Kinect preorders 'very low' - UK retailer

courtesy of Gamespot

Microsoft confirmed a November 4 launch for its Kinect motion-sensing camera peripheral at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, but it didn't nail down a price for the device. Despite the lack of official word, US retailers began taking preorders for Kinect at $150, and while Microsoft declined to make the number official, it opened up its own preorders at the same price point. Now one retailer is saying that price is too high, and preorders have suffered as a result.

ShopTo's CEO says customers aren't exactly clamoring for Kinect.

In an interview with Eurogamer, ShopTo CEO Igor Cipolletta told the site the number of Kinect preorders the retail chain has received is "very low." As for the pricing, ShopTo currently offers the Kinect for €153.75 ($188), while the executive pointed out that a Wii can be had for just a little more. ShopTo's online site is currently sold out of Nintendo's hardware, but the Wii Sports Resort bundle ordinarily sells for €166 ($203).

"It's too high," Cipolletta said of the Kinect price. "We believe that with this current economy it should be around £70 ($105)."

When Kinect arrives, Microsoft expects 15 games to launch alongside the device. First-party offerings include Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Joy Ride, and Kinect Sports. A number of third parties are also on board, developing such titles as EA Sports Active 2, Konami's DanceMasters, and Sega's Sonic Freeriders. Publishers have also promised postlaunch support, such as a Star Wars game from LucasArts, Q?'s Child of Eden, and THQ's UFC Trainer.

Microsoft readies five million Natal units for launch

courtesy of tgdaily

UK gaming site MCV has published the first details of Microsoft's Project Natal controller for the Xbox 360.

Sources say the innovative gaming controller will be released next November and Microsoft is gearing up to have five million devices ready at launch at a lower than expected price of around $50, along with at least 14 games.

The Natal concept, which uses cameras and microphones to track player movements, was revealed at E3 in Los Angeles earlier in the year.

Activision, Bethesda, Capcom, Disney, EA, Konami, MTV, Namco Bandai, Sega, Square Enix, THQ and Ubisoft announced they would be providing Natal-capable games at the Tokyo Game Show in October.

Project Natal may actually be Microsoft's Next Console

There is a rumor going around because of a statement made by Shane Kim (Microsoft's head of long-term Xbox 360 strategy). The rumor is that Project Natal may actually be Xbox 720 (aka Xbox 3).

Shane Kim said, "Conceptually, the launch of Natal will be like the launch of Xbox 360. It's going to be that big. We're not just going to ship it when the hardware and software are ready. We have to make sure that there are enough content experiences that are really good. That's similar to how you would think of the launch of a new console. It's got to have a great launch line-up. That's the same thing here."

The bottom line... sounds like people may be making a big deal out of nothing, but considering the recent statements made by big name, third-party developers stating that they've "maxed out" the 360 but not the PS3, it may not be too far-fetched to see Microsoft trying to release another console soon. On a side note, Nintendo bombed with the GameCube so they decided to repackage it with an enhanced controller. Yea, that's right. Nintendo's Wii is essentially nothing more than a tuned up GameCube with a new, interactive controller that was successfully "relaunched". Will be interesting to see how this turns out.

E3 '09 Spotlight: Microsoft Press Conference (Project Natal)

Microsoft is worried about sales figures of the Wii. Wonder why?

Systems sales worldwide (as of June 1, 2009):

Wii = ~50 million (released Winter 2006)
360 = ~30 million (released Winter 2005)
PS3 = ~22 million (released Winter 2006)

Microsoft unveiled their answer to Nintendo Wii's success at E3 '09 during their press conference. Introducing "Project Natal". *Video below*


Project Natal Promo Video




Project Natal Demonstration



Hate to say it, but Tony Hawk's new "skateboard-controller" (shown during E3 right before Project Natal was revealed) is not as impressive. *video below*

Tony Hawk Ride Promo Video