Wedbush Morgan analyst and game industry-critic Michael Pachter, has stated that he expects that Project Natal, the upcoming motion-control camera system for the Xbox 360, will be available for approximately $50 when it launches later this year. Stating that he does not expect that Microsoft will be trying to make a profit on the hardware itself, he added that he would “be very surprised if the thing is more than $79, and I really think it’s going to be $50.”
Comparing Project Natal to the PlayStation 3 motion controller, currently only known by its working title ‘Arc’, Pachter stated that he expects Natal to outsell the ‘Arc’ by a margin of 5 to 1. According to him, the ‘Arc’ is “not an “in the box” solution” and consequently, he expects that the controller will sell between one to two million units following its launch. Pachter further expressed his expectations that Microsoft will sell approximately 10 million Project Natal units within a year following the launch, which in turn will lead to more third-party support for the platform.
At this time, no games specifically designed to utilize either platform have been announced. The Playstation ‘Arc’ is currently scheduled for a release during Fall 2010. Project Natal will be launched in time for the holidays.
I agree with Pachter on this one… MS will be marketing Natal the right way to the casual audience, and I expect it to pay off for them.
Sony just doesn’t know how to market its peripherals well, and I don’t see why they would put a lot of work into a ‘me too’ concept… even though it seems like it would work the best as a gaming controller.