Kinect for Windows available starting Feb 1 for $250

Kinect, the popular motion-sensing gaming controller accessory, is officially coming to devices running Microsoft's Windows operating system beginning February 1.

 

In a blog post, Kinect for Windows General Manager Craig Eisler said that the hardware and accompanying software will be released in 12 countries —United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom— at a suggested retail price of US$249, or about $100 more than the XBox version.  Unsubsidized cost

 

The higher price point, according to Eisler, is due to its development as a "stand-alone" system.

 

"The ability to sell Kinect for Xbox 360 at (a lower) price point is in large part (because it is) subsidized by consumers buying a number of Kinect games, subscribing to Xbox LIVE, and making other transactions associated with the Xbox 360 ecosystem," Eisler explained.  

'The center of everything'  

A report on tech site CNET said that Microsoft wants the Kinect —originally developed as a gaming accessory— "to be the center of everything, including how people use its PC operating system."

 

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer explained that a rising number of non-gaming applications are being developed for Kinect, which was initially developed as an accessory for the Xbox 360 in response to Nintendo's Wii motion controller.

 

CNET added that Microsoft held a demonstration of Sesame Street TV, part-video and part-game, and an illustration of the interactive capabilities that come from the Kinect.

 

It quoted Ballmer as saying that the Kinect has already sold 18 million units.

 

The Xbox and the Kinect are among Microsoft's hottest-selling items, with the Kinect being a huge seller over the recent holiday season.

 

But it has lately been touted as a hub for the entertainment center that allows one to control media through voice and motion commands. Assumptions on the interface

 

A separate article on tech site Mashable said that while Ballmer did not elaborate on what  the Kinect for Windows interface would look like, but "one can assume that it would allow users to control the operating system without touching a keyboard or mouse."

 

It noted Kinect has already been a game changer for gaming and television, and said Microsoft is working with 200 companies on Kinect apps, "and there’s no limit to what they might include." — TJD, GMA News