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Project Natal Pricing and Release Date Revealed
tekgoblin writes "According to Edge-online.com, their source says that we can expect Microsoft's Project Natal to cost around $149. 'The figure for the standalone unit is significantly higher than a previous sub-£50 estimate, but less than pricing recently suggested by European retailers. It’s also more expensive than Sony’s Natal rival, Move, which will be available later this year with a game for less than $100.'"
I didn't believe this bit Microsoft's Project Natal to cost around $149. 'The figure for the standalone unit is significantly higher than a previous sub-£50 estimate, then I looked up the history of UK currency. Gee the pound has gone down. Look at the history since late 2007.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
not (as it might have been, for all I knew) a new compiler, for example.
Slashdot summaries have this annoying habbit of assuming that because the author is thoroughly familiar with the technology, everyone else is too and you can just reel of project names with no further explaination.
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FTFA: Natal will launch in the US this October with a price tag of $149.
That’s according to a trusted source, who told us that the motion sensing camera will also be bundled with the Xbox 360 Arcade console for $299. ... So, $150 standalone, or free with a $300 console? (Since that's already the price of the Arcade console anyhow!) I seriously doubt that.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
This pretty much sums it up:
http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live/projectnatal/
Basically body mapping with face recognition. Quite sweet, but the devil is going to be in the software written for it and unlike the Wii, it isn't part of the 'base' system, so software that is written for Natal will have a smaller user base and will probably cost more.
xbox - $199
xbox-live - $50
game - $60
game-pack - $15
controller - $50
(pre)natal - $150
This is why I only play chess. Chess is always the latest version, and you can't get fucked pricing. There use to be a time where almost every game was amazing( Think Dreamcast. Powerstone 2 anyone? ) and it wouldn't hurt your wallet too much if the damn thing were to stop working.
The headline suggests that the price and release date were revealed. The body says "JUST KIDDING! Actually, it's just another rumour about price and release info!".
Slashdot's gaming coverage has never been top shelf, but it'd be good if editors could at least avoid obvious failures like this one.
The Xbox 360 Arcade is $199 with two games.
This is the same source that (accurately) tipped them off about Gears of War 3. Edge has a history of only running very robust leaks. They broke news of a clamshell, rechargable, light-up GBA several months before the GBA SP was revealed.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
The leak is regarding the US launch price.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
A camera? In your house? Connected to a computer not controlled by the owner? That can do individual facial recognition? No fucking way.
This is going to be a massive hit with the "privacy, that's for squares who don't use facebook" crowd, though.
Car analogies break down.
From the article regarding the European retailers' rumoured price tag:
At least three Swedish retailers – including Game - have attached a 1,499 Swedish Kronor ($197 / £133) price tag to the standalone version of the Xbox 360 product, reports Kotaku.
With the current follow up from TFA:
The figure for the standalone unit is significantly higher than a previous sub-£50 estimate, but less than pricing recently suggested by European retailers.
So, I'm gonna throw it out there and suggest that none of these people are close to journalists. If they were, they would know that these products are often a lot more price-y in Europe than in the United States. Add to that, Scandinavia has the highest cost of living in the world on average. So that would make sense for the Natal to cost $197 in Sweden.
So how in the hell did anyone think that the price tag of this product in Sweden would have anything to do with its price tag in say... the United States? If this is the journalism rising in the place of newspapers, then I want print back!
Clicked pie.
I'll wait for the second or third iteration. Never buy a Microsoft product at version 1, nobody here could probably forgotten that, right?
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
But the summary on slashdot says that it's cheaper then last rumor,that was a UK price.
So the reason for his post was that the first rumor might not be wrong
The previously-leaked pricing has nothing to do with the estimate they're reporting. They're mentioning it because it's background for the article. Journalists often report the background on a story when writing an article to provide context for the particular news item they are reporting. While this may be a mind-blowing novelty for you, it's actually a component of the journalistic style which has been around for quite some time.
Edge is a print magazine which has been running since the early 1990s.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
I can't wait to see what launch titles they have with this. I hope it brings over some wii exclusives. I'm super pumped for this, and can't wait to see it stomp Sony into the ground.
Microsoft took the worst "motion controller" concept and priced it outrageously. This thing is going to bomb. I don't know a single gamer who's excited about it. How can you play shooters without triggers?
Hmmm.. did i waste a perfectly good rant?
oh well, felt good to get some of that bile out..
Sounds about right.
Wanna buy a shirt?
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Is that the $149 will be good for all users of natal's functionalty WHile multiple players for the wii or the ps3 move may require multiple hardware purchases. Once you start pricing out 2-4 players playing simultaneously, then the prices aren't that different.
If people will buy a ShakeWeight for $19.99...they will definitely buy this for $150. It's also incredible technology and will revolutionize the gaming-based home fitness market. For those of you who understand such things, it uses real-time structure light 3D tracking. This is NOT ordinary camera tracking. It relying on a projection of light to enhance the 3D tracking capabilities. This allows it to, for example, track a white sphere on a white background...an ordinary camera can't do that. For people bitching about buttons, there is no reason you can't incorporate a cheap button controller into this. You still have the normal controllers too. I see games where you switch between controllers and motion sensing on the fly for various purposes. This is the holy grail people...full body motion sensing for relatively little money. Of course, all bets are off it the shit doesn't work as advertised.
Now, what happens if we combine Natal and Move? Oh shit...what will the fanboys do then? There's no reason it can't and won't happen about 2 days after the release.
A rant about Microsoft is never a wasted rant.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
unlike the Wii, it isn't part of the 'base' system, so software that is written for Natal will have a smaller user base and will probably cost more.
Microsoft will make Xbox 360 + Natal bundles available, so yes, there will be a base system that includes Natal. But unlike from GameCube to Wii, Microsoft will make available a comparatively cheap upgrade path from Xbox 360 to Xbox 360 + Natal.
Chess is always the latest version
Not necessarily. Have you upgraded to Chessbox 960 yet? It even has expansions for it.
Instead of concentrating on the next generation of consoles, MS and Sony are foolishly breaking the traditional 5-year console lifespan rule (sacrosanct since the Atari days) and have instead decided to go chase after the Wii motion controllers fad. Now, even as the Wii fad fades, they're stuck with controllers that no one is particularly excited by (everyone who wanted them already bought a Wii, and most have long since become bored with them). Meanwhile, they've got no next generation consoles in the pipeline, even as consoles show their age more and more every day and hit the very real limits of their 5-year-old technology. Tthe 360 is already having to release games like Mass Effect 2 on multiple discs because they can't support blu-ray discs. And neither console is likely to be able to fully support the rapidly approaching 3-D fad, or MMORPG's, or full 1080p content (most games have to be covertly downsized to 720 to make up for limitations in the 360's and PS3's old CPU/GPU). This may prove a blessing for PC gaming, but is a mess for the console makers.
They should have respected the 5-year rule. It stood even through previous recessions and the console collapse of the early 80's.
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At that kind of striking distance, I can see the possibility of a Wii price drop to $150 for epic marketing potential. Why pay $150 for just the motion controller when you can get a whole motion-controlled console for the same price?
I'm not saying Nintendo will necessarily drop the price in response to Natal, or even if it should. But the price will come down eventually -console prices always do- and when that happens, expect marketing like this.
The more serious gamers who play 360 and PS3 dont give much of a damn about motion sensing gimmicks. Hell, I was unmoved when they added DualShock to the PS3 pads, just a waste of battey.
The more casual gamers who would get the "Wow!" factor probably already own a Wii by now.
The problem Natal has (and Sony's Move) is that the vast majority of 360 and PS3 owners will not have it. It didn't come with the system originally and many aren't going to be willing to pay $100 or $150 to add it. As a result the market, already smaller then the Wii, is going to be infinitesimal. Sure, 3rd parties often produce crap for the Wii, but if you think it's bad there, just wait for the 3rd party games for Natal and Move. Only the most foolhardy of game developers will put any substantial amount of money toward Natal or Move games. These add-ons shouldn't have been add-ons, rather they should start shipping all 360's and PS3s with the respective technology. You shouldn't be able to buy one without Natal/Move. Then at least all new buyers would have it. As it is, they might as well give up now.
--- What?
Not shipping with the system from the start = fail
Just like the Wii Fit and the MotionPlus.
So the Natal itself is $150, not counting the system. The Wii, on the other hand, is a full system that costs $200 new. Is this seriously how they plan to start pulling away part of the Wii userbase?
Libertarians somehow believe that private businesses should be stronger than governments but weaker than individuals.
I find it amusing how those who like to bash the Wii tend to automatically take the position of being a more "serious" or "hardcore" gamer, and dismiss the Wii as just casual gaming.
Sure, the Wii has a lot of appeal to casual gamers (and that's not a bad thing), but it has a lot of appeal to old school gamers, gaming aficionado, and gamers that recognize that you can have great games without headshots and teabagging your opponent in 1080p resolution.
I also acknowledge that there is a lot of shovelware, but every generation the best selling console is the one that gets the most shovelware. It's certainly not unique or new to this system.
There are a quite a few really great titles on the Wii (with and without wag), and if you think that there are no good third party titles then you aren't paying attention.
I have my criticisms of the Wii as well (and all the systems), but people who come off as being too "serious" of a gamer for the Wii make me roll my eyes.
For the record, I own a Wii, a 360, and a fairly beefy gaming PC. Good games are good games, regardless of what system they are on, how old or new they are, how much wag they have or don't have, or what resolution they are at.
True "serious" and "hardcore" gamers know that.
Things aren't a lot more pricey in Europe. It's because prices in the US don't include sales tax, while prices in Europe have to (well, there's an untaxed price for tax-exempt entities, but I digress).
That would translate to a roughly 33% total tax load in Sweden (import taxes plus VAT and others added together could easily amount to 30-odd percent).
Maybe people should start realizing this and that Europe isn't necessarily more expensive because it's fun to ripoff EU countries, but that you're comparing prices with tax vs. prices without tax.
Cheaper to buy natal than the wii for xbox 360 owners who don't want to change their library up. Not only that, but how many "gamers" don't already have the wii if not all 3 platforms? sort of a moot argument to make. Gamers will buy it if it is anything like the hype.
I think if we can plug the system into to any windows computer (and hopefully linux later) it would make a very nice toy to play with. Yes an expensive toy. I can see this sitting under my tv controlling an htpc with a wave of my hand. Touch screen with out the touching?
OK it is quite clear now that this will fail hard at that price point. I think they are just trying to get the pieces in place for the next gen where it will be integrated and are pushing this out the door to take the attention off the fact that we are overdue for some next gen hardware talk.
Good-bye
It didn't come with the system originally and many aren't going to be willing to pay $100 or $150 to add it...You shouldn't be able to buy one without Natal/Move. Then at least all new buyers would have it. As it is, they might as well give up now.
As if to say, "no one is going to buy another hard drive with more space" When it originally came out, without/only a 20GB drive, did it really stop anybody from getting a 60GB, 120GB or even 250GB now? I don't understand your sales/marketing logic...
I really don't believe this at all, despite what you all say, as I read in comments from the actual article...it just seems fishy and speculation also seems to confirm that this report might just be a red herring. I had speculated myself that it was probably gonna be around $120, but pleasantly surprised to hear a figure of around $80. Another thing it seems pretty funny to me that no one comprehends when they read "bundled with the Xbox 360 Arcade console for $299." My philosophy is, unless I know first-hand of something's failing points I keep mum, but there is certainly no mistaking a critic's ignorance...Final point, all the preparation and professional research in the world is nothing compared unleashing something into the hands of a few thousand evolved chimps! Time for this damned, dirty ape's lunch...
I see this a lot, but am always amazed.
Why do some people seem to think that "gamers" (whoever they really are) MUST already have all three platforms?
Why?
I've only got one of the three (won't mention which one in this post since its irrelevant for this comment).
I've got access to a larger library of games than I can play regularly and enjoy ALREADY. Yeah, I miss out on some "exclusives" from the other consoles. Oh well, I miss out on some exclusives for the console I own also.
Its the same reason I got rid of cable. Between the Over-The-Air Television, Free (and legal) Internet Options, and the occasional Series on DVD/Blu-Ray, I save 100$ a month and still have more TV than I have time to watch (if I want).
Some Gamers only have 1 console. Wether they made "the right" or "the wrong" choice, its what they've got.
If there is a way to breath new life into it with other options (like Natal and Move), then that is a good thing. In fact they'll likely like that option more because they'll view it as a "value add" for their existing console.
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Shit... I've modded up, ill have to undo my mods on this.
Hello, I am a WiiFit and Wii Motion-Plus buyer (2 motion plus in fact). For me, these two are indeed a fail.
They are only a gimmick and are not entertaining... sure, I do Wii Fit Plus once in a while but meh, it is not entertaining... also Wii Sports Plus (or whatever it is called... currenty gathering dust in my drawer) is also very gimmicky.
IF there are good games (third party usually, or first/second party with good quality) using Natal or Move technologies, it can be the "Nintendo Killer".
But of course, it all depends on THE FUCKING GAMES!!. I am curious how, now that Sony and Microsoft *finally* arrived to the next generation console gaming, how is it going to develop :)
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That's how things used to be. But look around now, the Wii fit didn't come with the Wii, yet many people got it and there are many games. Rock Band and Guitar Hero have no problem moving peripherals. All it needs is a killer app that sparks the imagination of gamers and it will take off. Can they pull it off? Who knows? 10 years ago you would have been saying Rock Band would fail.
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Seriously? You're picking Natal as an example for Slashdots habit of assuming such things? Slashdot editors are worse at assuming you know acronyms that apply to some more obscure piece of software. I don't understand how you got modded up...
The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years, radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then, as the technology became more sophisticated, the controls were made touch sensitive ... now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure of course, but meant you had to stay infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same programme.
D. Adams, The hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy. Ch. 12.
Is this what project natal will give us?
BTW, a envisionment of natal in 1993, with datagloves: Charade, remote control of objects using free hand gestures published in Communications of the ACM.
As a Swede, I see "$150" and think "1500 SEK". That's almost always the case.
Dun care how much it costs or if theres gna b any cool games for it or not, from a geek-standpoint, if natal does infact work the way shown in that video then it is one of the coolest things iv seen in a pretty long time...
If this is true, that would mean that Natal's price will contain just as much bloat as Microsoft's operating systems.
Right, but Wii Fit and MotionPlus were made for the #1 game system, only after it was far in the lead. You could have a percentage of Wii owners and still be a substantial market. Also, Nintendo is now shipping all systems with MotionPlus in the box. You can't buy a Wii without getting MotionPlus. That's not going to be the case for Move nor Natal. When you buy a new Xbox, most will not include Natal. In fact the "Premium" systems won't include it, which right there seems to be saying that Natal is not a central focus for Microsoft, that it's likely to languish and end up abandoned. Ditto for Move on the PS3, where no PS3 systems at all will include it.
Of course they could change that, but they also have to deal with being a smaller market then the Wii, thus making their motion peripheral market even smaller, and they are starting off on the wrong foot.
--- What?