kinect-adventures
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Kinect Xbox 360 250GB bundle announced
A month after popping up on the side of the Aussie Kinect bundle box, Microsoft has officially announced the existence of the Xbox 360 Kinect bundle with 250GB hard drive. The package, launching November 4, includes an Xbox 360 with a 250GB hard drive, built-in Wi-Fi, a Kinect sensor and Kinect Adventures for $400. On the same day, the Kinect hardware will launch on its own at $150, alongside the Kinect 4GB Xbox 360 bundle for $300. There's also the option of purchasing the 250GB hard drive for the S version of the console separately, but that's $130. At this point, the latest announced bundle is the best value for those looking to get the whole package. Oh, and they still sell Xbox 360s that only come with plain ol' controllers, if that's your thing.
Xbox 360 250GB plus Kinect bundle priced at $399 in US, £300 in UK
Microsoft has chosen the small hours of the night to announce pricing of its second Kinect bundle, which is set for launch along with the standalone and 4GB options on November 4 in the USA and November 10 across Europe. The new package throws in the 250GB slim version of the Xbox 360 to accompany the newfangled motion tracker, a spare conventional controller, and a copy of the utterly unmissable Kinect Adventures! (it has its own punctuation, it must be good). Pricing is a bit on the painful side, with Kotaku reporting a $399 figure for the US and Microsoft confirming to us a £300 sticker for this "special edition" bundle for the UK. Full press release follows after the break. [Thanks, Ravi]%Gallery-101662%
Kinect launching Nov. 18 in Australia, Foxtel TV service in October
IGN reports that two big announcements have been made at a Microsoft Open House event in Australia. First and foremost, Kinect will launch in the land down under on November 18. The unit will be bundled with Kinect Adventures for AUD $199 (USD $181). A console bundle with Kinect (presumably the 4GB Xbox bundle we've seen before) will retail for AUD $449 (USD $407). Furthermore, Foxtel's previously announced premium TV streaming service will launch in October. Pricing details for the service are expected closer to launch, though apparently it will be "fabulously affordable."
Sources: Kinect beta kits going out, Dashboard update live for participants (with pics!) [Update: and video!]
That email purportedly sent out by Microsoft a couple weeks back inviting its recipients into a Kinect beta program? Yeah -- it was legit. Joystiq has received corroborating evidence confirming the program, including pictures of the promised Kinect-enabled Dashboard update running on a participant's retail console. In them, you can clearly see the flatter presentation, new mini-guide and revamped Avatar editor -- complete with a re-proportioned Avatar. Our tipsters clearly didn't read the included guidelines, pictured in the gallery bellow. Apart from the laundry list of methods via which participants aren't supposed to talk about the program, there's confirmation that Kinect hardware is indeed part of the beta, "is being packed" and will presumably be on its way to testers soon. These same sources report that the beta support site mentions Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride as titles they can expect to receive for testing purposes. We'll have more on the program as its participants continue to refuse acknowledgment of Microsoft's terms and conditions. [Update 8/27, 9am: And we've got a video of the new Dash posted just after the break, featuring much more than the boot-up screen. Thanks, Bradley!] %Gallery-100536%
New Xbox 360 4GB ships August 3rd for $199, Kinect standalone priced at $149, bundle coming this holiday for $299
Amazon Germany just couldn't keep a secret. Microsoft's just announced that a shiny new Xbox 360 Arcade replacement -- with 4GB internal flash memory, a matte finish, and built-in 802.11n WiFi -- will be shipping August 3rd for $199.99. A stark difference in capacity to the current 250GB model, but at least it's cheaper. Looking ahead to November, the standalone Kinect, it's coming for (yeah, you guessed it) $149.99 with Kinect Adventures. Act surprised, Microsoft would really like you to. As for the pièce de résistance -- that'd be the 4GB console, Kinect sensor, and game -- that's due out "this holiday" for $299.99. Press release after the break, pretty pictures just below. Update: Looks like the Britons will be paying £129.99 for Kinect. %Gallery-97791%
Kinect priced at $150, includes Kinect Adventures
The question of Kinect pricing is over ... insomuch as there was any question. As was widely assumed – and widely listed on retailers, from GameStop to Microsoft itself – the Xbox's newfangled motion-sensing camera will retail for $149.99 this fall. There's also an answer regarding the pricing of Kinect retail software. While most stores have been listing Kinect software for the usual $60 Xbox asking price, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg told Joystiq, "All of our Kinect retail games, from a first-party standpoint – Kinectimals, Kinect Sports, Kinect Joy Ride – will all be retailing for $49." Microsoft later followed up, letting us know that Dance Central, Harmonix's Kinect-powered rhythm game (and arguably the most well-received title in Microsoft's Kinect launch lineup) will also match the $50 first-party pricing. That $149.99 hardware price also comes with a copy of Kinect Adventures, the casual title from Microsoft's Good Science Studio, formerly known as SpawnPoint Studios. Microsoft promises that those who pre-order Kinect or the $300 Xbox 360 Kinect Console Bundle "today" will "receive a token to download three exclusive game levels for Kinect Adventures." Before you get to that, why not let us know where you stand in our highly scientific poll? Update: @AceyBongos (think Major Nelson, but with an accent) just let Twitter know that the European prices are "149.99 Euro for the camera + Kinect Adventures, 299.99 Euro for the 4GB console bundle." Some quick Google math puts those prices at roughly $200 and $390, respectively. Update 2: The UK prices are £129.99 for the Kinect and £249.99 for the bundle, as reported by Yahoo UK. %Poll-49789% %Gallery-97833%
Kinect Experience tour is coming to your town
Okay, so the "Kinect Experience" tour is coming to your town -- or at least within a reasonable driving distance. That said, from July on through the end of October, the Kinect Experience mobile demo tour will stop off in major metropolitan areas across the country, giving gamers an early taste of Kinectimals, Kinect Sports, Kinect Joy Ride, Kinect Adventures and Dance Central -- ahead of the device's November 4 launch. There are a total of 32 stops on the tour. For the full list of cities and dates, hit the break.
Walmart offering $200 Kinect bundles, includes game and gift card
The saga of the ambiguous price point for Microsoft's Kinect continues today with a new hardware bundle from Walmart. For $199.99, shoppers can pre-order the peripheral itself along with one of the device's launch titles, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, Dance Central, Joy Ride, Kinectimals, Kinect Sports and Kinect Adventures. Shoppers can also grab another game from this list for an additional $60 (or $50 for Harry Potter). The bundle also includes a $30 Walmart eGift Card. It's worth noting that Walmart's $60 price point for Kinect software and $150 price for the device itself corroborates listings we've seen from other retailers. Of course, Microsoft has yet to confirm any official pricing details for the motion-sensing peripheral -- still, with that free gift card, Walmart's offer seems like the most cost-effective one to date. Unless, of course, Kinect ends up being cheaper than $150, in which case, just tell us the freaking price already.
Kinect Adventures preview unearths our frightening lack of coordination
Maybe we came into it as pre-judgers, but there's nothing about Kinect Adventures that really redeems the experience in our biased, fun-hating eyes. We're not really sure if our bigger problem is with the loose controls or the actual gameplay concepts, but it's certainly a mix of both. We started out with the mining cart obstacle course, which has a certain charm in its simplicity: side step, jump, duck, and the occasional arm spread to gather tokens. These grander gestures seemed pretty easy to handle, and while we'd certainly grow bored of the game after 30 minutes or so, it would at least be a good 30 minutes of cardio. Things went downhill from those middling heights, however, with the very vague and unsatisfying block-busting ball game, that seemed hardly responsive to our quick, desperate motions (or maybe we just weren't very good at it), and the frenetic but ultra-loose controls of the river rafting. At least the teamwork aspect of the rafting game is interesting, and we'd love to see how good we could get with a dedicated partner, but there's just something about hopping and side-stepping that just can't feel as complex and comprehensive as "real" controls. In all we recognize these experiences as stuff that could only be done with Kinect... we're just not sure yet if they needed to be done. You can check out video of our miserable performance after the break. %Gallery-95204%
Kinect library for Xbox 360 revealed by USA Today
Update: Oops! It looks like USA Today jumped the gun on the announcement and has since pulled the piece from its site. Stay tuned for Microsoft's official unveiling later. USA Today has spilled the proverbial beans on Microsoft's Natal project -- not only has the paper confirmed the Kinect product name, but they've posted a few of the games in the pipeline for the system. Here we go: Kinectimals features over 20 different virtual pets, including lions, tigers, and cheetahs, to play with or raise. Joyride has returned to life as a controller-free racing game, apparently. Kinect Sports will offer sport games to play: "boxing, bowling, beach volleyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis." For each one, you will make motions to play the games. Kinect Adventures has a river raft and obstacle course to navigate -- this is likely the demo we saw last week. MTV Games will release Dance Central, where you can cut a virtual rug. And there will be more games announced later featuring both Disney characters and Star Wars characters, in conjunction with Disney and LucasArts, respectively. Marc Whitten even namedrops Nintendo in USA Today's piece, but he says that without a controller, Kinect will be "fundamentally different." We'll keep our eyes open for these games all this week, so stay tuned. Thanks, Jake!
