Reactions: Microsoft indirectly confirms Kinect’s $150 price point

As you might know, in the days after E3 various retailers began to list Microsoft’s Kinect motion device at a price of $150–a hefty cost for a piece of hardware that doesn’t have a very appealing lineup of games and supposedly doesn’t work if the player is sitting down. Microsoft repeatedly stated that the retailers were just speculating with placeholder prices and that Kinect’s pricing hadn’t been officially announced. Well, it still hasn’t been, but Microsoft’s own store is now offering pre-orders at the $150 price point. Granted, the site clearly says that the official price hasn’t been announced and that it’s subject to change, plus all pre-orders are protected by price guarantee in the event of a price change, but it’s still telling on Microsoft’s part. For the sake of my waning interest in Kinect, let us hope that the price does change.

And in other Microsoft related news, the company recently started offering family plans for Xbox Live Gold Membership. The plans run $100 a year and allow up to four profiles on one account, so you no longer have to share your precious kills to death ratio with your spouse or siblings. And according to Kotaku, if you have multiple individual accounts right now, Microsoft will allow your remaining months of paid service to roll over into the family plan, potentially giving you the service free of extra charge.

If the accounts you are rolling into the plan have more credit than the $99 it costs to start the plan, Microsoft will extend your membership for the appropriate number of months.

I can see how gaming families might appreciate this new plan, but for loners like me, not really a big deal.

Author: Cody