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There has been a “euphoric reaction” to Kinect for Xbox 360, Microsoft’s European VP of Xbox 360 Chris Lewis has told MCV.
Asked what he made of the response to Kinect, Lewis said: “I think we have seen a euphoric reaction to it. The key is getting people in front of the technology and experiencing it. It’s only when you start to play that it really comes to life. That’s why we’re doing so much trial around the UK and other parts of Europe.”
Lewis also believes Kinect will help drive increased sales of Xbox 360.
“We will definitely sell more units in this fiscal year than we did in the last one,” he said. “We have big ambitions for what Kinect will do. There are more than 40m people in Europe that have a gaming machine in their house, but have not been interested in Xbox in the way we feel they now will be with Kinect on the market. It is a huge opportunity for us and we have very ambitious targets for growth.
“The other thing that Kinect does is broaden out the lifecycle, which I think we are only about half-way through. And our partners and third-party developers love that, because that gives more longevity for them to create great games on Xbox.”
The Xbox 360 has sold 42 million units during its first five years on the market. Asked if this figure can be matched over the next five years, Lewis said, “yes, if not even more”.
Kinect launches in the UK on November 10, priced £129.99.
There’s obviously an element of hype from Lewis, but all evidence is pointing to a hugely successful launch for Kinect. Pre-order allocations are selling out and the marketing push is only just kicking off.
Only this week a 12-day countdown to launch began in the window of London Selfridges.
