Will Natal boost hardware sales ?

[Lord N]

The hardware boost that the 360 receives from Natal will be barely distinguishable from zero.

First of all, it's too little, too late. We're four years into this console generation(five years if you count the handhelds), which means that the perception of the console is set. Had Nintendo released the Wiimote for the Gamecube in 2004, would it have made any kind of difference?

There's also software. The reason that the Stylus/Touchscreen for the DS and the Wiimote for the Wii have done so well is because Nintendo has been able to create enough first-party and second-party software to take advantage of them. They've made games that are accessible enough for new gamers and casual gamers and challenging enough for core/hardcore gamers and veteran gamers. Without that, the DS and Wii wouldn't be anywhere near as successful as they are today.

When it comes to first and second party titles, Microsoft doesn't really have anything outside of Halo, and certainly not anything that has the kind of universal appeal like the titles that are seen on the Wii and DS.

Furthermore, by releasing something like this in the middle of the generation, they're only reaffirming Nintendo as the market leader. At the most, Natal will just be seen as a weaker, more expensive version of what the Wii offers, and with far less games.