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Retailers agree on $150 Kinect - Retail Radar

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

E3 2010: GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target all list common price point for Microsoft's camera-based motion-sensing add-on.

LOS ANGELES--With this year's E3, Microsoft has begun to fill in the white spaces surrounding its camera-based motion-sensing add-on to the Xbox 360. Formalizing the device's name as Kinect, the publisher has nailed down a firm November 4 launch date and offered a look at its 15-title launch lineup. Still, Microsoft has thus far withheld one of the most important pieces of information: the price.

Microsoft's new $150 controller?

Microsoft's new $150 controller?

With E3 winding down today, the answer to Kinect's price question isn't likely to come anytime soon...from Microsoft, at least. A range of retailers have now updated their online databases to reflect a $149.99 price point for the Xbox 360 add-on, bolstering rumors that emerged last month. GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Target are all under the impression that the device will check in at $150 when it arrives this November.

Microsoft had not responded to requests for comment on the listed price point as of press time.

Formerly known as Project Natal, Kinect adds camera-based motion control to the Xbox 360's input options. As detailed during Microsoft's press conference on Monday, the device also features voice recognition, letting gamers navigate menus by simply voicing commands.

Thus far, 15 games have been announced as launching alongside the device. First-party offerings include Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Joy Ride, and Kinect Sports. A number of third parties are also on board, developing such titles as EA Sports' Active 2, Konami's DanceMasters, and Sega's Sonic Free Riders. Publishers have also promised postlaunch support, such as a Star Wars game from LucasArts, Q?'s Child of Eden, and THQ's UFC Trainer.

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.

646 Comments

  • austinite04

    Posted Nov 5, 2010 2:32 pm GMT

    Kinect isn't for Hardcore gaming, so why the $150 price tag?? I don't know many casual gamers that would pay $150 for a camera device.. at least with PS Move you have a trigger button, hence you can play FPS like Mag and many more styles of games.. Move is also CHEAPER.. I did notice MS is losing to PS3, they are only 500k sales ahead of Sony, Which Sony will easily pickup 1 million people this holiday.. I saw the kinect in Best Buy and laughed at the grown men jumping around making themselves look like monkeys.. Sorry but I like controllers.. Sony and Nintendo passed up this company that makes the motion controller in favor of having psychical controllaers and I certainly know why, longevity.. How long will you continue to jump around like a fool???

  • Lethale123

    Posted Jul 2, 2010 8:55 am GMT

    Pricing has always been steep with new peripherals. $150 sounds great considering the alternative. Just to add. Playstation Move's "set", which is the motion controller and navigation controller will cost around $80 per person plus another $40 for the eyetoy if you don't already have them. 2players-$160 4players= $320. just think about whose robbing who in this situation.

  • McGregor

    Posted Jun 28, 2010 8:40 pm GMT

    I'm going to have to say at anything above a $50 price tag=no deal. If it comes with a game I think you could justify $100, but anything other than that, too expensive. Also, as far as I can tell it looks like an HD playstation Eye. I will say, Sony wins this round of "motion control newbs". Nintendo still gets to say, "we told you so".

  • Midime19

    Posted Jun 23, 2010 3:51 pm GMT

    I hope this is available with the new MGS! If it is, NOM NOM!!!!

  • swamptick

    Posted Jun 23, 2010 5:38 am GMT

    @ Serious

    Kinect uses several different infra-red arrays. It can work in complete darkness. It's called the INTERNET. You can research all kinds of wonderful things on it! Hope that helps son!

  • Rahiem1924

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 8:36 am GMT

    Please fix the lag. It will break the wonderful idea.

  • Ashevillian26

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 6:31 am GMT

    Who could guess that their would be a Sonic & StarWars game @ launch?

  • shani_boy101

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 1:47 am GMT

    With that horrid line-up of fad launch titles, i don't see any potential or point in buying the Kinect. If they introduced Kinect compatibility with PCs (for the interface) then i definitely would buy one, but for what it is now for $150, no way.

  • Romeric87

    Posted Jun 22, 2010 1:34 am GMT

    Darn you Microsoft! They are very, very good at marketing their products. XBL is filled with pretty interesting info on the Kinect, but when I look on PSN for details on the Move - nothing. An informed consumer is a money-spending consumer. Again, darn you MS because I want one!

  • Serentor

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 11:33 pm GMT

    @ TheDecoy2124 ofcourse the price blows it away, its bloody expensive, to get all the controllers and the 2nd controller and WITHOUT the camera, you come up to $160 with move, for 2 players! No games included except your old ones, if you own them ofcourse. And thats a fix price. $150 is still in debate over kinect and allows up to 4 players.

    LBP 2 able to use "move", might aswell connect my keyboard and mouse like they said it would include. And they also make a ton of casual games aimed for the casual players, its not like microsoft was the only one! How awesome. Killzone 3 with move? As if its not hard enough to aim in fps with those in the firstplace. And what i ment with they are gonna take old games and make them "move-able" is that they do that for the increase boost in their launching titles with move, ofcourse thats not all they do geez!

    Calling me hypocrit? I had to rofl so bad when i saw your reason, I wasnt trying to say something that wasnt a true or a lie, but merely the fact that people should stop hitting on kinect if they dont even know what its gonna be like in the future! Its a new product! You cant work from what eye toy did, eye toy sucked! Move can hint at all the wii games now, and thats what they do too! All you got to see are a few games out of those 15 and those are aimed at the casual gamers.
    Well, for insulting me, i guess its fair to say that you are a dumb brat in return.

  • _R34LiTY_

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 10:38 pm GMT

    Microsoft Online store has it listed for $150 as well.

    http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Kinect-Sensor-for-Xbox-360/product/C737B081

    If so, then at that price, it should come bundled with a game. Kinect Sports at the very least...

  • badman11226

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 9:45 pm GMT

    Damn what 150 no thnx man. That too much man, are you kidding me. That shouldnt cost more than 100. If it was 99.99 i would say ok not bad but 150 no thnx u,

  • TheDecoy2124

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 6:23 pm GMT

    @Serentor, First of all, you are a hypocrite. You say that once the kinect is out for a bit longer and developers get more time with it that games will be better, but the move just takes old games and makes them "move-able". I'm sorry, but if you look at the list of Move titles announced it really kind of blows away the kinect, even it's price blows it away. Also, Dead Space Extraction really isn't old at all. In all honesty I don't plan on buying Kinect or Move. I think Sony's won this one though.

  • Serious

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 6:15 pm GMT

    I foresee problems with this. One how does it work in a dark room. In order for this think to see you I would think the room will have to be bright. I noticed during the demo of "Child of Eden" that he was wearing white gloves. I can only assume that so the camera could pick up his hand movements. I like to play games in a dark room at night. I would hate to have to turn on lights to be seen by this thing,

  • nitromuffin

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 4:27 pm GMT

    i dont think i will be getting this . maybe move but i dont play my wii at all. i am sorta motion controlled out

  • Serentor

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 1:56 pm GMT

    bloody hell people, those are just launching titles, you dont even know what they are, there was only like 5 shown. besides that, every console or new innovative idea takes a couple months till it releases good games. do you seriously think that every console on first release had the best games on day 1? hell no, it takes time to develope. geez. wanna know why the "move" is gonna be doing good/ok? because all it does is use old games and make them move-able.

  • PresidentDman

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 12:18 pm GMT

    The real problem for me with Kinetic is the lack of innovation. We have this so called "innovative" piece of hardware but no real "innovative" games to go with it. I can see the potential but I can't see past the gimmick release titles and the $150 price tag.

  • MagusIM

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 11:49 am GMT

    So the Kinect has 3 camera's. One for color detection and the other 2 for 3D motion sensing. That means it triangulates positions of objects. The Eye toy never had that so its not even comparable. 3D motion capture, built in mic, multiple people can use just one Kinect at the same time. Also PrimeSense says the Kinect Demo only supported 2 players at the same time but sense 4 people and would not comment on what Microsoft implemented.

  • DerkaDerkaJihad

    Posted Jun 21, 2010 11:37 am GMT

    I'll pick this thing up whenever they drop the price to $50 after months of continuous bad sales. Like No_Surrender said, why shell out $150 for a damn add-on controller when for $50 more I can get myself a brand new console in the Wii? They all must be high on crack if they think I'm going to waste my money on the Kinect.