If Microsoft are to be believed, I was one of many that picked up Kinect in it's launch window. I don't doubt that the initial sales of the hardware were high, but something struck me today whilst browsing Game Online and that is Kinect is now retailing some £50 less than it's launch price. Now this is part of Game's Easter Sale promotion, but that is still one hell of a discount. If my maths is right, that is a 40% discount there or thereabouts. It is worth noting that Amazon has also dropped it's price to £79.99 as well. Perhaps this too is part of an Easter promotion.
It does seem strange that such a successful peripheral is being so heavily discounted early on in it's life cycle, Easter promo or not. It set me thinking that, perhaps after the initial rush, Kinect is not exactly setting the world on fire in the way that Microsoft hoped it would.
As far as I am concerned the lack of top games is an issue. So far I only own two games for it, Kinect Adventures which it came with and Kinect Joy Ride. Aside from the newly released Michael Jackson Experience there has not been a whole lot of titles that have interested me at all. This is not because I am some sort of hardcore gaming guy, but rather nothing has grabbed my attention and actually made me want to play it.
I have to admit that my Kinect spends most of it's time in it's box. The major issue of the space required for usage is a problem for me and when I do decide to break it out, the limiting factor of how much clear space is needed means some furniture modifications. It is not practical for me to leave the Kinect plugged in all the time, and I certainly don't like the idea of it being balance precariously waiting for the day when I accidentally topple it over to it's doom.
It is not as though I am against Kinect. I am not. I can see that this has great potential but so far there seems to be so little out there that is proving to be compelling. I am aware that software is being developed for it all the time but there is no guarantee that it will live up to expectations. Then what? Does Kinect slowly disappear into the mists of gaming failures to rest comfortably alongside the likes of the 32X, Virtual Boy and so on?
Microsoft have clearly invested a huge amount of money into the Kinect project and certainly if their recent expo presentations have been anything to go by, they are content to sit behind Kinect and push it as hard as they can. The problem is; if no one wants to use it then they can push all they like.
What I find frustrating is that I knew this would happen. I knew that Kinect would start like this with little in the way of the wow factor. OK, you can wave at the 360 and speak to it and give it a limited number of commands but it is not enough. Microsoft heralded Kinect as a game changer and clearly, as of yet, that is not the case.
Again, I stress that I am not against Kinect, I want it to succeed, but in order for that to happen Microsoft need to make Kinect titles that interest the games player more than what they have so far. If they fumble Kinect as badly as I fear they might it could prove to be a watershed moment for Microsoft in the console market. To bury this product that has so much potential would be a crying shame for those who have invested in it and for the industry as well.
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