Rumor: Natal is Actually MS’ Next Console
Microsoft showed off it’s camera-based motion solution, Project Natal, two weeks ago at E3. It was impressive — really impressive, even for what little they had to show for it. Skipping over the usual Molyneaux hyperbole, I thought that the concept of Natal was really out there, and that they were shooting for something far different than the 360, market- and technology-wise. 1up’s Sam Kennedy thinks so too, and is declaring that Natal will actually be part of Microsoft’s next-gen console; essentially a beefed-up 360 with Natal bundled inside. Not too dissimilar with Nintendo’s strategy with the Wii, which is essentially two GameCubes duct-taped together.
I like the idea, and judging by Microsoft’s five-year adoption for the original Xbox, this seems about right. The Xbox 360 was released in 2005, and 2010 would ostensibly be the five-year mark for that system. Kennedy predicts, “Current Xbox 360 games would be playable on it, but future games would be able to take advantage of the added muscle. Similar to what we see in the PC space, games played on the more advanced Xbox would look or perform better, but publishers will still be able to support owners of both systems. Some developers have complained that they’ve already maxed out the Xbox 360; perhaps this will give them room to expand.”
On one hand, this move will totally make sense if Microsoft really wants to take a piece of the lucrative mainstream market Nintendo’s already got a stranglehold on. Disassociating the new console’s name with the Xbox brand and symbolisms would probably be part of this move too. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure a lot of developers and consumers wouldn’t be too happy about this — after all, I personally think this generation has yet to even reach its peak.
1up’s sources are saying that the platform will be revealed at next year’s GDC and that Natal will be out Fall 2010, just months shy of missing Microsoft’s promised launch next year.
