Microsoft is reportedly planning to release a new Xbox console packaged with Project Natal in autumn 2010.
1UP suggests that the new console will be a slight upgrade of the Xbox 360, featuring similar hardware but able to support better looking and performing games, in addition to current Xbox 360 titles. Said to be targeted at a mainstream audience, it will be repackaged, rebranded and come with Project Natal as standard.
“Make no mistake, we wouldn't be talking about the sort of hardware leap we've seen with Xbox (or most other) platforms in the past, and we're not talking about Microsoft ending one console cycle and starting another,” says the report, which the site clearly labels as rumour for the time being.
“It's likely that all future hardware will be more iterative than substantive," it adds. "The distinction between new consoles will become far less marked - similar to what we've seen in the handheld space, such as with the transitions from the Game Boy to the Game Boy Advance, the DS to the DSi, or the PSP to the PSP Go.”
The report suggests that publishers will be able to support owners of both the Xbox 360 and the new console without difficulty, and that the new system will likely be unveiled at next year's Game Developers Conference.
Last week Shane Kim, Microsoft's corporate vice president for the Xbox platform, said that, “conceptually, the launch of Natal will be like the launch of Xbox 360. It's going to be that big.” He added that Microsoft is hoping to capture the non videogame playing market with Natal.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Edge today that the company doesn't comment on "rumour and speculation."