14 DAY TRIAL // We know that Kinect, Microsoft’s motion controller, will be launched on November 4 in North America but the company that makes the Xbox 360 is not yet ready to talk about the pricing options for the new peripheral. With the launch date less than 6 months away, retailers are stepping into the void and showing that Kinect will likely resell for 150 dollars when it is released.
The figure is currently listed by companies like Wal Mart, GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy and Target. It's not clear whether the retailers have information coming directly from Microsoft or whether they are simply offering a price point based on current rumors. The software giant is saying that it will be waiting until August in order to officially announce a price for Kinect. Until then, rumors and speculation will be heating up in relation to the price of the device.
When Kinect is out, players will be able to enjoy titles like: Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Joy Ride and Kinect Sports, all pretty casual oriented. A more interesting offering is coming from companies other than Microsoft, which are also set to launch titles such as Konami's DanceMasters, Sega's Sonic Free Riders, EA Sports' Active 2 or the new lightsaber fighting game from LucasArts. Fable III will also include some support for Kinect and more are promised after launch.
Kinect is set to allow players to control their videogames and the Xbox 360 interface using the movement of their whole body. There's no physical controller associated with the device and recent demos have shown that lag is tolerable and that the motion tracking system is very accurate. The launch of Kinect will be preempted by that of the PlayStation Move, Sony’s motion system using a controller and the PlayStation Eye, which should arrive in September and have pricing options ranging upwards from 49.99 dollars.