So, we finally get to hear Microsoft’s rationale for pricing the Kinect at $149, exorbitant even if bundled with Kinect Adventures. We knew that Microsoft was waiting for something to announce its Kinect pricing, and after Sony’s Move pricing was revealed right at E3 2010, the world waited till Microsoft revealed just how much its next-gen controller tech would cost. And now, it seems it’s still all about Sony. Microsoft claims that at $149, you get a 2-player experience (remember, the Kinect only supports 2-players at once) for near the same price of Sony’s 2-player Move experience, i.e., two PlayStation Move Controllers and one PlayStation Eye camera. A Microsoft spokesperson urged people to “do the maths”, after which they will realise the Kinect is “very competitively priced.”
When you do math, it comes to 2 Move controllers for $49 each, and 1 PlayStation Eye camera for $39, comes to $137, or, if you take the $99 PlayStation Move Bundle (1 Move controller, 1 PlayStation Eye camera, and 1 Sports Champions Blu-ray disc) plus one Move controller, that comes to $148. What Microsoft isn’t saying, is that the Kinect is actually limited to the 2-player experience, but with the Move, you can always buy another controller down the line, or have your friends bring their own, to get more multi-multiplayer experience. Guess things get bad when the big companies start using tables and math to compare competing products, instead of common sense.
Thanks Melvin & AvatarScocchia, for the eye-opener