Introduction
With its ability to translate the external movement of a person into a digitized method of manipulation without the need for an additional medium in the form of a controller the XBOX 360 Kinect presents a plethora of possibilities that can be utilized for any manner of function ranging from the rehabilitation of people suffering from some form of physical disability to image manipulation and control (Bass, 2012).
Market Positioning
One way in which the flexibility of the Kinect can be utilized in a commercial application is by integrating it with 3d Max software. 3d Max is a software application that enables the development of a variety of 3d model as seen in a plethora of commercials, movies or in video game development.
What must be understood is that while the software can help to create an effective 3d simulation of almost any desired object the fact remains that the use of a mouse and keyboard in order to move and shift the object as well as make subtle corrections actually adds to the tediousness of the process.
By integrating the ability of the Kinect to translate external movements into operational commands developers will in effect be able to have a more “hands on” approach in image construction and development which should speed up the process of creating 3d model as well as allow the construction of better and more lifelike imagery (Porges, 2011) (Goth, 2011).
Considering the nature of the product and the fact that it resolves a real need within the animation industry it can be expected that there will little to no problems in market penetration.
Furthermore, research into the current methods of “hands-on” image manipulation currently in use by the animation industry today shows that the “glove type” motion controllers utilized lack the overall level of finesse and flexibility seen in the Kinect and such shows the viability of selling this particular type of software and hardware package to animation studios (Lian, 2011).
Pricing
The pricing for this particular application of the Kinect would range between $300 to $400 since this includes both the price of the Kinect as well as the software plug-in necessary to integrate the functions of the Kinect into the 3d Max Software application.
There will be no subsequent price elasticity considerations nor will geography or special pricing tactics be utilized since this particular product focuses exclusively on a niche market which consists of a variety of animation studios and video game developers.
As such this application is not meant for mass distribution however special orders can be made by individual customers who are interested in utilizing the application for their own animation projects that utilize 3d Max software.
Placement
In marketing this particular product it will first be made available to animation studios that are currently utilizing the 3D Max application software. Initially the hardware and software bundle will have a soft launch wherein only a select number of studios will have access to it.
It is only once a good market response has been developed in this initial selective market release (with all the bugs that come with the release of a new product resolved) that the sale of the Kinect unit along with the necessary software plug-ins will be sold exclusively through an online website.
Due to the nature of the market (3d developers) it was deemed unnecessary to sell this item through traditional retail establishments.
Reference List
Bass, D. (2012). Can Kinect make windows cool again?. Bloomberg Businessweek, (4270), 42.
Goth, G. (2011). Brave NUI world. Communications Of The ACM, 54(12), 14-16.
Lian, R. (2011). Intelligent controller for robotic motion control. IEEE Transactions On Industrial Electronics, 58(11), 5220-5230
Porges, S. (2011). Digital Clinic: Q+A. Popular Mechanics, 188(3), 110.