I think it will. If they actually go through with this ill considered act it will affect sales for everyone in a way they didn't intend.

Microsoft Sales will tank because they will drive off far more "hardcore" gamers than the "casuals"  they can attract. They will be seen as losing their vision and trying to appeal to both. Microsoft is one of the most disliked and suspected companies on Earth. Many use their products for pragmatic reason but few love them. They will not be able to keep and attract enough loyalty to see them through the transition.

Sony sales will surge as they will be seen as the last bastion of serious gaming. Since most games are available on both systems, there is little to discourage this defection. Halo won't be enough to keep the "hardcore" onboard.

Wii sales will benefit to a lesser extent as Microsoft's implied endorsement will convince more gamers and game developers that motion controls are the future of gaming. Nintendo, with a complete commitment and 18 month’s head start on the motion control learning curve will be little threatened by a company with ambivalent support for the concept and a late start. MS is not exactly known for bold and rapid innovation.

In TV shows this is called jumping the shark; sacrificing your vision in a desperate ploy to boost interest, but it never works and in the long term it is usually a sign of the beginning of the end.

I don't feel like arguing the same point on 2 topics. Check out this forum and see if you want to add anything xbox live there... http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=27413

i think this calls for a graph to show what will happen to sales
.......

 I was going to say "make LIVE free" which they should but then I saw this comment in there. From you.

So I then realized you would just assume I do not own one.

My gripe however isn't with LIVE, so I don't know what that thread has to do with me disagreeing with a Wiimote clone and a Mii clone.

HARD CORE MOTION CONTROL!  SERIOUS WAGGLING!

Oh thank you Lord for letting me live long enough to hear this. And it was a close thing too, because when I read it, I laughed so hard I almost split my gut.

If this was intended as satire, then BRAVO! WELL DONE! If you're serious .... nah, I can't believe that

Lol...ok so now microsoft is coppying mii's and wii mote...nintendo freind codes was a joke right. Browser is sorely missed indeed... :)

I'd love to see Wii copy xbox a bit...introduce a normal controller and better graphics...hard drive. Start stremaing demos...then console war would really be boring. We'd have GTA5 360 vs ps3 vs wii comparisons...oh god!

Does anyone honestly see this as having potential in disrupting Wii sales and/or increasing 360 sales? If so, Why?

This is pretty much expected.

To counteract the success of Wii and Wii fit, MS needed to introduce four things at least; A. interface innovation and 3rd-party support for it, B. more reliable and compact hardware, C. price cut, D. success in Japan. MS folks are not dumb enough to not see that.

MS needed to make interface more intuitive possibly by incorporating motion-sensing xmote and voice recognition. It's not like Nintendo didn't expect that MS would do it; MS or anybody can pay for the motion-sensing patent (Gyration et al.). MS has long researched and developed voice recognition technology in their labs. Mii clone certainly helps it become a family console.

These new interfaces and features need to come along with a new build of xbox360 so new expanded-audiences won't see them as optional peripherals. (Incidentally, core gamers may also like these interfaces if they are inexpensive and provide them with immersive experience eg. FPS with xmote).

A new build is required also because MS needed to make the box slim, quiet, and less threatening to soccer moms so that it can be placed in living room. Wii was, from the very start of its development, specifically designed not to threaten moms because N knew moms were the gatekeeper for their future success. With Jasper or maybe Valhalla, they will achieve this with increased hardware reliability.

Better hardware reliability is also one of the keys to succeed in the Japanese market. In addition, MS has been working hard to gain more support from J developers, and it has started to pay off. Also, by this time, they should have learned well from their massive failure in their previous PR strategy in Japan.

But given all these, in Japan, it's still going to be a difficult fight to counter the power of Nintendo brand. It will take some time. But if these strategies are done right, MS may be able to establish themselves in Japan by the time when they release next console xbox 720 or whatever it'll be called.

All of these elements suggest that in regions other than Japan MS may steal some share of expanded audience from Nintendo in mid-2009 or 2010. But then again, Wii fit is a monster, so to speak.

Anyway, more competition I believe is generally good for us comsumers.

This is the whole birdman theory uncovering before our eyes, though i must say i am interested in seeing what they do with thier controller, it might not be such a blatant rippoff of the wiimote, if it is, it will make Bill gates and the other 360 spokesmen look like complete retards, it was only last year they last year they called it a gimmik and likened it to the atrocious sidewinder.