Australian retailers are listing Microsoft’s Kinect and Nintendo’s 3DS for preorder. They’ve given them prices, too. Where did these prices come from?
Retailers have made them up. That’s where they’ve come from. EB Games, for example, lists Kinect at $198 and the 3DS at $348. Next to both prices is the caveat “Price displayed is estimated RRP.”
These prices have prompted much debate regarding whether Kinect or the 3DS represent value for money: “Two hundred bucks for Kinect? You’ve gotta be kidding!” or “A handheld for the price of a console? What a rip-off!”
The thing is, however, Microsoft and Nintendo have yet to confirm any detail regarding Australian pricing for these products.
Xbox Australia chief David McLean told me at E3 that Microsoft is still thinking about the best price point for Kinect. Even internally, he admitted, they have not yet decided on a price point for a standalone Kinect unit or a Kinect plus console bundle.
And a Nintendo Australia spokesperson this morning told me, “We do not have any pricing to announce at this time for Nintendo 3DS.”
Of course, everyone – consumers and retailers alike – is excited by new hardware. But let’s be patient and wait for the hardware companies to work out how much they’re charging before we jump in and start preordering or arguing over whether or not they’re a good deal. Yeah?
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