We all knew that Microsoft had deep pockets, but I would have never pegged them as the kind to go hog wild with their limitless font of cash. Apparently I was wrong in that assumption, because the software giant has pledged half a billion dollars to promote Kinect, the controller-free peripheral launching November 4 for the Xbox 360.
According to the New York Post, Microsoft began planning the multifaceted launch of Kinect almost 18 months ago with the help of Stephen Spielberg. With such a large amount of money dedicated to getting Kinect on everyone’s minds, we can expect to see the little black sensor pop everywhere from soda cans and magazines to the TV shows Glee and Dancing with the Stars. All this is going towards getting Kinect in the minds of parents for the upcoming holiday season, where it will be squaring off against the Wii and Sony’s newly launched Move controller.
If you thought the ad campaigns for Halo 3 or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 got annoying leading up to launch, just wait until you can’t round a corner without seeing Kinect. To be fair, we’re not really the target audience for the sensor, but I’m sure there will be some “core” gamers out there picking it up.
I think this makes it more than clear that Microsoft is in love with the technology behind Kinect, and they’re really throwing the whole Xbox division behind it. Now, I don’t consider technically consider myself a Microsoft fanboy, but I’m kind of worried what the possible failure of Kinect will do to the console. While I think that Microsoft can take the hit overall, we may see the end of the Xbox if this doesn’t work. Half a billion is a lot of money, even if it is just a drop in the bucket for Microsoft.
This kind of news is just begging for your comments, so let us know what you think! Can half a billion guarantee a good showing for Kinect this holiday? Will a possible failure spell doom for future versions of the Xbox?
Source: New York Post
Give that money to Remedy so I can get a PC version of Alan Wake lol…
Buncha dummies. I bet Kinect is secretly Windows 8.
I saw a demo at the mall and kids were going nuts. This is going to sell really well.
People really are hating on this too much for some reason, and while this is a crazy amount of money, the thing is going to sell well. The pre orders for Kinect are sky high and many retailers have stopped taking them. I know in my store I have tons of costumers interested and excited to get this for their kids. A guy from Terminal Reality (gaming studio very close to where I live who made Ghostbusters, Bloodrayne, and most recently Def Jam Rapstar) came in the other day and was saying the unit they received was absolutely amazing, the tech was great, and that they were like little kids sitting there having fun with Kinectimals. The guy said that it was a day 1 purchase for his kids for sure. While it might not be for us core gamers (I won’t be buying it), this thing will be an absolute blast for kids and families.
I’m not going to hate on it, but the thing that disturbs me about it is just how much MS is hitching their horse to Kinect. It’s not just a neat peripheral, the way Sony is treating Move – it’s becoming the focus of their games division. And that’s troublesome to me.
[quote comment=”14186″]I’m not going to hate on it, but the thing that disturbs me about it is just how much MS is hitching their horse to Kinect. It’s not just a neat peripheral, the way Sony is treating Move – it’s becoming the focus of their games division. And that’s troublesome to me.[/quote]
You’ve got a point Eddy, and I really hope they don’t bite the hand that feeds them. We’ll have to wait until E3 next year to fully know if this is the case or not, but as a big Xbox fan, I hope not.