Activision COO Thomas Tippl has said that the publisher's caution regarding Kinect and PlayStation Move development is down to its "concern" over the relatively high asking price for the two motion control devices.

"I think as a publisher, you have to be concerned about how the price drives a lot of the outcome of how big of an install base there's going to be [for hardware]," he told Gamasutra.

"The bigger the install base, the more likely that you can make sense out of your investment. So, the lower the price, the better. In this economic environment, it's probably more important than ever."

Kinect, out November 4, has been mooted to cost $149.99 (over £100) by several retailers and even Microsoft itself (although reservedly stating that the all pricing was simply "placeholder").

Sony's Move controller, out on Sept 15 in UK (September 19 in US) will be $49.99 alone and an additional Navigation Controller will be $29.99. UK prices have not been set, but UK retailer Game has Move up for £34.99 and the Navigation Controller for £24.99. Yes, that's a jip in comparison.

Tippl says there's plenty of potential in both devices if they gain large enough user bases. But, he added, "A lot of that will depend on the price point they choose.

"We have a few franchises where we think this could be an interesting value to improve the experience for the player. Tony Hawk is an example. We have our Rapala Fishing franchise. But it's not going to be something that will be in every game, because I don't think it's one size fits all. It's not going to enhance the experience for every game."

Given the Dollar/Sterling rate and the fact that US prices don't include Sales Tax, those Sony prices aren't that much of a jip...