$149.99 for (essentially) a controller? This is not a new console, it's a controller. I'm sure there are plenty of amazing ways to implement Natal in a bunch of games- really I am, but that price point... Ouch.
Think about this for a sec: Take 'Halo: Reach', which will not have Natal integration, but just for argument's sake... Take Reach and add Natal-
- Maybe you actually slap your hand against the back of the Xbox pad to load a new mag into your assault rifle
- Maybe you make a throwing motion to toss a grenade
- Maybe you lower your shoulder to barrel through some Grunts
Whatever you want to include here, it's all imagined anyway, the point is that all that stuff sounds cool right? Would (and will) Reach be cool to play with 'just a pad' too? Sure it will. And that's the problem with $149.99
If you're a traditional gamer, then you really have no need for the extra bells and whistles that Natal could bring. They'd be cool and all, but not for $149.99. I mean seriously, I like the Wii and it has a lot of great titles, but if there is an option to play with the 'chuck or classic controller- I use it.
I think Microsoft would sell a boat load of the things at $49, $59- hell even $89. I'm a pretty early adopter and even I would have trouble justifying almost double that.
Now, before I go, just to remind everybody- I'm probably getting crazy here for nothing. Remember that the speculation surrounding the iPad's price turned out to be a joke. I mean I had actually heard $1500+ at one point for the base 3G model. And we all know how that turned out.
Just food for thought.