Did Microsoft forget something at today’s E3 2010 press show? How about Kinect’s (the motion-sensing add-on for Microsoft’s Xbox 360) standalone and bundle pricing?
Leave it to games retailer GameStop to settle the question. Sort of.
Jibing with recent speculation, Kinect will sell for a relatively pricey $149.99 standalone. That’s according to an ad listing on GameStop’s online site.
“With the Kinect sensor, you can experience gaming like never before,” reads the listing, calling it “easy to use and fun for everyone.”
“The Kinect sensor utilizes revolutionary full-body tracking to put you in the center of the fun. This amazing new technology allows the sensor to recognize your body and mirror your movements in the game, making you the controller.”
Reiterating what Microsoft said at today’s show, the GameStop ad notes the sensor is compatible with “every Xbox 360” and that it comes with a Kinect game (presumably Kinect Sports…or can you pick one from the launch pool?).
The ad also stipulates 175MB of memory required. I guess that’s only important to all you still playing sans a hard drive. Looks like Microsoft’s going to force you to upgrade after all.
A Kinect Elite Bundle will sell for $399.99 (presumably with the new $299.99 Xbox 360 slim), while a Kinect Arcade Bundle (with or without a hard drive?) is listed for $299.99.
Kinect launch games like Joy Ride, Adventures!, and Sports were also listed, and will apparently sell for $59.99 each.
Note that nothing above’s been confirmed by Microsoft, so treat as typical GameStop presumption until we get official word.
What do you think? Is $149.99 too much or just right? I’m voting the former. $100 would have been wiser, given the need to secure mass adoption quickly (we’re already halfway through the Xbox 360’s life cycle, after all).
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