250GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle en route - Report

(continued from comment below) The Wii will always appeal more to the casual gaming consumers pockets when they consider that for around an extra £30-£40, they can own the Wii instead of Kinect, which is essentially an expensive paper weight when not partnered with an additional £200 worth of Xbox console hardware. The gaming core like myself will no doubt purchase it, but the wider public may choose to snub it unless the price is substantially lowered. With Kinect being Microsoft's biggest innovation in a long time, they are basically throwing their most valuable chip on to the table. Sony's revamped PS3 Slim, partnered with its resulting improved affordability and upcoming Move system, could prove to be very problematic for Microsoft. The world will be watching...

the unnamed U.K retailer is correct. Working in the games dept of a large U.K entertainment company, i'v seen first hand what the number of pre-orders are, and they are very low indeed. 2 pre-orders for my particular store to be exact. But i don't think this comes down to the public not being interested, or not wanting to buy Kinect. Other more probable reasons are; (A) more people are pre-ordering from websites than in-store, due to the convenience of it arriving at your door, instead of having to personally go to the high-street to pick it up, and the custom of website ordered software and hardware being delivered to your door a full day before release ,to assure none are delivered late, while B) the decadent price U.K consumers are being charged for the hardware is by and far the biggest problem. $150 in the U.S, or £129.99 in the U.K. Unless the exchange rate has taken an apocalyptic plummet from last time i checked, the U.K price is nothing short of extortion. Considering that most major retailers will, from time to time, offer a full, brand new Nintendo Wii package that comes with both Wii Sports titles for as little as £149.99, it's glaringly obvious what the best choice is here, especially if it's a parent buying for a young child. (continued)

@PixelAddict I don't know if I should trust you report me but anyway, it doesn't matter but it's good to see you clarified that about Nintendo :D Back to topic, here's a little friendly advice, instead of saying: "'People are so quick to complain and scream that they sky is falling that they get blinders on and don't see potential." or something like that You should say: "Even if people complain about this(kinect this or that), I still say potential [and things you believe]" ;) Because to be honest, I know it's your pesonnal opinion but the way you are saying that, it feels like if you are trolling, especially when most of the users here are also saying negative stuff about kinect(and that's me included). Well, it's an advice. Hope you don't get mad.

I kno I'm definately getting Kinect and I want the new 360 also, but not the 4gb version. My Elite broke and I've been borrowing an Xbox so I'm waiting for the 250gb/Kinect bundle before I buy another one. I was gonna pick up a new 360 now and then just buy Kinect when it launches but now there's gonna be this packaged deal, I'm gonna grab that. I'll probably end up saving $50 or so buying that way.

@zzamaro I didn't see your comment on this thread, so I thought you sent me a PM and sent one back to you. Sorry for the confusion. I wasn't the one who reported you. My comment about the Wii came out wrong. I think the tech is better than the Wii, but not the lineup. Not anywhere close at this point of each of their lifecycles (and it would be unfair to compare, I suppose). What I was trying to say (but failing miserably), was that the tech of the Kinect looks like what the Wii could or should have been. I think about how my wife used the Wii for EA Active, and then sorta frowned. The promise really fell short in the execution on that one. The Wii tech has some limitations I wish it didn't have. That said, I LOVE some of the games: Galaxy 1 & 2 make incredible use of the Wii tech, and New Super Mario Wii is excellent, too. And while Resort is very fun (and I rated it high), it has limitations in terms of control. Still, it is a total blast to play with a group non-gamers. Long post full of clarifications, sorry!

@PixelAddict Well, sorry about the last comment but anyway, you aren't listening. I won't be a d!ck like you said(via PM) this time. Here, I'm talking about games(we're are in a gaming site), we saw games and price, most of the people here know this is not worth, even if kinect has no lag, has nice tech and all but what we know about the games, this is not worth. The PM you sent me, did you say kinect has a better line-up than the wii? Oh man, I don't know what to say because you will probably report me again. I just going to say that's a big lie. As for gaming, eyetoy and kinect, there isn't a big difference when it comes to gameplay. Most of the commenters here agree with that, kinect isn't worth for what it offers. You have to undersanted that. Once Microsoft shows great games, then I'll change my mind and I'm pretty sure many people, too. But for now, we all know this isn't worth.

This article is rubbish, whats with the snidey comments at the end about the low preorder numbers? this is totally outdated information as Gamespot themselves posted an article which showed that Kinect preorders had picked up heavily since the announcement of its price and that despite moaning from idiots like them its already at over half a mil preorders? they clearly do their research huh!!

after more people play the kinect demos at malls,stores,etc it will pick up steam. Just watch, the Kinect xbox360 bundles will sell like hotcakes this holiday season. I already have a 360 (that still works) so i wont get a kinect til i see REALLY good games that support it. next year?

this has nothing to do with forza wtf

<< LINK REMOVED >> Looks like the price is right. The 299 Model is starting to pick up steam, and it doesn't go on sale for another few months. << LINK REMOVED >>

Pricing will be key in determining the success or failure of this bundle. Too high and it will put people off.

It's going to be sold out once the holidays roll around. Watch and see. Probably won't be sold out in Japan or U.K., but it the US, it'll be tough to find. Gamestop said they had a lot of pre-orders for it. Once Microsoft starts advertising, people will want to check it out. I still think the price is too high. $99 would have been perfect.

i will get kinect eventually i just won't rush out and buy it but i will get one somewhere down the line.

@zzamaro EVERYTHING was answered? Really? So you've tried it? You know if the lag is nonexistent or terrible? So you're saying we've all experienced it first hand? Not hardly. I'm still interested and intrigued. As an aside, the 3DS is intriguing, too, but we really don't know how that will be, either. And I was too old for Icarus the FIRST time.

I will wait patiently for this and i don't know if i gonna buy it...

considering ms is jumping into the motion control pool this late,you'd think they would have thought this through more.seriously no hardcore kinect games.plus most casual gamers already own a wii.its a huge gamble ms is making because they are hoping that most casual gamers already own an xbox360.also the reason the wii grabed so much of the casual market was because of the price.i dont think in the current economy ppl will drop 450 bucks just play the same stuff you can play on the wii.especialy since you can buy a wii for 180-200 bucks.now if the kinect was only 50-60 dollars then maybe they might get a little slice of that casual market.honestly they have focused on some hardcore games for kinect's launch and offered it for a lower price.then they might had a chance.but as it stands the thing aint out and it already seems headed th route of sega's saturn.

Great games such as "Child of Eden" from MS make me proud of...............................................owning a PS3!!! hahahaha

When I used to work at Gamestop.. our Nintendo rep was telling us how she though Kinect was a failure and Microsoft is unveiling it to a demographic that really isn't all that interested in it. You know how many people think it is cool but really won't like it when it comes out? Xb360 and Ps3 have games that are more for hardcore gamers. Wii is for fun, its exercising too. People want to sit down and playing Call of Duty for example. Most do not want to get up off their @$$es just to play a game like this. They'll realize that after they buy it and then they wasted the money. You'll play it for a day and then never go back to it after Black Ops comes out. Correct?

"175MB of memory required for Kinect" - Yeah... 4GB will really do it... /sarcasm I'm going to sit back and watch for a while. The prices are going to drop next year... possibly twice. So holiday 2011 or some time in 2012 if enough games come out to prove it worth the cost.

@brylynt Your post doesn't make any sense. What does the Wii have to do with Microsoft investing in the portable market? Nothing. And Microsoft would see an even bigger flop if they went that route, because it's obvious that the momentum is still on Nintendo's side, and growing with the arrival of the 3DS. A "dual analog HD handheld" wouldn't garner any attention? Why? Because there's really no such thing as an "HD handheld", first of all ... by definition, the 3DS' screen quality is enough to be considered HD, and it essentially does what dual analog does with the one analog and a touch screen. Microsoft lacks any sort of imagination, and that's their biggest flaw when it comes down to it.

I bet $150.00 if they said kinect is compatible with the next call of duty and halo, most of you wold buy it at the drop of a dime. lol. Anyway, i see posibilities for kinect, just watch within a year, everyone will want one. I will say though it is a tad pricey, but i gurantee it will be a price drop before the end of 2011.

@ brylynt I think a trip down handheld lane would probably have been just of big a waste of time and money as Kinect most likely will be. I reckon Kinect would do well if they lowered the price. By lower I mean half it. And throw in a game or two. In fact just give it away for free with your new version consoles. :D

I am right with them on the new 360 and I will slap down some extra cash to buy one as soon as I can. But as for Kinect, they have priced themselves right out. Even if it does all the stuff it says it can I still prefer a controller in my hands. I don't really like motion control gaming and that's why I don't own a Wii and for that same reason I will not be buying the Sony or MS Wii attempt either.

Personally the most I'd pay for this would be 60.00, there is no way I'm getting this at the current price, of all the people I know that own 360's nobody would either, Microsoft is pricing this really wrong and just because of that it will fail.

okay so maybe I'm the only person who hopes this fails. but who will agree that microsoft should have used the money and time invested in this to get into the handheld market? dual stick hd handheld anyone? ohh no wait you want to play wii type kiddie games with no controller... go ahead and guzzle down the milk, but I'm not falling for it.

Avoid. and. save. your. money. for. the. 3DS.

Sorry MS, but $150 bucks for this thing is too much. Kinect and Move are joining the party about 4 years too late. Motion Control gaming is OVER! Nobody is interested, anymore.

Sorry, but I've said it before. Sony and MS have pretty cool new toys, but their stuff is way late compared to Nintendo. I think Nintendo implemented it in a way that is fun and still tied in with the normal controller which is why people are willing to use the wii and wii-motes. Nintendo always seems to get their products right and make stuff fun---- I'm going to finally buy a handheld for the first time when the 3ds comes out.

@PixelAddict It's obvious, M$ showed us something impressive at E3 09 and what we got this E3 10? Most of the are games are casual and both games and kinect are at a high price, even higher than the competition. Even if some of us were expecting those games before E310, people were waiting for a lot of things for kinect but after E310... People aren't complaing so quick like you are saying. All of us were waiting for a year and everything was answered recently. I have a X360 but I'm not going to waste my money for something that doesn't have potential. I'd rather save for a 3DS. This. Is. Better. Technology.

People are so quick to complain and scream that they sky is falling that they get blinders on and don't see potential. If it were up to those with closed minds, we would still be watching movies in VHS. Or maybe we'd all still be playing with the Atari joystick, complete with one button.

ive said this before and i will say it again: give me a contoller for racing games and head tracking to look into corners.

I have heard this from somebody before but it is worth saying it again. Give me analog sticks or keyboard or mouse or give me death.

I've said it before and i will say it again. This will fail. did Microsoft or Sony look at the success rates of system add-ons before they sunk millions into this garbage?

I think the problem has less to do with kinext being a bad idea and more to do with people not wanting to drop $150 on something that is unknown..sure we have seen demos and examples of things it can do but until there are several "great" games released for it I for one will hold off on spending my hard earned money.

I see a lot of complaining about Kinect not having buttons. I may well have missed something (I'm sure I'm not 100% up-to-date on this stuff) but will you not be able to use a 360 controller in conjunction with it?

@SneekyRatchet << LINK REMOVED >>

I think upon the official announcement of this 250GB bundl the preorders of the kinect hardware, as i as many who are considering buying the newer xbox version will be drawn to this as the hardware as a standalone device does not seem like a plausable buy

lol @ xtremeflem2day - For one they more than likely didnt throw it out there for money if you look at the technology they put into it. Kinect isn't exactly copying Eyetoy if u know anything about it (but the concept yes).The slim part is useless since game companies have been improving their models of systems since they started to come up........Sony copy Nintendo much? yep, not a fanboy since i dont even own a xbox

mmmm I think im gonna skip this new piece of hardware micro$oft just throws out there for money, and buy a ps3 instead. First eyetoy, then kinect, first ps3 slim, then xbox 360 slim, Copy sony much microsoft?

halo reach bundle > 250GB Kinect bundle

Kinect and Move will both be Paperweights of the year.....

As an employee of Gamestop I feel that in order to pay thanks to gamers they should run a 48hr sale of the kinect bundle @ 299 this would be a huge blow to sony & nintendo before the holiday push

so they sell you a console worthy of playing various types of games then they sell you an add-on which eliminates 90% of genres. BUTTONS

I'd rather get the 3DS than a new 360. My old one works just fine.

meh no thanks too much money when it probably wont be used that much to play games especially since this is half way through the systems life cycle. its nice to have as a webcam plus mike but 150 is way too much money. money thats better off going towards games or a new console

I will be very interested to see how Kinect does. It just seems to me like the 360's demographic isn't right to be pushing this kind of product...

I have decided to diskinect.

Who cares about kinect? Just bring on the halo reach bundle!

If the price is right I just might get this bundle. Right now though, the only kinect game that interests me is the Dance Central. There's got to be more than one interesting game to convince me to buy a new system and an add on.