Oprah Provides Power for Kinect System

By Lucy Mitchell
Oct 31 2010

The Microsoft offering that is set to rival Nintendo and Sony has gotten a major shove forward by the queen of daytime.

Oprah Winfrey gave Microsoft and Kinect a shot in the arm when she featured the new motion system for Xbox 360 on her show. Now preorders have skyrocketed for the new system.

The Kinect system is designed to operate in the same manner as the Nintendo Wii and Playstation Move. Wireless remotes are used to operate the gaming system which was first introduced by Nintendo.

Preorders for the new system have been brisk, especially with the upcoming holiday shopping season just weeks away. Microsoft is banking a lot of cash on the popularity of their product and they hope that consumers will be answering the call.

Microsoft is said to have spent nearly $500 million in advertising for the new system, a massive figure in the fickle and unpredictable video game market. However, they have been previously successful in the gaming market with the Xbox systems.

However, Nintendo still has a vast lead over other gaming companies. Besides being the first to offer motion controlled systems they also slashed the price of their console last year which broadened their lead in the video game console market.

Yet, Microsoft is poised to make a splash in the market. Their new system is aimed at the high level gamers, who are willing to spend money for the top of the line systems. If they are able to maintain a high level of quality with the new system then they could regain some lost market share.