Microsoft Prices Xbox 360 250GB Kinect Bundle At $399

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If you were with us during this year’s E3 you’ll already know that much of the attention was surrounding two technologies: 3D and motion control. Much of the 3D hype was surrounding the Nintendo 3DS and the Playstation 3′s forthcoming 3D capabilities. On the motion control side of things, the Xbox 360 Kinect and Playstation Move were the life of the party.

Regardless of whether you love it or hate it, motion control is really making strides in terms of consumer interest. This can be seen with the immense success of the Nintendo Wii which brought motion control to millions of households. Despite having a somewhat lackluster game library at launch, the Wii really showed us that motion control is a viable technology and can be used in fun and innovative ways.

The most similar technology to the Nintendo Wii that was announced at E3 was Sony’s Playstation Move. This new motion controller for the Playstation 3 utilizes the Playstation Eye Camera in conjunction with a wand controller. Thanks to this duo of hardware components, Playstation Move gives developers access to real time 1:1 motion tracking – something that wasn’t added to the Nintendo Wii until the introduction of the Wii MotionPlus. Couple this 1:1 motion tracking with high definition graphics (not to mention potential 3D graphics) and you can see why the Playstation Move is getting critical acclaim.

Microsoft, on the other hand, is going an entirely different route with their Xbox 360 Kinect motion controller. Their solution utilizes nothing more than a 3D camera situated in front of the display. This camera is capable of tracking a gamer’s motion in real time eliminating the need for an actual hardware controller. Some have argued that it is a bit more gimmicky than the Wii and Playstation Move but it is certainly the most innovative motion control solution out of the 3.

While Microsoft’s Kinect won’t be launching until November, general price schemes for the motion controller have been made known in the past. For instance, you can buy just the camera alongside Kinect Adventures for $149.99. Alternatively you can purchase an Xbox 360 4GB model complete with Kinect for $299.99.

However, with so much content available for digital download, 4GB is probably not enough for many consumers. Luckily, Microsoft has made it official today that they will be releasing an Xbox 360 250GB model bundled with Kinect for $399.99 in the US and £300 in the UK. While this may seem like a steep price tag, if you take into account the fact that the normal Xbox 360 250GB model goes for $299.99 and Kinect by itself for $150 (as already mentioned) you can see that you’re actually saving $50 with this bundle.