Kinecting People

Microsoft's Chris Lewis on price points, target audience and the evolving software mix for Kinect

Feature by Phil Elliott Contributor

Published on July 20, 2010

GamesIndustry.biz It's exciting technology, no question. But there's an argument to suggest that the core gamers aren't going to bite without strong core experiences - which won't be in abundance at launch. Meanwhile, in the casual market - for which the 360 hasn't yet been a key purchasing decision - the cost of a console plus Kinect may be somewhat high. Are you in any danger of falling between the two segments as a result?

Chris Lewis

There are a couple of things I'd say there. Certainly we were very keen to be innovative and not derivative in what we came up with in our Kinect for 360 technology. As you know, it's all about full-body tracking, it's all about non-controller-based, outside of your physical self.

From our point of view it was important to take that innovative step so as to clearly differentiate ourselves in a way that we know our consumers are excited about. That's one thing I think will truly set us apart - and I think that, plus the great service provision of Xbox Live, with people connecting and talking to one another, being able to interact in this community that's frankly unique to us, along with the oxygen of the Xbox 360 business...

I think those factors plus the games you saw at E3, that you'll see through Christmas and beyond - they're very much pure Kinect experiences built around the Kinect sensor technology that really plays into that space.

I think we've got to keep doing that - you'll see that we've set the bar very high in terms of the type, variety and quality of what comes to market with Kinect for 360.

GamesIndustry.biz You're right - Kinect has brought innovation to the market with a controller-free environment. But do you think a casual market - that's already shown itself to be comfortable with a non-threatening motion control system such as the Wii has - will really understand that there's a difference?

Chris Lewis

I think there are a couple of things that have to happen. As I said earlier, we've got to bring great experiences to the platform immediately with Kinect for 360 - we will do that, we are doing that. I'm very confident that we won't compromise in any way on what that means.

The second thing is that trial is key - we found that through E3, and you'll see a lot from us by way of what we call the 'experiential tour'. What that really means is that we're going to take Kinect for 360 out on the road, in partnership with retail and on our own, in shopping malls, in stores, in public places - to give people that experience so they can try it for themselves.

Because once you physically get in front of this, and I speak from personal experience, it is a truly compelling experience - and truly infectious. And we want others to watch people playing with Kinect for 360, and sharing that digitally through social networking sites that are already available on Xbox Live... and you know who they are.

So I think that experience over the coming weeks and months is going to further assist in making sure people understand in what this opportunity is.