Xbox Natal to be New Console?

BreakABone · 06-12-2009, 09:52 PM

This is just a rumor, but in some regards would make sense.

Quote:

Rumor: Xbox Natal is Actually Microsoft's Next Console

So you know how Microsoft is saying Natal will be as big as console launch? Well...yeah.
By Sam Kennedy, 06/12/2009

Earlier this week gaming blog Kotaku quoted Microsoft's Shane Kim as saying that the launch of Natal, Microsoft's new controller-free motion control technology, would be as big as the launch of a console. Not surprising. That's because Natal is going to be a new console.

On this week's Listen Up podcast we discussed Natal, and David Ellis and I talked about what we've been hearing regarding the new technology -- and how it's actually the cornerstone of Microsoft's next evolution of the Xbox. Microsoft will not only release Natal as an add-on for the Xbox 360, it will come standard with the next Xbox console.

Yes, there will be a new Xbox console next fall.

However, the new console won't just be an Xbox 360 with a camera, though -- we've heard it will be considered a new platform and carry a new name (Xbox Natal?). It's not clear what sort of upgrades we might see, but some have suggested it will be an slight upgrade of the current Xbox 360 technology. 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.

Make no mistake, we wouldn't be talking about the sort of hardware leap we've seen with Xbox (or most other) platforms in the past, and we're not talking about Microsoft ending one console cycle and starting another. We're talking about an evolution of the Xbox 360; similar hardware but upgraded, repackaged, and rebranded. It's actually not that unlike what Nintendo did with the Wii, where it essentially took the GameCube hardware, stuck in motion controls, and successfully relaunched it. The new Xbox console is said to be aimed directly at a mainstream audience -- and will launch before Nintendo is able to release its Wii HD.

What's interesting is that Nintendo and Microsoft are on a course to deliver very similar products yet are coming at them from opposite directions. Microsoft currently has the HD hardware and will in the future introduce motion controls, while Nintendo has motion controls and will in the future introduce HD hardware. Sony's PS3 will also be providing motion controls next year, though as a peripheral for its EyeToy camera.
As John Davison pointed out on the podcast, the Wii was the first console to do this, but it's likely that all future hardware will be more iterative than substantive. The distinction between new consoles will become far less marked -- similar to what we've seen in the handheld space, such as with the transitions from the Game Boy to the Game Boy Advance, the DS to the DSi, or the PSP to the PSP Go.

So when would we first hear about this new Xbox console? Our sources point to next year's Game Developer's Conference as the target for its unveiling and Fall 2010 as the target for release.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174762

Remember same site that broke PSP Go story.

KillerGremlin · 06-12-2009, 10:43 PM

Marry me! (Sorry...been watching Arrested Development)

But seriously, isn't this what I said like 4 minutes after the Microsoft Press Conference during E3 after we watched it? I need to start patenting my awesome predictions. Remember?

It would be absurd for Natal to be a standalone release at the tail-end of the 360. It just wouldn't make sense business wise.

KillerGremlin · 06-12-2009, 10:45 PM

Also, nice Mii. Was gonna ask if that's what you look like in real life...then remember Mafia.

gekko · 06-13-2009, 02:32 AM

My gut feeling says no.

Angrist · 06-13-2009, 08:41 AM

I think it's possible, but not smart.

They should get some motion control experience, get the ball rolling.. and release a new console in 2-3 years.

Bond · 06-13-2009, 10:20 AM

I say no.

I'm sure Natal will be packaged with new 360s, that only makes sense, but if there are upgrades to the main console, they will be very minor (like HDMI in the past).

Typhoid · 06-13-2009, 05:10 PM

It would be a lot more smarter of them to release it for the 360 as is, then make improvements on it for the next next gen system.

KillerGremlin · 06-13-2009, 09:55 PM

Natal puts developers in a weird position. Do we develop for Natal and alienate the non-Natal people, or do we just stick with the 360. Microsoft depends on 3rd party, and it seems odd to release something that will divide the console base, especially at the end of the console's run. I think Natal at the very least has to be part of the next Microsoft console, but I'd like to think it plays a larger role in the future Microsoft console than it would on the 360. Mind you the thing isn't supposed to come out till 2010 at the earliest, so who is to say Microsoft doesn't unveil a new console next year or something?

Right now a lot of speculation is basically, "Natal is a Wii-competitor" and "They should release it first to see if it actually works."

I'm just gonna call bullshit on that second point. Natal better be fucking perfect when it comes out or it is going to fail. That is the end of the story. If it is buggy it will fail. Nintendo gets points for testing the hell out of the Wii and making sure it worked and worked well.

I agree that Natal is a Wii-competetor though. That much is true. But if you're competing with Wii I think you would practice smarter business than just throwing an add on to the 360. And this argument becomes incredibly suspect because Natal was the highlight of the Microsoft Press Confrence. If it wasn't such a big deal they would have only showed it for 5 minutes like the Sony Anal Wand. I think Sony maybe came up with a peripheral in an attempt to compete with the Wii, but I think Microsoft is looking to do bigger and better things.

Typhoid · 06-14-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Natal better be fucking perfect when it comes out or it is going to fail.

That's such a dumb statement.

Even if it's not perfect it will succeed pretty amazingly.
Remember how terrible the Wii was at launch? What successful Wiimote games does it have that are super fun? The Sports pack that comes with the system, and some games that have just recently been released. Most of the games you can just play with a normal controller. In the eyes of motion games, that's a pretty hard fail, yet it succeeds nicely.

The same will be said and done for the Natal. It will do really, really well. And why? Because nothing like it has been done before. Of course it won't be perfect. It will be good for the time. The NES was perfect for the time it was released, but now it blows hairy goat anus in comparison.

Nothing can, nor ever will be perfect, so saying it will fail unless it is - is just a dumb thing to say.

KillerGremlin · 06-14-2009, 05:13 PM

I figured since this was a hardware discussion (Project Natal is hardware, right?) it would be implied that I meant it better be perfect in regards to hardware, not software.

For instance, the Wii at launch did not have glitches or problems. It worked, dare I say, perfectly. Okay, perhaps "perfect" is a bad term to use. But in my mind, the Wii launch was executed near flawlessly in regard to hardware. I have a Wii, I have Wii Sports. In all my hours playing that stupid, addicting game, I have NEVER EVER EVER encountered an issue with my Wii-mote having tracking or registry issues.

Natal better work flawlessly in terms of hardware. It better do everything it promises and it better do that well. If it has glitches, errors, Red Rings of Death, or whatever, it will most likely be criticized and in my opinion be destined for failure.