Do you think $149 is a bit too steep for a glorified EyeToy, even one that was advertised by Cirque du Tightpants? You're not alone. Industry analyst and professional wrestler Michael Pachter thinks it costs too much, and that the price won't allow it to threaten the Wii.
"The Kinect bundle costs only $100 more than the cost of a standalone console, so they can afford to sell Kinect for $100," says Pachter. "The standalone price for Kinect is too high, and core gamers will be put off by the price. My bias is that most core gamers will wait, but that 5-10% will buy it. That suggests 2-4 million standalone units [sold]."
"I don't see a meaningful threat to the Wii at these prices. I think that both Kinect and Move are priced too high to spark the whole industry, but think that both will sell modestly well."
What do you reckon? Is Pachter right on this one, or is his professional guesswork off the mark?
Pachter: Kinect price is too high for the hardcore [CVG]
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Contest:
11:20 AM on 07.21.2010 | 
CONFIRMED, Pachter has a bias towards having an opinion.
You watch though, Kinect will end up being the Wii of several years ago, selling out from store to store. Now that would be funny.
Many people think the Kinect is too expensive. People who do not think it is expensive will buy it, while others will not.
Microsoft, 50 bucks off please. You won't beat move with a 150 price tag.
Anyway, I think Kinect and Move will ultimately turn out to be novelty products.
I don't have much faith in Sony's ability to properly handle Move's software and marketing. This is especially given Sony's failure to even handle the PSP and SixAxis properly. Besides, based on what has been shown off so far, Move (as far as motion control use goes) really has pretty much not shown anything that the Wii hasn't already done.
Kinect may be more successful than Move given that its being targeted primarily at the expanded audience with potential original hits like Kinectimals and Dance Central. However, the problem I have with Kinect is the seemingly severe limitations of its tech given that A) it sports a complete anti-controller concept and B) all of the E3 demos featured stationary/on-rails player movement. This all results in potentially heavy genre restrictions.
Then again, it may not be much of a problem given that Kinect is really aimed at the expanded audience and not the core gamer.To expect traditional core games from Kinect seems fairly unrealistic at this point despite Microsoft's claims.
0 dollars would also be too expensive.
Core gamers would be fine with Kinect's price but there are no games for them. Casual gamers, lol those guys don't even like to admit they play games. As if they're going to buy some pricy unit. I can mainly see it work for families where they've bought a 360 for Teenage Gamer and Kinect might be a neat toy for MILF or Creepy Uncle.
Sony's doing something different from Kinect and Wii by putting Move in some of their "core" gamer franchises, SOCOM, mascot platformer games, etc. If they can make it appealing to core gamers, Sony could sell a lot of units to their existing install base.
Wii ports are probably better suited for the PS Move, but are you really saying that in order for MS and Sony to sell units and capture the casual market, they have to get ports of hardcore games that didn't sell that well? You are waaaaay off the mark. What most of the stooges don't realize is that Dance Central and Kinectimals will sell like COD if they are marketed properly. I applaud Sony for basically introducing a hardcore HD Wii onto the market, but they won't sell to casuals with their current crop of software.
That would be funny, but what will be even funnier is when MS and Sony fight it out by releasing in the fall and trying to steal market from each other and doing so successfully, preventing either from making a splash. Only to have Nintendo wait until next spring while perfecting the 3DS and take everyone's money. By then the novelty will have worn off and everyone will be spending their Christmas money on Kid Icarus, new Zelda, and gorgeous 3D handhelds instead of Kinect Blox Boom.
That is all.
"Core market" titles are not "core market titles with motion control". I can't think of any besides Red Steel 2.
So hilarious.
I want Kinect to fail, but I don't think it will.
That sounds like a really really safe bet.
Seeing as "not that high" could be any amount. 2-4 million is a pretty big gap too...
I'm only an occasional FPS fan, and I'd much rather play a racing game with an actual racing wheel. If that makes me "fool", I guess I'll just deal with it.
The sky truly is falling!!!
Because if you look at NEW system buyers....the 300$ 360 Bundle is a better than the 199$ Wii Bundle.
As for existing 360 Users to purchase the Kinect....I'd have to say wait and see.
Once you actually get to play with the unit will determine the purchase.
I have a 360....and my kid nieces and nephews have already begun to abandon their Wiis for the shiny 360 and PS3.....the addition of Kinect for families with 360s already is something not to be underestimated.
I understand the desire to extend the life of a console, but making new gimmicky controllers isn't he way to do it.
"Confirmed. Kinect will fail horribly! Microshaft should just give up."
Confirmed. Cowsick is a little fanboy troll. Proceed with feeling irritated.
Surprise! Sales obviously show that everyone that owns a Wii doesn't also own a 360. So I think it's only fair that if you're targeting a different audience than what your console is. You're going to HAVE to factor in the price of the console itself. So I think the 300 dollar console is what we should all be looking at when thinking about entry price.
The wii motion based controls have been out there much longer than the Xbox 360 so consumers are more than likely to trust them.
and unforgettably it is close of time for Microsoft to move on to it's next system so the next system may lack support of the new device.