New Xbox Console Coming in 2010? Doubtful!
This is a rumor
first report on 1Up.com that is basically speculation based on a
statement by a high up executive at Microsoft. Last week while Shane
Kim was talking to the gaming blog site Kotaku and he stated the launch
of Project Natal will be as large as the original Xbox 360 launch.
This statement was then twisted to the point that 1Up is now suggesting
next fall Microsoft will launch a new game console with the Project
Natal camera bundled with the console.
To justify their claim, 1Up dials back the new console theory to say it will be more like the DSi release instead of an entirely new game console. What they are saying is the console packed with the Natal will be a slight upgrade to the existing Xbox 360 similar to the launch of the Xbox 360 Elite. There will only be slight upgrades to the existing game console and the new console will be branded differently. 1Up does not provide any examples in their article of what these upgrades could be.
I don't think this rumor sounds as absurd as it originally did when I read the story's title. It's clear that Microsoft would be best off to bundle the new camera with new consoles if they want to get developer support. Microsoft will need to try to get as many Project Natal cameras in homes so that there will be a market for making games that use the technology. A new console is probably the best way to drive this adoption.
I tend to think there will not be a new console in 2010 from Microsoft. What I think you will see is something similar to how Microsoft launched the Xbox Live Arcade program. Did you know that Xbox Live arcade was on the first Xbox? It came out very late in the Xbox's life cycle and was not adopted by gamers or developers. By the time the Xbox 360 came out it was integrated into the console and has been a huge success for Microsoft and now even Sony and Nintendo have an off shoot on their consoles.
I expect you will see is Microsoft start to bundle the camera with the Xbox 360 at no price increase and sell it with a game for $100. Microsoft has been chopping $50 off the price of their consoles each of the past two years (and will do the same in the fall). I could see a $150 Arcade model with the Natal camera in November of 2010. The Pro and Elite models will also be bundled with the camera as well. Microsoft should be able to offset the cost of the camera with savings manufacturing improvements on the existing hardware.
I do not think we will see a new Xbox from Microsoft till possibly E3 of 2011 and I don't think it will launch till 2012. Microsoft has a firm control of the hard core market and is selling the current console at a profit while Sony still sells theirs as a loss. Microsoft very well may not need to release a new Xbox until digital distribution is fully integrated into the consoles. I don't see Microsoft adopting BluRay as a games distribution format since the price is still too expensive. In 2012 those prices might be more reasonable. By then more games will be ready for the Natal camera if it is a success.
Source: 1up
To justify their claim, 1Up dials back the new console theory to say it will be more like the DSi release instead of an entirely new game console. What they are saying is the console packed with the Natal will be a slight upgrade to the existing Xbox 360 similar to the launch of the Xbox 360 Elite. There will only be slight upgrades to the existing game console and the new console will be branded differently. 1Up does not provide any examples in their article of what these upgrades could be.
I don't think this rumor sounds as absurd as it originally did when I read the story's title. It's clear that Microsoft would be best off to bundle the new camera with new consoles if they want to get developer support. Microsoft will need to try to get as many Project Natal cameras in homes so that there will be a market for making games that use the technology. A new console is probably the best way to drive this adoption.
I tend to think there will not be a new console in 2010 from Microsoft. What I think you will see is something similar to how Microsoft launched the Xbox Live Arcade program. Did you know that Xbox Live arcade was on the first Xbox? It came out very late in the Xbox's life cycle and was not adopted by gamers or developers. By the time the Xbox 360 came out it was integrated into the console and has been a huge success for Microsoft and now even Sony and Nintendo have an off shoot on their consoles.
I expect you will see is Microsoft start to bundle the camera with the Xbox 360 at no price increase and sell it with a game for $100. Microsoft has been chopping $50 off the price of their consoles each of the past two years (and will do the same in the fall). I could see a $150 Arcade model with the Natal camera in November of 2010. The Pro and Elite models will also be bundled with the camera as well. Microsoft should be able to offset the cost of the camera with savings manufacturing improvements on the existing hardware.
I do not think we will see a new Xbox from Microsoft till possibly E3 of 2011 and I don't think it will launch till 2012. Microsoft has a firm control of the hard core market and is selling the current console at a profit while Sony still sells theirs as a loss. Microsoft very well may not need to release a new Xbox until digital distribution is fully integrated into the consoles. I don't see Microsoft adopting BluRay as a games distribution format since the price is still too expensive. In 2012 those prices might be more reasonable. By then more games will be ready for the Natal camera if it is a success.
Source: 1up
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