Project Natal (Kinect)

The Kinect is the newest addition to Microsoft's Xbox 360, this piece of software encourages the audience to become more envolved in gaming as it enables them to 'become the controller'. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is one of the highest selling game consoles of all time and evidently is sought after by many people, therefore the release of this new add-on is very likely to be successful as people will want to add to the gaming repertoire. The Kinect, or formally Project Natal, is a camera which recognises the gamers body shape and then uses this to create an animated character on screen which you can then use by moving your body parts to play games. The Kinect is designed to compete with the Wii (Nintendo) which is the leader in console sales and is a similar style of gameplay.

This advert for the Kinect shows a number of different people playing the console, the advert includes lots of different demographics though, as there are people of all races and genders. Also the advert identifies that Kinect can be played be people no matter there profession, as we see a man in business atire playing it but also a sports team and children, amongst others. The feeling I get from this advert is that Kinect is targeted unspecifically and tries to attract a mass audience.

The Exchange Value of the Kinect like most new technological advancements to come out of America, would be quite high. The reccomended retail price for the Kinect is £129 but it is estimated that it only costs Microsoft £44 to make, so therefore the would be making a substantial profit. Also the Symbolic Value of the Kinect is very clear, as the price tag is quite high, it would indicate that the owner would be quite affluent, but also owning one of these indicates to someone that you are an avid gamer who always purchases the next best thing when concerning game consoles. Yet the irony of it all is that it won't be long before the Kinect is outdated and the Kinect 2 hits the shelves and everyone is pressured into buying the new model so that they are not outdated themselves.