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| Kinect Sensor: Click on the image for details |
Microsoft Corp will sell its new Kinect motion-sensing gaming system
for about $150 and also offer it in a package with the Xbox 360 videogame console
when sales of the hands-free device start in November, the company said on Tuesday.The exact date of the commencement of sale is 4 November 2010, just the holiday season.
The price, omitted by Microsoft when it introduced Kinect at the E3 videogame conference in June, matches the preorder price that retailers such as Best Buy, GameStop and Amazon.com posted online weeks ago.
In addition to new customers (new and those stolen from the rival Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3), Microsoft surely aim its marketing message at the owners of the more than 40 million Xbox 360 models that have already been sold. The sensor will come with a family game called "Kinect Adventures."
What is Kinect? : Kinect is a motion sensing gaming system from Microsoft. Kinect's camera-based system lets players control games with body and hand gestures. It relies solely on voice, body and hand gestures -- and no buttons (something which some critics say may make precision game controls difficult).
Though Microsoft has high hopes on Kinect, what remains to be seen that if cost-conscious consumers and game fans, many of whom have already bought one or more of the consoles, will be willing to spending hundreds more on hardware, and Kinect-specific software costing about $50.
Several analysts expect Microsoft to initially sell some 3 million Kinect units, despite what is considered a steep price. But many among them doubt whether that will seriously challenge the market leader Wii; whose games still cost a $200 cheaper. So in place of Wii, a section of experts are seeing Microsoft competing against Sony.
Sony will launch "Move," its motion-controlled feature for the PlayStation 3 gaming system, on September 15, hoping to get the jump on Microsoft's Kinect. Like the Nintendo Wii, Move's motion system is based on a wireless remote control.
According to an analyst, the all-in cost of the PS3 plus a complete Move package is $479: $399 for the PS3, a game, Move and Eye camera, plus another $80 for an extra Move and a sub-controller. In contrast, according to Microsoft, a Kinect unit bundled with a version of the Xbox 360 that has 4 gigabytes of internal memory would sell for about $300. The current standard Xbox model comes with 250 gigabytes and is priced at $300.
So, the take of some experts on where the competition will be, assumes much ground.
