#clips
As expected, Microsoft's Kinect made its second appearance on Jimmy Fallon's show earlier this evening. The first show, last year, went OK! This one, less so. More »
Yet another retailer has listed the Kinect add-on for the Xbox 360 at a price of $149.99, but this time, it's a little different: the price is on Microsoft's own site. Over on the Microsoft Store, the "Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360" is clearly listed (and available for preorder on November 4) at $149.99. We've screencapped the image above, just in case it gets removed in the future.
Of course, this still doesn't confirm the price for certain -- the retail side may have no more inside information from the company than any other retailer does, and may be simply listing what it expects the price to be. Or, the price may have gone live early accidentally, pending an official announcement. Either way, throw another piece of evidence on the pile for a $149.99 price on Microsoft's controller-free gaming system.
#xbox360
While Microsoft HQ has yet to confirm an official rrp for Kinect, the company's own online store has no problems pricing the device at, yes, $150. More »
#xbox360
There may be a simple reason Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart and others are pricing Kinect for Xbox 360 at $149 USD. That's how much it costs Microsoft to make the thing, according to a new report. More »
#dancecentral
Excuse me, "Who wants to see costumed reps testing Dance Central for Kinect? On the last day of E3, one of Rift's attendants joined two from The Agency - and two dudes - for a dance off. More »
As a diminutive person who jabs at buttons and keyboards for a living, I can say with the utmost accuracy that dancing isn't my forte. You'll probably come to the same conclusion after watching the video of me gyrating to the beat of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," which I've foolishly embedded after the break. I've placed it there because I want you to see -- somewhere in that garbled body dialect -- how rapidly the "Oh my god, I can't be seen doing this" phase is supplanted by an inescapable feeling of fun. The endorphins don't lie, guys.
Dance Central isn't a quick-and-dirty ditty from Harmonix, the developers behind Amplitude and Rock Band. It's an immediately accessible rhythm title that trades multi-colored buttons for body language, presented in the form of easily processed silhouette cards. A practice mode enables you to gain familiarity with the dance move associated with each silhouette card, but I found them clear enough to follow correctly on my first attempt. Glance at the upcoming move card (think of it as the "next piece" window in Tetris) and prepare to mimic it and the group of on-screen dancers in rhythm to the music. It's like dancing in front of a mirror -- if you were a vibrant cartoon person with a boombox.
The reflection of your own body, as captured precisely by the Xbox 360's Kinect camera, is almost hidden compared to the in-game characters, and it makes the game feel more collaborative than judgmental. In comparison to rote stomp-'em-down Dance Dance Revolution, it's a dance dance revelation. I understand there's a mental embarrassment hurdle to be cleared here so, if it helps, better to think of Dance Central as a hip, hip-thrusting exercise game. Either way, you should also think of it as one of Kinect's least abstract games -- you're not awkwardly driving an invisible car, for example -- and certainly one of its most promising.
PrimeSense was at E3 this week showing off the raw technology that it licensed to Microsoft for what officially became Kinect this past Monday. The company developed the method and core software that Microsoft's forthcoming camera/controller uses to read human bodies and gestures, and had it running on a prototype unit live in the booth.
Unfortunately, company reps weren't able to comment on specifics of the licensing deal, and were very quick to point out that much of what has been done so far with Kinect is Microsoft's own software -- PrimeSense only provides the raw tech behind the visual gesture system, not any of the menus or games that are actually appearing on Kinect. But they were able to explain the core technology to me, and shine a little light, so to speak, on what Kinect is capable of.
#microsoft
Ask the right questions, get the right answers. An internal marketing Q&A for Microsoft about confirm that Kinect will be bundled with consoles, and a $199 configuration of its new Xbox 360 will be available this fall. More »
I admit to being a bit let down not to have the opportunity to play Child of Eden, Tetsuya Mizuguchi's spiritual successor to Rez, at Ubisoft's E3 booth. However, watching Tetsuya Mizuguchi play the game for a small group was still a rare and wonderful experience. And for a Kinect game, it doesn't seem that I missed out on as much for having a "hands-off" demo, because even the person playing it was hands-off.
Mizuguchi walked us through two of the rail shooter's levels, called "Archives." The concept for the game (which it doesn't need at all -- "you shoot pretty stuff" is more than enough) is that you're eliminating viruses from visual representations of emotional memories within the AI "Project Lumi" -- Lumi just happens to be the same name of the virtual idol at the front of Mizuguchi's Genki Rockets band. Your shots "purify" everything they hit, while also, of course, emitting drumbeat noises and other musical sounds, provided, of course, by Genki Rockets.
Retail titans Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart and Amazon agree: Kinect will cost $150. Microsoft will not comment on the posted pricing beyond saying that it's speculative. Microsoft's Xbox bigwig Aaron Greenberg wrote on Twitter (twice), "No Kinect price announced yet, retail price estimates are purely speculative, final price & pack-in details are not yet determined."
We understand that the retail listings are speculative, but it may be worth putting aside $1.08 aside every day until Kinect's release just in case -- unless it ends up being more.
#food
Burker King's cheap 360 games a few years back were a surprise success. Now that Kinect is due in stores for the holiday season, the food giant wants to take a second bite of the Xbox market. More »
#e3
Playing around with some of the games designed for the Xbox 360's controller-free Kinect earlier this week I discovered the game of the show that I think could have the biggest impact on gaming. More »
#e3
Microsoft's Kinect may not be able to detect seated gamers, but it can make some educated about the age of gamers who are standing and put that information to good use. More »
#e3
Near the beginning of my trip out here in Los Angeles for E3, I heard the oddest of rumors: Microsoft's controller-free sensor array, Kinect, would only work if you were standing up. No way, right? More »
#retail
While Microsoft has yet to release pricing details for the Kinect motion control camera, retailers are having no such hesitation, Amazon now joining GameStop in charging $149 for the device. More »
I've played multiple fitness games this week at E3. If you had told me I'd be spending my time doing that a few years ago, I'd have laughed at you and called you crazy. Yet, here we are with this little camera called Kinect which just happens to be the new haven for fitness and family fun games.
#kinect
There are some pretty cool things about Microsoft's no-controller Xbox Kinect sensor array. The thing lets you control your TV with a hand-wave and a voice command. But! People near your TV can — and will — mess with you. More »
#dancecentral
Are you the editor-in-chief of a stupendous gaming blog? Do you have an iota of rhythm? If so, then Xbox Kinetic and the game Dance Central, from the makers of Rock Band, can do this for you. Watch. More »
#xbox360
There were a number of titles shown off by Microsoft yesterday that are specifically designed to work with Kinect, the Xbox 360's motion-controlled camera. This is what those games look like! More »
#e32010
Sure, it's not the most exciting part of Kinect's launch later this year, but Video Kinect may ultimately prove to be one of the device's most practical applications. More »
