14 DAY TRIAL // We already know that Kinect, the motion tracking system formerly known as Project Natal, is set to come out on November 4 but Microsoft has stubbornly refused to talk about the price for the new device, despite reports coming out that it might range between 140 and 200 dollars. It has denied any rumors and it seems it has a plan to only talk about pricing close to the launch date, probably not to permit Sony to react and modify the prices of its own PlayStation Move.
Chris Lewis, the vice president of Interactive Business at Microsoft Europe, told VG247 that “We will obviously announce little bit closer to the launch date – and I am pleased to say that in Europe it will also get a November launch right across the key markets, which is great.”
When pressed about the pricing for Kinect, he added, “To your question about the price, we’re not saying exactly when, but be very comforted that it will be a great value. We know that’s important. It has to be. So, we haven’t said yet when we’ll come out with a price point but it will be in a timely way, for retail to have a plan for the consumers to be able to plan the expenditure.”
Lewis emphasized the fact that Kinect is a very capable technology and that Microsoft is balancing the need to recoup the funds thrown into the development project with the need to get the new motion tracking system to as many gamers as possible, so that titles using it sell well.
The PlayStation Move from Sony, which uses a physical controller, will be coming out in September all over the world, which means it will have close to two months of presence on the market before Microsoft puts Kinect out. The battle between them will be one to watch when Christmas rolls around.