Chris Lewis, Xbox’s EMEA VP, told MCV in a recent interview that Kinect sales have revitalized the life expectancy of the Xbox 360, already six years past its birth. Lewis states “We see it as about halfway through. […] There’s no doubt that Kinect put a huge shot of adrenaline into the business.”
Lewis goes on to explain that, despite the initial run of family-friendly software boasted on Kinect, developers are now moving in a direction to provide unique experiences for core gamers.
Kinect’s sales hit over 10 million earlier this year, so there’s no reason for Microsoft to believe that they can’t squeeze an extra few years out of their ultra-successful console. But me? I’m not convinced yet. I’ve got no doubt that the Xbox 360 will see 10 full years of support, or more, (I mean, hell, PS2 consoles still sell, and EA still makes new Madden games for it.) though I don’t think Kinect can take full credit for that.
After playing through the entirety of Child of Eden with Kinect (which you’ll get to read about later today, I believe), I’m more skeptical about the motion controller than ever. If Microsoft’s truly using it as a crutch to squeeze a few more years out of its console, I can’t help but feel like that’s a mistake.
Sounds like PR BS to me. The console is nearing the end of its life and it shows.
I don’t think “halfway through its life” means “we won’t release a new console for another 6 years.” I imagine that we’ll still the next Microsoft console in 2013, but they’ll continue to support the 360 for another 5 years or so.
Similar story to the PS2.
People with the older X360 version might need to buy a new one in that time (RROD)…