Microsoft’s Project Natal: Bigger and Badder Than We Thought

[nightsurge]

Any of you questioning the costs and the pricing of bundles strategy need to realize 2 things:

1) By the time Natal releases, the 360 will be considerably cheaper to produce. They will be on 45nm chips if not the combined 45nm Valhalla, and will have decreased power usage and cooling needs. Also, so far this year they have not dropped the price at all. The Elite at $299 currently is making about a $75 profit. If you don't believe me I can go into further detail about why this is a good estimate.

2) MS could easily produce this for $100, sell it for $100 to those who don't have a 360, and include it for free in every single new 360 purchased. This would erase the need for a price cut next year, meaning prices would remain $199/299 and extend the life of the console a few extra years.

MS needs Natal to be in as many hands as it can be, that's why they won't make it a $200 add-on. They will likely lower the price of the WiFi adapter by that point as well, so there isn't any questions about why the two cost the same when one is much more expensive to make.

Natal will also very likely be included next gen, with probably some nice enhancements. This means that next gen the technology for MS's console will be much cheaper to produce right off the bat.

And to the new troll accounts (likely Tim_Duncan spawns again) that think Natal will be a major flop because it doesn't use a controller, you obviously have no understanding of the purpose of Natal and it's target audience. If you honestly think there aren't any people out there that hate using a controller or find it too difficult, then you are very naive.