When it was originally brought up the Kinect seemed like it would be a good thing. That was back when it was originally teased as Project Natal with “Milo” demo. Yes, it is something that really does seem like a pretty cool thing to do. And yes, it still seems that way. However, the burden of price will kill the Kinect unless Microsoft and developers figure out a way to actually make the Kinect a desirable product.
A price tag of $150 for an accessory is entirely too expensive. That’s the problem. There’s also the added issue that at the moment, the game(s) that are supported by Kinect are essentially Wii casual game clones. Now, if you look at the possible premise that Microsoft is trying to grab the attention of non-Xbox 360 owners, it is making it too expensive. It’s even making it too expensive for the people who already own an Xbox 360. Sure, it comes with a game, which is little more than poorly disguised clone of Wii Sports and a couple of other similar casual Wii games. Still, that’s at least $150 from your pocket for one game and one accessory. Not only that, but it’s $150 from your pocket when many different games are coming out in the near future – a point that will be addressed soon. The accessory costs $20 more than a refurbished Nintendo Wii and $50 less than a Nintendo Wii new.
If you don’t have an Xbox 360 already, that’s a minimum of $300 before taxes for the bundle with a console. So the least you’d spend if you don’t already have a 360 is $180 more than a refurbished Nintendo Wii or $100 more than a new Nintendo Wii. It costs the same as a 120 GB Playstation 3 new and not in a bundle. That’s pretty hefty. The cost doesn’t even take into account the cost of an Xbox Live Gold membership, which almost becomes a necessity since the great thing about a lot of games, especially casual ones, is that you can play with others.
There are things that developers and Microsoft can do to make sure that the Kinect consistently grabs an audience. This means that a lot more games should be made. This doesn’t mean just the casual games, but also the big name titles as well. After all, games are much like other artistic mediums that try to grab the imaginations of their audience (eg. movies and books). So, why not make it so that more Xbox 360 games are compatible with Kinect. For example, if Crysis 2 or a Rainbow Six/Ghost Recon game becomes compatible with Kinect, the feel of the games would be completely different.
There were also complaints about lag issues from some of the people who tested some of the Kinect games at E3. Sure, the technology requires a lot of processing power if it is relying on interpreting your actions as actions of control. It’ll be a problem. Then again, if there is lag and a lot of the games that would work with the Kinect – at least out of the games shown already – are based heavily on timing, that’s a big issue. If any possible problems with lag are fixed, it would probably be a pretty solid product.
There is a problem with the anticipated time of release also. If it comes out while a lot of games are coming out, people who already own an Xbox 360 would be more likely to get new two or three games, especially ones they’ve probably been waiting for, for $150. It just seems like the timing is just something that will likely kill Kinect’s success as well. It just seems like they’re rushing to get it out to the public and we already saw what happens when Microsoft tries to rush the release of a product. In terms of software, we saw it with Windows ME, one of the worst Windows operating systems ever released. In terms of hardware, we saw it with the massive failure rates of the first generations of the Xbox 360.
The Kinect can succeed if the right steps are taken. If Microsoft drops the price – even just $30 or $40 – it would be easier to justify the expense. Plus, Microsoft must fix any lingering lag issues. That would be a matter of pushing back the release date so that you can perfect the technology that you’re trying to put to work. Also, developers must create Kinect software that will really grab people.
I agree with everything you said, Jonathan. At $150, I would rather scoop up a couple of new games. Three if you catch a couple of good deals. I know Microsoft is probably losing money even at that price point but nothing I've seen was compelling enough to make me go "I have to have this now."
My wife, who is probably the target audience for this device, feels we already have a Wii and she didn't anything for Kinect she had to have.
I remember reading an article that said this would be somewhat cheap, less than $/£100-one even suggested the price of a game. If it was that price i definitely would consider buying it-provided i had the funds to buy the new 360 befor uni.
It might seem like a lot of money, but if you add the fact that you don't have to buy extra controllers than it becomes a better deal. For example, I also have a PS3 with the move accessories. The controller cost 50 dollars a piece and some games can use 2 controllers per person. That's 100 dollars per person. There is also a navigation controller which becomes almost necessary in first person shooters. those are 30 dollars a piece. So it ended up costing me 260 dollars for two people to play and have all the options available to them… and that's without a game. Granted, most games are still playable with only one, but if you want the full experience, then you get my drift. The kinect requires no extra equipment for extra people to play, so in that aspect it's a bargain. I do agree with the issue of the lag, however. I heard that the processor was removed from the connect in order to cut the cost and that is what is causing the lag. I have noticed that some games lag while others don't seem to, so maybe it has to do with how it was programmed.