The dictionary defines Natal as being a relation to birth. I guess that Project Natal is supposed to represent the birth of a new era of gaming. Unfortunately, Project Natal is more of a birth defect than it is a step into the next generation.

This generation of consoles has been one heck of a roller-coaster ride for all gamers, although a little bumpier for PlayStation 3 crowd. Although Sony has been making progress it has definitely been suffering from some bad press – very bad press.  Sony may seem unfazed by recent threats and remarks made by third party contributors but to some it appears that Sony’s confidence is nothing more than the sound of the soothing string quartet that is intended to calm the remaining passengers on board the Titanic console while it slowly sinks. The truth is the further we move into the future the faster technology evolves. Sony released the first PlayStation in 1995, followed by the PlayStation 2 in 2000, and then finally the PlayStation 3 in 2006. There seems to be a five year interval between the release of each console. We are now half way through 2009, which means we are more than half way through this generation’s console lifespan – that is if Sony don’t break the pattern, and if the PlayStation 3 well and truly is sinking it would make a lot of sense for Sony to be working on the next big thing.

It is highly speculated both among gamers and industry professionals that the next lot of consoles should surface around 2012. One nutter at Microsoft (some may call him “the CEO”) has even gone so far as to shoving his foot in his mouth by announcing a new Xbox console for 2010. The publicity that comment got certainly did not bode well for Microsoft. Even before the announcement of Project Natal rumors started surfacing that the next Xbox console would feature a motion capture device that would render hand held controllers obsolete. The recent announcement of Project Natal and the slight slip of tongue from Ballmer makes this whole Project Natal business smell of something suspicious.

Okay, cutting to the chase. Project Natal will probably launch somewhere between $99 to $199, and that is being optimistic considering the prices of rather simple peripherals, possibly the later half of 2010. This would bring the entire value of the Xbox 360 above the PlayStation 3, and Sony have been copping hell for the current price tag of the PlayStation 3. All things are pointing towards Sony working on the PlayStation 4. Project Natal will do nothing but throw Microsoft off track and could quite possibly completely ruin any chance they have of coming through on top, or through at all. Who is going to want to fork out another $600 or more on a console one, or two, years after they’ve just spent $200 on a peripheral for what would then be a last generation console? It would piss of many, many Microsoft supporters. Furthermore, Sony could just integrate a similar peripheral into the PlayStation 4 which would be the ultimate kick in the balls for Microsoft.

One could say that both Microsoft and Sony simply look foolish for entering the motion-sensed gaming realm, to say the least, by trying to tap into Nintendo’s market and insulting their fans with rip-off technology. Well, business is to technology precisely what technology is to business – the only problem is Nintendo managed to provide a motion-sensing gaming experience for an affordable price. Buying Microsoft’s Natal device, in a way, could be like buying a secondary console for your console. Even though Microsoft has officially announced that Project Natal is not a stand-alone console, if the price prediction is accurate, then it might as well be. For an extra $100 you could buy yourself a Nintendo Wii. Sony, on the other hand, are taking the safe route – no official  launch info has been announced for the PlayStation motion sensing gadget – what we do know is that they are using the PSEye, which is cheap as chips, and a modified version of the PlayStation controller, which should work out to be a lot cheaper. For all we know Sony could postpone the release of their gadget until they launch the PlayStation 4, or just “can” it all together. What we saw at E3 was Sony showing us another clever way to utilize an already available, and affordable, peripheral – the PSEye.

Though Project Natal seems to be an impressive piece of technology introducing this late in the current console life cycle is a risk. Did Microsoft ever stop to think “what if it flops?” Natal seems to be an expensive project in regards to both software and hardware and the truth is hardcore gamers just don’t seem too interested in it – give them Gears of War 3 and they’ll be happy campers. The problem in this case is the demographic that Project Natal is aimed at – it may pique the interest of house mothers, and college boys who like to see girls shake their ass to WII Fit, all across the globe but those are the people who simply can’t afford, or can live without it.

Project Natal’s success is crucial to the survival of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and  their future consoles, and they know that. A bad launch could have a devastating effect on the Xbox brand. What is not to suggest that this demographic already have the latest Nintendo console and don’t plan on buying another console, plus the peripheral.

No matter what, releasing Project Natal this generation is only going to mess things up for Microsoft. Is the next Xbox going to be Natal compatible? It wouldn’t work. People are not going to be able to afford it if is sold as a separate peripheral – we are in a world wide depression, people are struggling with buying common necessities. Microsoft should make Project Natal a feature of the next console – it is the smartest, and safest thing to do – but I guess, going back on their announcement now would only make them look like idiots. Then again Microsoft are used to shoving their feet in their mouths.