Microsoft to Sell Motion-Sensing Kinect For Xbox 360 in Japan From Nov. 20
Microsoft's Takashi Sensui
Andy Rain/Bloomberg
Takashi Sensui, general manager of Microsoft's Xbox division.
Takashi Sensui, general manager of Microsoft's Xbox division. Photographer: Andy Rain/Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. said today it will start selling its Kinect motion-sensing device for the Xbox 360 video-game console in Japan on Nov. 20.
The accessory will retail from 14,800 yen ($177) with the “Kinect Adventures!” game included, Takashi Sensui, head of Microsoft’s game business in Japan, said at a briefing in Tokyo. Microsoft also will release 10 games for the Kinect in Japan by early next year, including titles from Sega Sammy Holdings Inc., Namco Bandai Holdings Inc. and Konami Corp., Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft is counting on the Kinect, a box that sits near the console and tracks a player’s movements several feet away, to narrow the gap with Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. in game- console sales in Japan. The device competes with Sony’s Move motion controller for the PlayStation 3, while Nintendo plans to introduce a 3-D model of the DS portable player and a heart-rate tracking “Vitality Sensor” for the Wii console.
“We are offering a completely new experience: Gaming without a controller,” Sensui said.
Outsold by Wii, PS3
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft plans to introduce the Kinect in the U.S. in November for $149.99, the company said in July. It plans to include it in a $299.99 package featuring the new, slimmer Xbox 360 console and the “Kinect Adventures!” game.
The Kinect, sold with the same game and the Xbox console with 4 gigabytes of internal memory, will be priced at 29,800 yen in Japan, Sensui said.
The Xbox 360, which went on sale in Japan in December 2005, has been outsold almost 10-to-1 by the Wii and more than 4-to-1 by the PS3 in the country, according to Tokyo-based research firm Enterbrain Inc. Microsoft sold a cumulative 1.3 million Xbox 360s as of June 27, compared with 10.4 million Wiis, which went on sale December 2006, and 5.2 million PS3s, released in November 2006.
Sony, which said it will update its software to allow PS3 machines to run games in 3-D, started selling game titles and Bravia televisions capable of showing the format in June. PS3 users must wear special glasses to play 3-D games, the company said.
The Tokyo-based company said in June it will introduce the black Move controller, resembling Wii’s motion-sensing wand with a colored ball at the top, in the U.S. in September for $49.99, or $79.98 with a companion product. More than 40 games for the new controller will be available for the U.S. holiday season, the company said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net
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