If it has its own CPU, memory, and the special high speed data cable then Natal will be pretty expensive.

I think the processor in the camera is to process the real time images taken from the camera and translating it into digital instructions, that is a lot of data to be processed, it needs to keep up with your real time motions, at least decently high fps, lots of pictures to be parsed.

Its silly to think the main machine can offload processing of graphics or other assets onto the camera, simply due to the latency, not to mention queue and availability issues. The xbox kernel would have to process a lot more info just to decide what goes where and how to piece them back together on top of all the action on screen and all camera captures. And what if the camera was broken, will the once pretty game turn into a mess, and what about people that don't own it?

As for "new platform", Natal (hardware) is a new platform for new software, its how these guys talk.

Natal is really skynet

Get Natal for only 199$, if you want optional 1080p@60Fps in games. It`s the only way.

Though, if Natal will cost 99$, then i think every x360 owner will upgrade to it.
In this case, in 2011 we are going to see not only just 1080p@60Fps but instead improved textures and other stuff(in exclusives).

But, what about 6GB DVD space limit?

It'll be MAX 99$. Might even go as low as 49$, if MS are seriously serious about getting this thing out to the public.

Exactly, thats the flaw in his theory what are they going to do about the DVD space limit. 

(~50% adoption) 20 million * $150 loss per unit (approx $199.99 cost-of-goods)== 3 billion USD lost.

(~50% adoption) 20 million * $50 loss per unit (approx $99.99 cost-of-goods) == 1 billion USD lost.

I don't think it'll be $49.99..

New 360 design and Natal...cloud processing? Awesome!!! lol
BTW, leaked pricing for UK was around $84.93 (American) Hopefully this is true!

Where did you get the cost of this being $200?

I gave two examples, only one of which had the cost at $200.  I gave what I felt what was a "low end" and a "high end" cost, to illustrate that losses per unit, if you sell a bunch, are bad, bad news, at almost any level.

At even $10 lost per unit, and if MS is only going for ~25% adoption (which is about 10m by the time Natal launches), that's still a $100M loss.  I'm trying to dispel the silly idea that Natal will be sold at a loss, in order to make it a major factor in the 360 envrionment.  It can't be, really, unless the proceeds from the software are going to be *really* lucrative.

With a devoted processor fast enough to process a high-rez stereo image and a depth image at 60 Hz, a depth camera (which are freaking expensive, today), memory, etc., Natal is going to be expensive.  There's no getting around it.  A 3 GHz Pentium IV can process a single 8-bit 640x480 image for edge data at about 180 Hz, in a certain academic app I won't name.  Even if we say the Natal is based only upon standard edge detection algorithms, and doesn't do anything "special" (like face detection, which is outrageously expensive, or recognition of more than about two hands at once), that's basically a full 3 GHz CPU, plus a good 8 megs of fast, fast memory.  Sure they could create custom, specialized (read: more expensive) processing components to do this... but then they aren't going to be mass-produced and they just aren't going to be cheap, especially when combined with the camera costs.  

$50 won't cut it -- especially not with the US economy as it is, and will be in 2010.  It'll cost at least $80, if not $100 or more, and it won't be sold for a loss.  No matter how cool Natal actually turns out to be... it won't be cheap.