14 DAY TRIAL // Media Create, the company which watches the hardware and the software markets in Japan, has said that the Kinect motion tracking system which Microsoft has launched for the Xbox 360 home console has managed just 26,000 units in the first weekend it has been on sales, with the company saying that represents “a quiet start.”
Interestingly the number offered by Media Create includes both those devices which have been sold stand alone and those who were part of bundles that include the Xbox 360, the Kinect and a video game.
When the PlayStation Move from Sony, the PlayStation 3 bound motion tracking system, launched in October it has sold about twice the number posted by Kinect.
One major reason for the difference could be the prices, which start at 14,800 Yen for the Kinect, which is about 177 dollars, while the Move can be picked up, in a basic version, for just 5,1000 Yen, the equivalent of about 61 dollars.
The best sold video game developed specifically for Kinect has been Dance Masters from Konami, which managed to sell some 6,000 units during the weekend, far less than titles created for Move managed when they debuted.
Analysts have widely predicted that worldwide Kinect will be selling better than Move during the holiday season, with customers attracted by the idea of controlling a gaming experience only by using their body without the need for any physical controller.
The weekly sales data from Japan is at the moment dominated by the PlayStation Portable handheld from Sony with the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii doing battle for second place and with the Xbox 360 lagging far behind, only just edging out the PSP Go and the PlayStation 2.
Both Sony and Microsoft are promising that in 2011 they will be releasing new video games designed specifically with motion tracking in mind aiming to broaden the appeal for hardcore gamers.