Home, imo, was hyped up alot and people thought (and still do) that the feature had/has endless possibilities etc. That Sony would be albe to screen exclusive videos within home. That one would be able to download exclusive stuff and the interaction with other gamers and the quick launch of games from within home would seriously dethrone XBL once and for all.

And i see that with NATAL right now. Alot of people thinking that this is the "Wii killer" (though not using those exact words), and that they will be able to do just about anything with this product. And im just not sure that the final product will live up to what people think this product will deliver (i.e home). And thereby it automaticly fails.

you win. your second paragraph reflects my thoughts exactly.

I don't remember Home being featured on LATE NIGHT SHOWS and morning tv. The press is in love with this, they can carry it, trust me.

Hype is Hype.. no matter whats the venue. And you're right, media can carry stuff. Im just not sure the consumer will be happy with the end product once it goes live.

Just look at the latest threads under MS. Stuff like:
- Halo Reach and NATAL. Take control of the FPS shooter with your own body.
- Naruto and NATAL. Become a in game ninja and use hand signals.
- NATAL will be as big as the 360 itself.
- NATAL is the new XBOX720 and will completly transform the way ppl view the 360.
- RTS games and NATAL with you calling in (voice recognition) your army and its attack patterns.

..etc.

This is almost bound to fail. And imagine the complications of playing games like most think NATAL will help them do. The Hype has set very high standards for what this product will deliver, that its near impossible for it to succeed.

its bound to fail. becasue it is an add on.

pack it in with a new console and it will have a chance

If anyone can turn it into a major event it's Microsoft. If it delivers mostly as promised and at a reasonable price it should be a success.

I expect it depends on whether consumers end up seeing it as the next Wiimote or the next Eyetoy ... Microsoft does have some ability to control this, but for the most part it is out of their hands.

I see and understand your points.  But there is something that you made very clear in your comments that differentiates the two very much.  All the features of home that you mention there are for gamers.  There is nothing there that would really excite people that aren't already into games.  Project Natal is aimed at gamers and non-gamers (just like the Wii was), thus the gaming and non-gaming (with some skeptism) media is excited about it. 

The Nintendo Revolution saw the same excitement once it was publically demonstrated, so this is not something to minimize just because it is Microsoft.  IF (and that's a big 'if') they can put together compelling software that casuals and new gamers can enjoy and other software that can get the core gamers excited, then they will be in a good position to capitalize off of this early hype.

NATAL matches what Microsoft, IBM, and other companies have done. You release a demo, or do a press release, that hints at something better than your nearest rival who is ahead of you, in hopes of stealing the buzz they have. It doesn't matter if your finished product ever comes out, just that the bloom goes off your rival that is leading.

@ richardhutnik

Thats acutally a smart way of capitalizing on the hype im talking about. From a consumer perspective this is obviously not a good thing, but as you mentioned, MS can actually benefit from this hype without really doing anything than just outshine the competition of which MS wish to steal some thunder from. Good point.