus affect unit sales in the short to medium term." He also told Eurogamer, "with this current economy it should be around £70 – for £140 you can buy a Wii." ShopTo have held placeholder preorders at £124.86 for Kinect for some time, but Cipolletta admitted "preorders are very low."
Microsoft Europe's VP of interactive entertainment business Chris Lewis said, "Kinect for Xbox 360 offers tremendous entertainment value, transforming our living rooms into fitness classes, dance clubs and sports stadiums through full body, voice and multiplayer games. Whether you’re new to Xbox 360 or an existing console owner, we’re committed to offering Kinect experiences that offer controller-free fun and entertainment right out of the box and these unique products and retail offers provide the most complete and affordable way for everyone to enjoy Kinect this Christmas."
However appealing the Kinect technology is, it's clear from the now confirmed price point that Microsoft have missed their original goal of creating something for the growing number of 'casual' players. Plans to break into the Wii's lucrative casual market, could well now be a distant dream due to pricing it so high. It would be of no surprise for Microsoft's latest product to not attract many unit sales following the price announcement - The Kinect has quickly gone from being something for the wider audience into a product for a very niche market.
Only time will tell whether the decision is the right one for Microsoft on November 4th.
[Via MCV]
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