Microsoft’s Chris Lewis has said pricing for Kinect will be announced closer to the controller’s launch.

He also said that Europe’s getting the device in November as well.

Speaking with VG247 at E3, Lewis would not confirm the $189.00 price point rumored earlier in the week, and said that he had not heard the rumor of two skus for it either.

“We will obviously announce [the price] little bit closer to the launch date – and I am pleased to say that in Europe it will also get a November launch right across the key markets, which is great,” he said.

“We’re making sure of that as Don (Mattrick) is very fixated on synchronizing this and making sure that Europe is absolutely instep with the US and other parts of the globe. That’s one thing.

“To your question about the price, we’re not saying exactly when, but be very comforted that it will be a great value. We know that’s important. It has to be. So, we haven’t said yet when we’ll come out with a price point but it will be in a timely way, for retail to have a plan for the consumers to be able to plan the expenditure”.

When asked about the rumored $189 price point, Lewis reiterated the company’s plan for the price reveal.

“I understand your appetite to understand the price, but all I will say to you again, is that we will offer great value,” he said. “We need to do that in particular to this audience that we are aspiring to appeal to and we know that we have to resonate well there. And our track record over the past ten years – I hope has proven to people that we have an appetite to remain competitive. I mean, we have to.

“The economics are good, of c0urse, but we think we are offering a great technology based experience that I think will carry a lot of enthusiasm – and people are prepared to pay for great experiences”.

“But it will be great value. I cannot comment on the numbers you just articulated, but I think you’ll be very happy when you hear our plans”.

November then.

http://www.vg247.com/2010/06/16/kinect-pricing-to-be-revealed-closer-to-november-launch-in-europe-and-us/

Translation:

we are working very hard to bring the price down.

$149 my ass.

Well Wii Sports and the wiimote came free with my Wii so if MS wants to be competitive........

High price point then, it seems.

I hope this means that Kinect will be under $100.

Verrrrrrry careful not to clue us in, but at least it sounds hopeful that the $149 price point is bunk.

So ... Move comes out on 9/19 .... anybody else think the Kinect price will be announced shortly before that?

So it will be 100$ and not 150$? IMO they saw that it wasnt the biggest thing at e3 as many where expecting, so they decided not to announce the massive pricetag as they where first planning to... no serious game lineup, no confirmed price, awkward name... I dunno,maybe MS just lost the Natal momentum a bit :|

Seems like the $150 may be what it is, if not the $189.  He just keeps mentioning it will be a great value.  So, most likely it will be a high price point, but MS will think it holds "great value" for that price.

$99 would still be a reasonable price for the standalone upgrade kit.

The only problem is that it sounds like the standalone upgrade kit for the 250GB Xbox will cost less than that upgrade kit for the current 40 million consoles in circulation.

No Kinect port supposedly means separate power source and different connection (I'm assuming USB although it may splice into the custom AV port). A small AC adapter shouldn't add more than $10 to the retail price, but a custom cable, assuming it does not connect via standard USB port, could be a "$40" cable like the custom MS HDMI cables.

This is all just hypothetical though.

But I absolutely cannot see MS charging more than $400 for the 250GB/Kinect bundle.

How much they want to charge for the original 360 upgrade kit will have a pretty big effect on just how many early adopters there will be.

$189 = crash and burn

$149 = moderate/tentative adoption rate

$99 = reasonable enough to warrant purchase for most with even a casual interest

Anything approaching $59 and a lot of users will buy the kit even if they have minimal interest in the initial games.