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Microsoft's Kinect Priced For Australia

Xbox 360

19th June 2010, 1:55am
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The word has come through, not from Microsoft, but from both EB and GAME. It seems retailers around the world are not hesitating to start taking pre-orders for the device - and the going rate in Australia is $198 per unit. This makes it considerably more expensive than Sony's Move controllers which come in at $120 for a set. Granted, you do need a Playstation Eye camera to make them work however, which will cost many consumers extra.

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Reader Comments:
400 Turtles
Posted by 400 Turtles 19/06/2010 2:08am
Isn't there some Move game that comes packaged with a PS Eye Camera and one of the Move stick thingies? That just leaves people having to shell out for the other stick thing, which should cost the price a fair bit.

Unless that package has already been taken into account in the calculations above, of course.
zen
Posted by zen 19/06/2010 11:41am
isnt it supposed to be under $100US?
fucking bullshit price gouging >
Predator
Posted by Predator 19/06/2010 11:48am
nah.. I think it was about $150 US.. which is closer to $200..

Is going to be a rip though.. I think they will have to drop the price soon after.
Posted by admeister 19/06/2010 11:56am
Isn't there some Move game that comes packaged with a PS Eye Camera and one of the Move stick thingies? That just leaves people having to shell out for the other stick thing, which should cost the price a fair bit


No bundles/packages have been announced for Australia at this point. I haven't heard anything about a package like the one you described.
nshady
Posted by nshady 19/06/2010 12:01pm
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/06/15/this-changes-everything-playstation-move-available-september-19-2010/

PlayStation Move Bundle – Includes one PlayStation Move motion controller, a PlayStation Eye camera, Sports Champions Blu-ray game and PlayStation Move game demo disc for $99.99 (MSRP).


That's roughly $115. I'd guess we'd see it for $119.95 or $129.95.
Posted by admeister 19/06/2010 12:04pm
Good bundle. Here's hoping we see it over here, for a decent price.
insanopointless
Posted by insanopointless 19/06/2010 3:14pm
Yeah thought it would be about $200. Not enough games to want it at that price.

Word is, the new xbox has a special power port for Kinect, and if you have an older Xbox kinect will need its own power point? I don't think I have enough space for that at all.
Master Chief
Posted by Master Chief 19/06/2010 4:27pm
this is all true. kinect will need some more solid appeal to get the support of the core gaming market. the general consensus on xbox.com is that kinect is Wiifail.
insanopointless
Posted by insanopointless 19/06/2010 4:36pm
The one thing I want is a decent squad based shooter that you play with a controller but can issue commands like 'go there' and 'stop' and 'fire at will' and mark targets and shit with hand gestures. That would be sickkkooo!
nshady
Posted by nshady 19/06/2010 4:44pm
They needed to show something like that to appeal to the E3 crowd. It's fine to go after the casual market, but puppies don't impress the hardcore.
Master Chief
Posted by Master Chief 19/06/2010 5:19pm
socom4 uses Move, but not in a good way lol
Predator
Posted by Predator 19/06/2010 7:07pm
So they all suck, and motion control in general is only good for a gimmick? Is that the conclusion?
nshady
Posted by nshady 19/06/2010 7:15pm
You have to admit it would feel pretty silly to be gesturing at the TV to direct troops...
insanopointless
Posted by insanopointless 19/06/2010 8:45pm
I don't think it would be that bad. I reckon that's the snuggly spot where motion controls will end up eventually, maybe 3-5 basic movements or gestures that do something better than buttons and can get you a bit more immersed in a game. I'm not discounting a future for fully motion controlled games, but one where they are perhaps less prevalent.

Really, I think limiting it to those few gestures will a) make it more accurate, and hence less frustrating b) get you a bit more into it.

As it stands, out of all the released and announced motion control games, the Wii still holds the top 10 applications. And yeah, that includes hard core experiences.

One other thing I personally am interested in is headtracking - this is another hardcore application I think. It's been around on the PC for years, you can get those TrackIR things that essentially let you look around your cockpit / driver seat in Flight Sim and some PC racing games, and move your head independently of your body in some of the more hardcore military sims like Flashpoint and ArmA (so you can scan your flanks and whatnot while you're running in another direction - pretty handy). The problem is that it's always been overly expensive - and something for the enthuisast only. If they can integrate it with move or kinect or whatever, and I think I saw a driving game which had it, that will just be another layer of not-overly-toilsome immersion.
nshady
Posted by nshady 19/06/2010 9:05pm
The other thing with head tracking is that you still have to point your eyes towards the screen, which must feel weird.
insanopointless
Posted by insanopointless 19/06/2010 9:39pm
Yeah I suppose, I guess you would just get used to it - and obviously it exaggerates your movements in game so you don't have to turn it that much to get results... but yeah, it would take a bit of getting used to. You'd probably need a decent posture too - as in not slumped upside down on the couch.
zen
Posted by zen 19/06/2010 11:41pm
i think i am confusing the ps3 bundle pricing with the kinect one.
and yes - the new 360 has a port that is data + power in one - looks like a usb port but with the top left corner blocked at an angle so you cant plug a normal usb cable in there.
Posted by admeister 23/06/2010 12:42am
[img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/06/500x_kinectsofa.jpg[/img]
G-Train
Posted by G-Train 24/06/2010 12:33am
$90 would get you a pretty uncomfortable couch.
insanopointless
Posted by insanopointless 24/06/2010 12:33am
$190 would get you a pretty uncomfortable couch.
Posted by admeister 24/06/2010 2:13am
True. Still, can't deny the other points. I have a feeling the Kinect is going to flop somewhat.
Master Chief
Posted by Master Chief 24/06/2010 3:35am
American prices. $90 could get you a decent couch anyways, as long as you don't mind it being second hand... I personally wouldn't go there
insanopointless
Posted by insanopointless 24/06/2010 9:55am
Probably weird stains on it.

Yeah not sure how Kinect will do.

Funny thing is, if it was 100 bucks I would definitely get one. I mean, that's enough for a whole bunch of people to get one I think, which would mean bigger sell through on games. 200 though... is a significantly larger investment.