With the current topic of various motion controllers and their pricing gaining a lot of attention, just how much will everything cost and is Microsoft’s rumoured Kinect pricing too large?
It’s a hard question to answer considering the price of Kinect has still to be announced by Microsoft, but, going by the current favourite of $150, I’ve attempted to look at the overall cost for those wanting to become an owner of all the technology needed.
The following information is based on average prices on the internet. Cheaper versions may well exist if you shop around but this is based on people that would normally only use the larger retailers to buy from. Please note that the Kinect pricing is completely based on estimations at this time.
Single Player:
First off, let’s look at the single player. Perhaps living the batchelor/batchelorette life or perhaps the only person in a household interested in gaming. How much will it set him/her back?
| Prices for a Single Player Set up | ||
| Xbox 360 Slim | PlayStation 3 Slim | |
| 250 GB Console (incl. 1 controller) | £199.99 | £279.99 |
| Full Motion Control | £125* (Kinect) | £79.98 (PSEye, Move Controller and Sub Controller) |
| Online Gaming | £34.99 | FREE |
| Total | £359.98 | £359.97 |
| *Price for Kinect is estimated based on the current rumoured price of $150. Allowed for currency conversion and any additional charges that Microsoft may apply. | ||
Two Players:
Perhaps a young couple, perhaps two siblings, perhaps a single player and a friend, how much does it cost in this instance?
| Prices for a Two Player Set up | ||
| Xbox 360 Slim | PlayStation 3 Slim | |
| 250 GB Console (incl. 1 controller) | £199.99 | £279.99 |
| Full Motion Control | £125* (Kinect) | £149.96 (PSEye, Move Controller and Sub Controller) |
| Online Gaming (based on 2 separate accounts) | £69.98 | FREE |
| Additional Official Controller (s) (1 per player) | £29.99 | £34.99 |
| Total | £424.96 | £464.94 |
| *Price for Kinect is estimated based on the current rumoured price of $150. Allowed for currency conversion and any additional charges that Microsoft may apply. | ||
The Family:
Seeing as I doubt the Mafia will be sitting around waving their arms, the ‘Family’ of course refers to an average family of 4 or perhaps even a shared house where each resident wants to get involved. How will the prices be affected by multiple gamers?
| Prices for a Four Player Set up | ||
| Xbox 360 Slim | PlayStation 3 Slim | |
| 250 GB Console (incl. 1 controller) | £199.99 | £279.99 |
| Full Motion Control | £125* (Kinect) | £289.92** (PSEye, Move Controller and Sub Controller) |
| Online Gaming | £69.99*** | FREE |
| Additional Official Controller (s) (1 per player) | £89.97 | £104.97 |
| Total | £489.96 | £674.88** |
| *Price for Kinect is estimated based on the current rumoured price of $150. Allowed for currency conversion and any additional charges that Microsoft may apply. | ||
| **Based on 4 players playing at the same time using full controller set up. | ||
| ***Based on Microsoft’s recently announced Family Pack (4 Gold accounts using one Xbox in one household). | ||
So the PlayStation 3 actually costs more across 2 of these examples and only beats the Xbox 360 on price by a penny on the other, although it’s only fair to point out that the PS3 does include a Blu-Ray player as well. There are still arguments over which motion tech is the most accurate, but, either way, Microsoft appear to have the advantage.
This is complete speculation until the Kinect price is 100% officially confirmed by Microsoft. My estimations are logical but by no means should be taken as read. Kinect’s actual pricing could render all of the above incorrect!
I am also aware that Sony revealed a PS3 + PSEye + Move Controller bundle for $399.99, so, converted and allowing for a little extra, this is likely to be around £350. Kinect bundles may also drop the price of the combined units, too. Due to this uncertainty I have purposely not included bundles.
UPDATE:
Okay, it seems that some of you are seeing this as some kind of ‘attack’ on Sony. It’s not. I no longer own a 360 and doubt I will any time soon, unless I come into some money and can afford to pay for luxury items again. No, this is purely an attempt at providing some realistic numbers to soon-to-be-realeased technology. Things seem to have become a little confusing. So, in an effort to maintain my point and cut some confusion, let’s re-evaluate using a basic set up. Let’s work on the basis that the PlayStation Move can not handle 4 Move controllers and 4 Sub controllers by limiting it to 4 Move Controllers and 2 Sub controllers. Let’s also get rid of the additional official controllers as keep it just about motion, shall we?
| Prices for a Four Player Set up | ||
| Xbox 360 Slim | PlayStation 3 Slim | |
| 250 GB Console (incl. 1 controller) | £199.99 | £279.99 |
| Full Motion Control | £125* (Kinect) | £229.94 (PSEye, 4 Move Controllers and 2 Sub Controllers) |
| Online Gaming | £69.99** | FREE |
| Total | £489.96 | £509.93 |
| *Price for Kinect is estimated based on the current rumoured price of $150. Allowed for currency conversion and any additional charges that Microsoft may apply. | ||
| **Based on Microsoft’s recently announced Family Pack (4 Gold accounts using one Xbox in one household). | ||
Things have become a little more even. You happy? As long as Move will never be able to handle 4 of each type of controller then here’s a rough guide to the price differences. Let’s get one thing straight, I’m actually not a fan of motion controllers and have only recently been even remotely interested in PS Move.
Lal
I can confirm that Game are selling the Move controllers and bundle packs for the following prices:-
PSEye + 1 Move controller + Move Sports = £49.99
Move Controller = £34.99
Sub Controller = £24.99
I was taking pre-orders at work on Saturday and we had quite alot of interest and pre-orders placed for the Move, several for the new Xbox. But because we had no confirmed price for Kinect, people were hanging back. Will have to wait and see?
Anth1888
Yeah same. At my work (HMV) we have had a lot more interest in Move than Kinect with many being put off by the no confirmed price as you say. Actually many customers have expressed that Move was cheaper than they expected.
Lal
I also think that two sets of controllers is what the average gamers going purchase on launch. I’m also sure at some point they will bundle the two controllers together for reduced rate.
Lal
Sorry everyone the prices for the Move controller and Sub Controller are £5 more than what i have stated. The prices mentioned above were what was left to pay after the customers left a £5 deposit for pre-ordering the different types controller.
Anth1888
We haven’t been given any yet, i do expect that the prices you mentioned above will probably be the UK pricing anyway – i just gave the American pricing to customers and stated that the price will be £35-40 depending of official release. Many Kinect questions regarded pricing and release
Lal
If the rumored $150 for Kinect is true and that means the UK can expect it it to be anywhere between £120 to £150, then MS can kiss any causal gamers goodbye in my opinion.
jimmy-google
Your original prices were correct. On Game’s website you can pre-order the bundle for £50, Move for £35 and Sub for £25. No mention of additional £5 deposits.
It means Camera, 4 Move and 2 Subs costs £204.94
Lal
unfortunately the shops are always around £5 more than the website.(overheads..)
X201
Bachelorette !
The English language dies a little more :(
kivi95
You realy think their will be a game that will support 4 sub kontrollers at the same time?I think 2 will be max
kivi95
If you are going to play 4people that you will play with move controllers
Jas-n
the PS3 will support 4 move controllers total, 2+2 or 4+0 (x+y = Move + sub)
squashme
Why would anyone even bother gettin Kinect u might aswell just plug in a webcam or the PS2 eyetoy and use that as thats all what kinect is plus webcams n the PS2 eyetoy prob wont have any lag or very minimal lag lol
Crazyfrog23
why not just get a wii instead of move.Its cheaper by a long shot
jimmy-google
Not if you already own a ps3.
TSBonyman
Full Motion Control is the big consideration here. Does Kinect offer as full a motion control experience which is equal to the Move?
Imo, all you need is one Move per player to equal Kinects ‘Full’ motion control. Kinect may be hands-free but Move has the edge in accuracy and depth of gameplay.
noptatic
The PS3 can only recognise 2 Sub Controllers, not 4. So your max layout is 4 wands and 2 subs.
jimmy-google
Technically you could have a game with 7 players only using a sub controller. I don’t know why you would but you could. The PS3 is limited to 7 bluetooth devices so it’s also possible to have a game that allows 3 players using a Move and Sub controller. In practice games usually keep to a even number of players.
paulleeper2430
i want the move controller so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rob92
Who views it as an attack?
I hope my comments with cc arent to be used as the “attack”. I’m not arguing with the fact Kinnect will be cheaper or anything of course it will, the PS3 is still a lot more expensive and so is Move.
Hmmmm strange.
Pete_UK
I sense a simple over-reaction to assumed fanboyism; in the end it’s all about the games and the experience :) Thanks for the article though Mr Lewis G, I’d been wanting to see a roundup like this.
Gastos84
No it’s not based on you. As Pete says, it’s in reference to people that jump to Sony’s rescue just because the costs don’t seem to go in their favour.
aerobes
I thought it was clear before the update, anyways, it’s definitely clear now.
Money is obviously an issue but when both products arrive on the market and get some serious analysis along with their software, I will decide what to do then as truth be told, I’m pretty underwhelmed with both products so far, the one thing that has stood out for me is the Heavy Rain compatibility using Move.
Also, Kung Fu Rider, but that’s only because it looks utterly bonkers.
jimmy-google
Don’t you need to add a 3D blu-ray player to the 360 to make it even?
Crazyfrog23
The 360 already does hd movies over live and it is getting updated just like the ps3 to support 3D.So no
jimmy-google
3D HD movies are going to max out the HDD pretty quickly. From what I’ve read 3D HD versions can take up to 50% more space than the 2D version.
There is a belief that 3D version of Avatar won’t fit on a standard 50GB blu-ray disc without a reduction in audio quality.