Wal-Mart has started pre-orders on a new Microsoft Kinect bundle today, adding more question marks to the still unofficial price tag on the system.
Priced at $200, consumers get the Kinect system, a $30 Wal-Mart eGift Card, and one of the launch titles.
Those titles (Sports is pictured) are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, Dance Central, Joy Ride, Kinectimals, Kinect Sports and Kinect Adventures.
You can also add an additional game for $50-60 if you want to get more for your new bundle.
The Microsoft Store has the system priced at $150, but with a note that price is still subject to change. GameStop and Amazon have similar pricing, and similar notices.
Wal-Mart’s latest deal is the most cost-effective, especially given the discount off the game and the addition of the gift card, but we will see if the price sticks when the device launches in early November.
Result for: early november
James Burt of Queensland, Australia has agreed to pay Nintendo $1.5 million in damages as compensation for lost revenue caused when Burt uploaded a game before its official release date.
Burt made New Super Mario Bros. for Wii available online in early November, one week before its official Australian street date. As is the case in most countries, distributing games without permission is illegal and carries a hefty fine.
Rather than head to court, Burt and Nintendo settled and came to the $1.5 million figure, which also includes $100,000 to pay for Nintendo’s legal fees.
“Nintendo will pursue those who attempt to jeopardise our industry by using all means available to it under the law,” says the company.
Adds Nintendo Australia managing director Rose Lappin: “It wasn’t just an Australian issue, it was a global issue. There was thousands and thousands of downloads, at a major cost to us and the industry really. It’s not just about us. It’s about retailers and if they can’t sell the games then they have to bear the costs associated with that. Once it’s on the internet it’s anyone’s really.”
Result for: early november
Sherwood has announced the launch of their first Blu-ray player, dubbed the BDP-5003 which will retail for $300 USD.
The player is Profile 1.1 and will play full HD 1080p content at 24Hz or 60Hz. The player has two HDMI 1.3 outputs and “onboard processing deliver lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio HD sound formats.” The player also supports CD, DVDs (with upscaling) and JPEG.
A front panel USB port adds support for DivX, JPEG and MP3 playback. Electronista adds “sound connections include coaxial and Toslink digital audio outputs along with two-channel analog outputs. Processing is via 192kHz/24-bit audio DACs, while an Ethernet port allows for firmware upgrades.”
The player will ship later this month and hit retailers by early November.
