I do not think the price will actually make much difference if the product is compelling enough which at the moment I think it is. I would of liked to have seen a choice of Kinect games. Kinectimals and MTV dance game would of been excellent bundled choices and would of broadened the appeal.

I can understand why Kowen is getting a little teachy over the pricing as it makes no real sense on the one hand they offer the 360 at £199 (now commonly available for £189) which is directly comparable to the $300 US price yet with Kinect they have reinvented the formula and lumped an extra £20 to the cost almost like having a 20% price increase before it even goes on sale.

Never an option? Microsoft has bundled numerous third party titles with Xbox hardware.

BHR is pretty good at prediction making.

So was MikeB until he went somewhere.

how many times have we seen it this gen where a complelling console or accesory fails because of a high price, oh yeah sony experienced that. will kinect do what ms wants it to do? probably not it all depends on the consumer are they willing to pay that much, unless ms puts their charts on every wii and ps3 then will kinect seem like a cheap deal to the consumer.

....... brb

Can the harddrive be upgraded?

Just read an article containing the prices here in Norway on Gamer.no.

Seems Kinect standalone will cost the equivalent of 205$ here and the Arcade bundle a little over 440$. Kinect itself was not quite as bad as I feared, things usually cost ten times the amount in NOK that they do in the US in dollars but its still a ridiculous price if you ask me, especially since the console standalone will cost roughly 1800 NOK against the Kinect price of 1300.

yes.

I thought the same thing with Wii fit.  How many people will want to spend $100 on one game....I guess 22 million people thought otherwise.  A $160 for a complete Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour set up...proposterous.  Yet how many people are rocking out with plastic instruments in their living room?  $500 for a big I-Phone that doesn't even make phone calls...what? But over 2 million I Pads have been sold in the first couple months.

I guess the lesson learned is that you should never underestimate the consumer when they have been told by the mainstream media that something is a must have device.  The price becomes irrelevant when people are trying to show off for the Jones.  Microsoft has this going on with Kinect right now.  If they keep the hype going, it should fly off the shelves this holiday.  If kids ask for it, parents will buy it.

Also since the announcement of the official price and that Kinect Adventures will be the pack in game, the Kinect Pre-Order moved back into the Top 15 on Amazon's videogame list.   I couldn't find the less expensive Move bundle anywhere though.  Hmmmm..........

i say it... the console wars are over...

1 wii

2x360

3 ps3 

noo way in hell ps3 can ever take over x360