Rumor: Project Natal priced at $150; bundled with Arcade SKU for $300

So, would you spend $150 on Project Natal?
You bet! Where do I send my pre-order deposit?	1831 (13.7%)
Ugh ... no way, dude.	9783 (73.4%)
Maybe, but I'm saving up for one of them threedeeteevees first.	1722 (12.9%)

No way.

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omg

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As of right now there are 270 suckers out there willing to pay $150 for the overpriced camera.

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Even if you get Fable 3 and Natal for $150 it's still too much, and I have plenty (that's right ladies...PLENTY) of money to spare.

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I would just like to ask the nearly 300 people that are willing to pay $150 for this if they would like to invest in my remote-less gaming console...

The iPod Touch. A little more expensive, but you don't have to deal with those pesky buttons.

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That price point just sucked my interest dry. I just can't see running out to spend that much on peripheral item to a console right now.

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I bet that's a bundle price. It probably comes with a good Wii Sports-like disc that uses Natal in a bunch of ways. Better yet, what if Fable III was the bundled game? Heck yeah.

$150 might be not be the actual price, but it's a fair price. The only one's whining probably don't even own a 360. That's usual how it goes in the gamerdom.

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@ wiidsgamer

I have a 360 and I'm whining about it.

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Yep, that's how it is.

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I say no way as well, but I wouldn't buy it if it were $5. I just don't see that it has the ability to offer anything remotely interesting to me at this point. If I want to play casual games that have me flailing around like an idiot with sub-par response and control, I'll dust off my Wii.

I've yet to hear a single compelling argument for why this form of control is better than using a gamepad. Different, sure. Interesting, maybe. Better? Nope.

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So, I don't have a 360 because I don't like this items price point? Your an ass to make that assumption. There is an obvious disparity with this price and what we expected. Now, my house has 3 360s and I think I have plenty of room to complain about this price. I sure won't spend that much to outfit them all.

Idiots who slam us for complaining over inflated prices are why we still get screwed by tech companies. It's people like you that let - no, encourage them to overcharge for HD's and wireless.

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wifi adapter = $25

360 wifi adapter= $99

so $150 for a camera sounds about right for microsoft

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I was planning on getting this for around $50 or maybe even $75 but a $150? That is insane and crazy talk.

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Agreed at a buck fifty they completely missed the price point that would make it an acceptable "hobby" type purchase. Sub $100 is where I thought it would land and even something like 79.99 was pushing it for a functionality a large portion of their audience doesn't care about. OK>>>>>>>> so this is geared at the "casual" gaming audience right? So who in that audience is looking at a wii and a 360 and choosing a 360? You can get an entire console for 179.99 off of amazon. I think the peripheral division really screwed up an opportunity to expand into the wii's market.

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1079 dumbasses now .... and can I ask what games will this be playable with? Cause if its that crap where you stand up for more than 15 mins its an instant" skip"! For me though lol

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Any mild interest I had in getting Natal vanished as soon as they passed $100, and even that was dubious.

I really just don't see this thing having much utility, especially at launch. There's plenty of room for development, but the amount of real functionality it can provide seems pretty minimal. My controller works just fine, thanks.

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Hm, I guess I must not own a 360 since I wouldn't spend $150--the console itself is only $200. Sorry, little xbox that I thought I bought like 2 months after launch, you must be a figment of my imagination. The internets told me so!

I'm another one of those people who doesn't see why everything needs motion controls all of a sudden. I don't even get why damn near every wii game uses waggletech (tm) in some way. It rarely adds anything. There are games where motion controls are nice--Wii Sports, Tiger Woods, and Mario Kart all come to mind as nicely executed--but otherwise, its just kinda dumb.

Also, I can't see Natal being a Wii killer because it doesn't copy the wii's biggest draw--the pointer. Half of the wii's killer games use the pointer like crazy, because its accurate, it feels "gun-ish," and its intuitive. I'm talking Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Res Evil 4, etc. Instead, I guess we're gonna just "point" with our fingers or something I guess. Feels like I'm 5 years old again playing cops and robbers . . .

Sorry for being such a hater, just man, I can't stand "motion control fever" and how its screwed up so many promising games (why must I shake my wiimote in New Super Mario Wii? Why damn you? WHY?!)

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Hm, I guess I must not own a 360 since I wouldn't spend $150--the console itself is only $200. Sorry, little xbox that I thought I bought like 2 months after launch, you must be a figment of my imagination. The internets told me so!

I'm another one of those people who doesn't see why everything needs motion controls all of a sudden. I don't even get why damn near every wii game uses waggletech (tm) in some way. It rarely adds anything. There are games where motion controls are nice--Wii Sports, Tiger Woods, and Mario Kart all come to mind as nicely executed--but otherwise, its just kinda dumb.

Also, I can't see Natal being a Wii killer because it doesn't copy the wii's biggest draw--the pointer. Half of the wii's killer games use the pointer like crazy, because its accurate, it feels "gun-ish," and its intuitive. I'm talking Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Res Evil 4, etc. Instead, I guess we're gonna just "point" with our fingers or something I guess. Feels like I'm 5 years old again playing cops and robbers . . .

Sorry for being such a hater, just man, I can't stand "motion control fever" and how its screwed up so many promising games (why must I shake my wiimote in New Super Mario Wii? Why damn you? WHY?!)

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Tempted back when the $50 price point was flying around, but this is just too high.

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That might be their exact strategy, if you think about it. They wanted to get it out for $50, but they came to realize that was too cheap. So they want to raise the price, but everyone's set on $50 now, so they'll all complain. To counteract this, they leak that it'll cost $150, making everyone mad for a little bit, but subtly shifting expectations. Now if they announce it at $80 or $90 or something, everyone will be happy that it's at least not $150, and some of the previously $50 hardliners will subconsciously soften their stance.

Not necessarily true, but not a completely crazy theory either.

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Well, it does say this is just a rumor. Frankly, I think it's a load of crap.

I clicked on the link in Joystiq's little article to Edge.com (the place Joystiq says is reporting the $150 tag). Edge's article says, "Natal will launch in the US this October with a price tag of $149. That’s according to a trusted source..." I clicked on their "trusted source" link and all it did was take me to another news article (about Gears of War 3) on their own site. The GoW article didn't even mention Natal.

Either this is just hokum, or there's something wrong with their links.

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Yeah, 50 would have been about right. If it is 100 it goes back to "I don't have a wii yet, only 100 more for that" or "that PS Move seems more tempting" or even "time to upgrade my HDD instead". Seeing that, unless I'm wrong, it is more software/programming than hardware, $100 is way too much.

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I realize now that I put 100 instead of 150. Why would anyone but the richest of rich, who just throw money around like confetti, support it at that price?

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@aristokrat I definitely think you are on the right track. There a good chance MS is behind the leak, IMO. They may simply be trying to set a price point and gauging the reaction of $150.

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$150 is a bit steeper than I was betting on, but I'm sure I can find a decent sale before anything spectacular comes out

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Absolutely.

And between students loans and the new iPhone this summer..

$150 is pushing it.

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MS is smart, I'm sure this info "leak" was a way to gauge the reaction of the gaming world. It's always easier to price high and work down than to price low and work up (which never works, word to PSN +).

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>>MS is smart

Really now...

* Is that why their "iPod" killer is doing so well?
* Is that why their browser usage has fallen below 60% despite the fact they bundle it with their OS?
* Is that why Bing is killing Google in the search market?

Is Microsoft was smart, they would have done this with a controlled user group and not put it out to the world to get their feedback as it does not to generate goodwill. They are known for over charging on all their accessories - plain and simple.

As for a smart company, I would call Google smart for redefining search engines, the online marketing space, google phone and a ton of other innovations.

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I'd imagine $150 for Natal would be close to the price of four PS Move controllers, except as far as I know there's no limit to how many people Natal can detect.

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It's the same as the old PS3 price argument though. "The 360 only seems cheaper, but if you have to buy the wifi adapter, the hard drive, etc etc"...

I think for consumers, having a lower entry point, regardless of the cost over the long run, the lower entry point is generally going to win. Pure speculation, obviously, but that's kind of where I see the analysts siding on this one.

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$99 will get you one Move controller, one sub-controller, and a pack-in game. I'd imagine the price for both controllers separately will be comparable to the Wii's, so $60 there. That's $280 for four players right there. Plus $30 for the PS Eye.

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You guys are kidding yourselves if you think there will be 4 player simultaneous Natal games, so the four controller comparison is pretty weak (especially since 4 controllers + 4 sub-controllers exceeds that magic 7 number the PS3 can handle).

I'm betting most games, especially at launch, will be single player experiences. For both devices.

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/sits

/popcorn

This will be good.

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/takes popcorn

You're right, it was. There were a lot of unpopped kernels at the bottom though.

What do you honestly think of the device, though, as a consumer (or PS3 fanboy, doesn't matter)? Differing opinions are always interesting.

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Honestly, I think it's a great idea.

I think $150 is way, way too much for it, though. But we'll have to see what games it releases with and what they have planned for the future.

I do think, even at $150, that it will be more successful than Move, and will probably be much better supported down the line.

At this moment, my only 'want' for the device is to be able play something like Tiger Woods '11 in my living room, with my own golf clubs, and Natal being able to scan and recognize what I'm using. But... I imagine that's just a pipe dream. :)

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I now own both an Xbox 360 and a PS3, and I can tell you I had no interest in Natal ever. It just seems like an eye toy to me, even though I know it's different.

My first console this gen was the Wii because of it's initially low price point and motion controllers. This was a huge let down to me as it became overrun by family and other casual games. I'm interested in the Move because I feel it can be what I expected the Wii to be. Personally though, I don't think either Natal nor the Move will sell well at all. I would love for them to prove me wrong though.

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I have a similar hope as yours with Tiger Woods, but I want it in Rock Band with my own guitar. Or something for when I rock out on my plastic guitar, my avatar rocks out too.

Then I just have to learn how to play my strat with my teeth. And play behind my head.

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I spent $50 on the 360 Vision camera when it came out and they couldn't even get Totem Ball working. They're going to really have to bust their asses to get me to beta test this new peripheral.

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The only live tech demo they ever shown is that sorta multi-ball handball thing and the Burnout Paradise on Jimmy Fallon. So far, nothing about it's precision. I'm more sold on the PS Move with their tech demoes and precision.

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The fact is we have haven't seen anything since E3 09.

E3 2010 will be Natal's make or break point for the foreseeable future.

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The software and its capabilities will decide whether it's worth it. As you said in your article, lets wait till E£

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$100 max, if it came with a decent game that wasn't just a tech demo. $60 if it didn't.

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i agree, 60 bucks should be tyhe new price, i was going to buy NATAL but the 150 price is way too much, even for microsoft

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@ Jerry - eh?

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I'll pay $150 or $175 if they bundle it up with a 120/250 GB hard drive plus games of course. This is the reason why im holding on to my 20gb drive. waiting for e3 for MS to announce some bundle with natal. keep my finger cross.

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@Jerry - I have to admit that was pretty funny.

@ everyone else...To be honest this is about what I was expecting from a microsoft accesory. I mean I payed $100 for a usb wifi adapter from them. This will allow them to bindle it in the future with games and/or drop the price and everyone will think "it's such a good deal now."

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@ Victoryismine - And I paid sub-$70 for a Vision camera, 12 months of LIVE, 200 Microsoft Points, UNO, and Robotron 2084. IIRC, that was MSRP as well.

They can price things reasonably if they want to. Granted the Vision camera blows, but still . . .

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@Jerry

$50/year gets you the best, most integrated online console gaming experience. How is that nothing?

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@spartan

But don't forget that the second and third best are FREE.

In my opinion, you don't get what you pay for. I swore I wouldnt do another live/psn debate, but please, have you tried PSN? What is the drastic differences that you speak of that warrants and extra $50 a year?

I dare you to say cross game chat. I know I am in the minority, but I find that anyone who is that concerned with cross game chat is under 15 years old. I can see wanting to talk to my friends when playing the same game, but why in the HELL would I want to be chatting it up with my friend while he is playing another game than I? Do you guys also call each other and talk for hours before going to bed?

Maybe other than a more simplified jumping into a friends game process, I have not one single issue with PSN in comparison to live.

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@deathxrebirth

Really? You say everyone interested in it is under 15 yet you have an under 15 year olds view of friendship.

I like cross-game chat because it allows you to ignore the multitude of idiots that populate both XBL and PSN, and yes I do actually talk to my friends about games and stuff and have a laugh with them online as well as irl.

If you're into games you actually do get more from XBL than only that, do you actually have a 360? You get all the video features and the overall ease of carrying out social-based stuff e.g. invites, messages etc is easier than PSN.

PSN is good for what it is, it's relatively fast and the connections in games are perfectly adequate, but it's a bit of a shell compared to XBL. They are only at the same level if you are talking about basic functionality.

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Rumor: Project Natal priced at $150; bundled with Arcade SKU for $300

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