Walmart offering $199 Kinect bundle
Retailer sweetens peripheral with gift card and game deal
While Microsoft continues to remain quiet on official pricing for motion control system Kinect, US retailer Walmart has begun taking preorders, asking $199 for a bundle of game, peripheral and a $30 gift card.
The incomplete list of games on offer includes Kinect Sports, Joy Ride, Kinectimals and Dance Central. Microsoft's own retail site has listed the Kinect peripheral on its own at $150, but said it is only a placeholder price. Solid confirmation is expected at Gamescom in August.
There is concern from publishers that the price of Kinect may be too high to drive uptake amongst the casual consumer, with Activision's Thomas Tippl suggesting the company may not invest heavily in Kinect-based games.
Sony's PlayStation Move controller, which many regard as a rival to Microsoft's Kinect, will cost €39.99/$49.99/¥3980, with the Navigational controller available separately for €29.99/$29.99/¥2980, and other bundles also available.