While gamers have argued that $149.99 is too expensive for a glorified EyeToy, Microsoft maintains that not only is Kinect competitively priced, it offers better value than either the Wii or PlayStation Move. In fact, company man Brett Siddons invites gamers to “do the math” when comparing prices.
“What do you need and what do actually have to spend for a two player game for this device versus that device. You actually find that [Kinect] is very competitively priced,” he says. “The camera tracks six people — with two active gamers — you don’t have to buy anything else. I’ll let you do the maths but when you say Nintendo Wii or PlayStation Move you buy this and this, even for a two player games.”
A Wii costs $199.99. A second Wii remote with Nunchuck costs $81.98. An Xbox 360 Slim costs $299.99. Kinect costs $149.99. So, to get a two-player game working costs Wii users $281.97 and Kinect users $448.99. Tracking six people in the room is bullshit because only two can play. In fact, you can get three players on the Wii for $363.95, not only costing less than Kinect, but being able to provide more players to boot!
This is unless you use the Kinect/360 bundle, which some commenters pointed out. The bundle is $299.99. That’s still not as cheap as two-player on the Wii. So there.
Oh look, I just did the math.
Microsoft defends Kinect pricing [TechRadar]
