Outside of forums, no one I know has even heard of Natal.

Heck, I haven't even seen it anywhere else.

Source for the $200 estimate is the Seattle Times technology/business blogger: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009288788_xbox02.html

I would discount anything that Patcher says, so I doubt it will be $50.

I think Microsoft will want it to be $99.95 (just under a C-Note).

But again, it will need its "Killer App" to sell.

Mike from Morgantown

First point is a software problem.  The reason that this wont ship until fall 2010 is to perfect the software.

Second point may have some merit, but it isnt like this is the first camera for a console. Console manufacturers and WebCam manufacturers have been working on these issues for years.

Third point Milo itself again is software sitting on top of Project Natal.  Milo failure or success has little to do with Project Natal.  Project Natal having a real good SDK will help Milo be developed, but that is the extent of it.

Fourth point is pure speculation. It will certainly depend if the buzz for Natal continues and how good the SDK's MS puts together. Neverthelees I expect MS to drive the software development of the first generation of Natal titles.

i think natal will succeed very much and sell alot of units and systems as well.

so what are you saying you have imaginary friends? lol

I would think a $99 price tag bundled with a Wii Sports/Wii Fit style game would be a good start, an obviously not outside of what people are willing to pay (see: Wii Fit bundle). Of course, going one step further with something that is totally different and amazing would be better ;).

Perhaps it is a bit shortsighted. The issue is the market we're discussing. There's one thing everyone on this site has in common - we eat, breathe and live gaming. We might not agree, but we're more alike than anyone cares to admit. That being said, casuals do NOT think like us. If it's not on Oprah, advertised to death during Monday Night Football or the Grammys, or just all around their daily life, it won't be a blip on their radar. Natal is an accessory, not a system, so it won't get the attention drive that an actual system would.

The problem here is that MS will advertise Natal but miss that remainder of the market that Nintendo has yet to penetrate. MS loves to advertise on technology sites, since they own shares in many of them. The issue is, the people using these sites already have made their decision for gaming. MS is going to need to make a cutesy robot like Wallie and make it the cute mascot of Natal. Post it on bus stations, billboards, make lunchboxes, and maybe even a saturday morning cartoon off of the character. They need to penetrate through to the consumer that falls in love with puppies, the type that make the creators of Spongebob Squarepants millionaires.

It's a tough nut to crack, thus why I feel that MS won't go the distance to break that permafrost layer that seperates that market from the industry.