240°

Kinect back in stock at GAME

Remember those Kinect launch day stock fears? If you've had a last minute change of heart and decided you do want one of Microsoft's motion sensing cameras after all, you can still order a Kinect for launch day delivery from GAME's website.

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gamerzines.com
Omega44919d ago

Now that MS have upped their estimation to 5ml its no surprise that stock allocations have increased. They are gonna need to keep it in stock if they want to reach their target.

Christopher4918d ago (Edited 4918d ago )

LOL. Yes... no wonder they just suddenly came up with new stock on release after all the hype of it being built up because they didn't have stock initially. It's amazing how they were just magically able to create some new boxes out of thin air.

C'mon, it's marketing. Good marketing. It was a planned stunt to get people interested in the product through the hype of it being sold out.

It's kind of a given that Kinect will sell well. There's no way you invest $500m and it doesn't in today's market. But let's be truthful about these 'stock shortages' at the least.

FordGTGuy4918d ago

that GAME is located in the United Kingdom where Kinect has yet to launch right?

Wait, why would I expect a fanboy to be intelligent enough for that.

Jdoki4918d ago (Edited 4918d ago )

@FordGTGuy

What does that have to do with it?

Many retailers have said for quite some time that Kinect was sold out, or was going to have limited stock - the GAME near me has had a sign up for about 3 weeks saying stock is limited. And yet just before launch MS suddenly find a load of Kinect boxes just laying around in a warehouse???

GAME will have known for months their allocation. So either:

a) MS have been withholding stock to create buzz and demand
b) GAME were asked by MS to hold back pre-orders until close to launch
c) MS have reallocated stock from another retailer to GAME
d) Kinect has less pre-orders than we were lead to believe, so there's a surplus of units
d) MS have magically managed to produce thousands more Kinect units overnight, and already sorted the logistics of getting them to retailers

Pick whichever you think is most plausible, but if you go for d), congrats - you're a 360 fanboy

Christopher4918d ago

Call me a fanboy all you want, but I've yet to have anyone explain to me how this isn't a marketing stunt. Hell, even Sony did it with the Move it was annoying as hell. But, when Sony did it, 360 fans agreed with me. Now that Microsoft is doing it, 360 fans call me a fanboy.

Ridiculous.

ryuzu4918d ago (Edited 4918d ago )

Kinect "back" in stock? I think they mean Kinect was "never out of" stock.

I guess the US sales have been slower than hoped by MS so they're shipping over the unsold boxes and giving up the "lack of stock" marketing ploy...

r.

FordGTGuy4918d ago

Your were clearly stating that after release that they found a way to restock stores, that is the bullshit part. They haven't released it in the UK yet, in fact it doesn't release until the 11th, all they did was increase allocations to the amount of preorders that could be taken at GAME.

As of right now the stores in America are still sold out until their stock is replenished in a week or less.

Christopher4918d ago

So, FortGTGuy, next time I can't relate to the initial release of a product, I have to relate it to just in a specific region? My comment still stands up. The initial hype is over, stock will become available worldwide now.

Microsoft produces X amount of boxes for initial stock. Stores are told how many they will get in order to take pre-orders. They don't receive boxes until one or two weeks prior to release, if even that long in some locations.

Now, we've known for about three weeks now that stock has been an issue. It takes a long time to manufacture, package, and ship boxes to their destinations. Yet, Microsoft was able to increase the quantities of stock right as the product was released (in NA) in all regions. Even Amazon.com is mentioning that more stock is incoming in the next week.

It's the same thing they did with Move, only Microsoft does it ever so much better. They do it for two reasons. First to create hype due to demand of a product which gets others interested in a product that people must really want if the 'unknown amount' of current stock are sold out. Second, and just like with the Move, people end up buying the more expensive bundles for the product.

***As of right now the stores in America are still sold out until their stock is replenished in a week or less. ***

Exactly. How can Microsoft suddenly create stock for the American release in its first week and not at the same time have stock for regions in which is hasn't been released yet? They can't. Stock hyping only works if everyone is out of stock, but since they aren't doing a worldwide release (which would have been so much more beneficial for Microsoft), they can't do that with each regional release.

FordGTGuy4918d ago (Edited 4918d ago )

When your talking about a gaming store located in a region where the product has yet to launch than yes you have to be region specific.

They didn't stop making Kinects they are constantly shipping them out to all regions. Simple it released yesterday in the United States meaning that all the inventory that was being held in America is now sold to customers. It takes a while to ship across the world and if they are being built in China it would take at least a week for it to reach its destination in either America or the United Kingdom.

There is no reason for a company to skip out on sales, creating artificial demand doesn't really drive sales as much as you think they do. The Wii sold because it was a Nintendo console with a new look at gaming that attracted a wider audience.

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8-bit4918d ago ShowReplies(1)
Highlife4918d ago

hey omega what do you think of this http://www.gamespot.com/new...

Or do you think that is ok too! Judging by your avatar you might be missing out on some features. That ain't right.

Kinect fails.

vhero4918d ago

LOL shopto.net have said all retailers have got low stock in UK so that's clearly not the case so quit with the crap Omega4. No doubt people have dropped there pre-orders for whatever reason OR GAME only took a few pre-orders at first until they found out there allocation and when they finally got there allocation added the extra stock to website.

k-Lan4918d ago ShowReplies(2)
+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4918d ago
dtrain214919d ago

Sales are gonna go thru the roof. Its gonna be hard to find one this holiday

kneon4918d ago

It's pretty easy right now, my local best buy had about 50 console bundles and about half as many standalone Kinects. But there wasn't one setup to try. It was just the regular 360 display as well, nothing to indicate anything new except a small Kinect sign. The PS3 Move display is the first one you see when you enter the gaming area so they don't seem to really be pushing Kinect much. The pile of Kinects has nothing to attract people that don't already know what it is.

When Move launched they had it set up for you to try and had someone there demoing the product, I had expected the same for Kinect.

TOO PAWNED4919d ago ShowReplies(2)
Sez 4918d ago

Good to hear I'll be getting it tomorrow after work. Can't wait

4918d ago
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20°

Joy Ride Turbo - The Beginning of the End for Xbox Kinect

Joy Ride Turbo launched 10 years ago today. The first title was Xbox Kinect exclusive, yet this sequel failed to support the device at all.

300°

10 of the Biggest Video Game Hardware Failures Ever

Cultured Vultures: "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal, and no matter how much developers might try, some gaming hardware just fails to hit the mark. We’ve compiled a list of 10 gaming hardware fails, and boy did some fail hard."

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culturedvultures.com
Knightofelemia822d ago

I would label the Power Glove, Kinect, and that Tony Hawk skateboard more as hardware addons hardware failure would be like the Virtual Boy and one day Stadia.

Magog821d ago

Kinect was bundled with every Xbox One and inflated the price on an already underpowered and low RAM machine so for the One it wasn't an accessory as much as a white elephant.

CaptainHenry916821d ago (Edited 821d ago )

Definitely the RROD but that power glove had a lot of issues as well. The Kinect just didn't work

821d ago
CrimsonWing69821d ago

Hardware add-ons are more like RAM or a video card, basically components that enhance capabilities or performance of the computer.

If you really want to get technical the Kinect is more of a peripheral device, kind of like a keyboard or mouse to a computer.

ThatsGaming821d ago

The person in this article obviously is not up on their gaming history....

Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Coleco Gemini, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga, Atari 5200, Atari 7800 were all massive failures and in most cases cost their companies participating in future gaming generations.

Gamer79821d ago

Sega saturn (successful in Japan) and dreamcast were not failures.
Seems like you're not up on you're gaming history

septemberindecember821d ago

@Gamer79

How in the world are the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast not seen as failures? They both sold around 8M each, which is much lower than the ~30M that the Genesis had sold before it, and even the Master System before that. They were both the worst selling consoles in their respective generation (PS1, N64 outsold Saturn, PS2, GC, and Xbox outsold Dreamcast). Both of the consoles were incredibly short lived. The Saturn was discontinued in every territory but Japan after just three years. In Japan the console was discontinued after six years. Meanwhile the Dreamcast was discontinued worldwide in 2001 after launching in most territories in 1999 and in Japan in 1998. The failure of the Saturn and Dreamcast lead to Sega pulling out of the hardware market. Which, by the way, all of this occurred when Sega was massively dropping the price of their consoles quickly to compete. Sega was hemorrhaging money at this point.

None of this indicates a successful console. Saying the Saturn was a success because it did better in Japan is like saying the Vita is a success (they both sold around the same amount of units in Japan). Even the Wii U outsold these consoles worldwide.

Magog821d ago

The picture should be the 360 RROD. When I think of gaming hardware failures that's what springs to mind. Kinect and it's bundled price tag definitely hobbled the already underpowered Xbox One though for sure so I would give it a close second place.

porkChop821d ago (Edited 821d ago )

That's not what the author means by failures. It's about hardware that failed in terms of sales (Wii U) or just failed to deliver on its promise (Kinect).

Magog821d ago (Edited 821d ago )

Given that the 360 had a year head start, much easier hardware to develop for, was cheaper, and still ended up in third place I think it qualifies especially when you factor in the frustration and huge losses incurred by RROD.

porkChop821d ago

Selling over 80 million consoles isn't a sales flop. We get it, you don't like Xbox, but that doesn't mean the 360 is suddenly a failure.

Rhythmattic821d ago

Porky....
You know how many people I know bought a 2nd or third 360 due to RROD? Even when MS had to confront the issue with replacement systems, my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in, and waiting for a replacement.,,..,..
If that's how you consider it a win... OK.. but so is having 5 , of which 3 don't function.... Its a win win....mwhahahahaha

porkChop820d ago

"my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in"

You're acting like it would take months. When I sent my 360 in I got a new one literally 5 days later. As soon as MS had tracking confirmation that you sent yours, they'd send a new one to you the same day. No one is going to spend hundreds to buy a new console instead of waiting a week. I swear you guys pull some of the dumbest shit out of nowhere and think people will actually believe it.

Regardless, none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about.

Rhythmattic820d ago (Edited 820d ago )

Porky
"You're acting like it would take months"
Sometimes it could.. FFS.. 'Strya here...
Best turnaround I reckon was 2-3 weeks.....
Either way, My mates experiences still exist.. So Sorry, no point trying to earn Xbox Achievements when it doesn't feature in what was a situation you never dealt with,,,,
3 of my friends would disagree (overall, 10 extra Xboxes purchased)
Regardless.. MS sold a lot of 360's that was due to this reason.. That is sales. Fact

"none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about."
Headline says HELLO !
Oh and "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal," that's enough to pass this on without taking your article bias into consideration.....
As for the rest.... Ok.. But you've actually gone out of your way to give MS a Pass... Fap on.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 820d ago
Aloymetal821d ago (Edited 821d ago )

Yup, and because of that big fiasco MS had to fork out 1 billion but knowing them I think they're very proud of the 360, it's the only time a MS console reached 80mil+ sales, RROD played a big part of that and a record they will never break again.

Rhythmattic821d ago (Edited 821d ago )

So true.. Even when MS accepted they where caught out in the biggest lie of any generation, The wait for a replacement was outweighed by just buying another, and having one be returned as a backup, which, btw, generally failed on first swap.
I own honestly can't believe MS tards are just supporting , or arguing why and what MS did by just dismissing it....

lonewolf10821d ago

Lol I had the Atari Jaguar, surprised its "competition" the 3DO isn't on the list too, both as "popular" as each other.

SullysCigar821d ago

Lol same. Played the crap out of Aliens Vs Predator and Tempest 2000 .... aaand that's about it really!!

lonewolf10821d ago

Sad but true that was pretty much it.

Kurt Russell821d ago

Agreed, I never actually saw a 3DO make it to retailers in the UK. At least the Atari Jaguar was sold for around 6 months.

lonewolf10821d ago

It made it to some my brother got one, fared just as well as the Jaguar so most probably hard to find in general.

darthv72821d ago

3do had way better games. Jaguar not so much. Neo Geo sold less than both and yet isnt considered a failure. Go figure.

LWOGaming821d ago

Stadia is a weird one. It hasn’t sold at all well but in terms of how it works it’s still miles ahead of Xcloud in terms of stability and performance. Xcloud is still a way behind and that needs sorting but it will be in time. Stadia for me is one of those things that will go down as a what could have been moments. With better marketing it could have been a roaring success. I still play it and it remains the best place in my opinion to play CyberPunk 2077. Only platform I have played it on without having any issues at all. The tech is great. The concept is fine. Marketing terrible. Shame really.

Magog821d ago

The sales model was awful. They should have teamed with an existing player to allow for local and cloud access to games or a gaming subscription service.

LWOGaming821d ago

It was a strange mess from such a huge company, as I said, as a system it works really well but without gamers it’s nothing. Such a waste,

LWOGaming821d ago

The Xbox One was Microsoft’s Nintendo Wii U. Undercooked, undersold and just an unholy mess. The thing is with any of these failures is to learn from them and thankfully both Nintendo and Xbox did just that to the benefit of gamers everywhere.

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120°

Pivotal Decisions in Gaming History - Xbox Goes All-In on Kinect

Xbox 360's Kinect had flopped yet Microsoft insisted on mandatory Kinect for Xbox One, driving the price up and alienating their potential customers.

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techstomper.com
darthv72998d ago

the tech was pretty damn good but their focus on making it the centerpiece was not. Had they opted to keep it as a secondary or even tertiary device, it may have found new use for AR/VR.

PrimeVinister998d ago

Maybe. But they were two early for VR and too late for motion control

998d ago Replies(2)
Godmars290998d ago

Their focus was marketing metrics. Information gathering for targeted advertising. Also "event curating" or head counting for special TV events. If MS had had their way with always online and mandatory Kinect pre COVID, as and during it they'd likely be turning into dominant presence in many Western homes. Be getting subsidized by Disney and other streamers as well as the NFL.

Thing was, Kinect as an actual game system, its games, just weren't ready. MS moved on it too soon. Thankfully.

Atticus_finch998d ago

Sorry but it was incredibly bad for gaming. The thing barely worked as intended and the games were broken shovelware. And let's not forget all the lies from Xbox to try and sell it. What happened to Milo?
It's like Xbox it's a perpetual lying machine.

PrimeVinister998d ago

I had almost forgotten about Milo. It looks so unbelievable in retrospect. How did anyone believe it?!

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TheEnigma313998d ago

Kinect requirement, TV focused, DRM, and $100 buried Xbone before it even stared.

PrimeVinister998d ago (Edited 998d ago )

I think Kinect was the worst of the bunch. They reversed DRM overnight and try to play down the TV stuff when they realised it made them look disinterested in gaming.

Kinect stuck around for six months, preventing sales and making more and more people upset when they dropped the Kinect and the price.

Atticus_finch998d ago

Don't forget the inferior hardware which affects their game development to this day.
And the constant boasting and lying that hasn't change very much to this day.

kayoss998d ago

I was kind of excited for the kinect. It had potential. That was until i tried it at one of their Microsoft store. The thing was so laggy and worker who was there, had no clue what he was doing. It kind of made rethink about buying an Xbox One with Kinect.

PrimeVinister998d ago

I had already been turned off of the idea by Kinect for 360. Even when it worked, the games were bad and showed no potential.

Wii made you understand what they were going to do with it within about 10 seconds of Wii Sports. It went on to become a bit of a joke but at least it worked and had a purpose.

Thundercat77998d ago

The damage to the Xbox brand was so hard that til this day they are just the last place brand in the market.

PrimeVinister998d ago

Totally. They haven't been really all that relevant since.

Godmars290998d ago

That has to do with repeatedly failing, having to reaffirm only to again fail at creating a competent flow of decent games.

@PrimeVinister:
Until Game Pass and BC are mentioned. Only for the point to be missed.

kayoss998d ago

thats because they dont know what they want to be. A gaming console, Television, or a gaming service?

Godmars290998d ago

@kayoss:
They wanted, expected, to be Steam. To have everyone coming to them and paying for the privilege. That's the exact mentality on display when they tried to push always online.

brewin997d ago

Its sad because the Xbox one version of Kinect was actually pretty solid. Not for motion games, I couldnt care less about those, but for the other features that are now commonplace in the gaming ecosystem. Things like voice control and optional motion features in games. Stuff that Sony did with the PS camera was pretty sweet and they could have done some of that stuff with Kinect.

The tech was pretty sweet when implemented right though. Who remembers the implementation in Dead Rising 3?! You could lure zombies away by saying stuff into the kinect, it was a bit hokey at first, but it actually enhanced the game significantly once you learned all the different voice commands. There was and still is nothing else like that!

The focus on TV seemed to be an issue for people, but the TV pass through had some real potential. They could have had cable companies giving the XBone out instead of cable boxes! I understood what they were trying to do, but they needed to show the games too, and thats where they lost the core gamers. Being able to jump right to a sports event or TV show with out leaving the console was actually a pretty cool thing. I spent many nights switching between NHL games or TV shows and jumping right back into my games seamlessly, just by telling Kinect to do so. It was better than people care to admit, but I loved it!

People say XBone had no games, but on launch I got Dead Rising 3, AC Black Flag, Watch Dogs, Killer Instinct, Battlefield 4, Forza 5, and Ryse. That was actually a pretty solid lineup in hindsight! Then later on it got gems like Quantum Break, Dead Rising 4, Sunset Overdrive, Gears 4 and 5, the Ori games, Rare Replay, Forza Horizon 3/4, State of Decay 2, ReCore (SUPER UNDERRATED GEM), Halo 5, Halo Wars 2, and all the great 3rd party stuff as well! I dare anyone who sat on the Xbox One to go back and give it a shot now.

It was actually a pretty great console all things considered. Yes the PS4 had better 1st party stuff, stuff that MS just couldnt top or even compete with, but there are some really great games that a lot of people missed out on that they would probably really enjoy if they actually played them. Thats why I recommend a Series S and Gamepass to a lot of people, as its a great way to get an awesome lineup pf games for super cheap!

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