Is Natal MS's way of preparing the ground for next gen?

[NJ5]

libellule said:
NJ5,

dont you think that ... Natal is the next 360 box ?
I m always wondering this ...

No, that would be way too crazy. For a company to be able to skip a gen they must have complete domination of the market, and even then they can lose it depending on what competitors do.

Rainbird said:

NJ5 said:
You guys may not have noticed but I Ninja edited the OP a bit. The biggest change was to add this sentence:

"If it's not well received, then MS is screwed in the next gen, or they have to quickly replan everything."

Do you think this is a concern or not so much?

It's true, they will be in for some trouble next generation if it isn't well recieved. But I think it will be reasonably well recieved, and with the more refined tech that should be in use next generation, they might be able to make it even greater, and possibly rectify some of the bad press they might get with the current launch.

My biggest fear for Natal and next generation is what Microsoft decides to do with the regular controller. I think that you need buttons, and what Microsoft decides will be adequat for a regular controller, will be very important.

I'm quite sure any MS console will have a controller similar to the 360's. There's just no way Natal is good enough for all genres of gaming, even if it was they'd be risking way too much to completely ditch the controller. But if Natal has a mild or bad reception (which I see as a real possibility, especially since we don't even know anything about the software they'll make), it would be quite bad to launch a new console with a previously badly received major feature.