We’ve all heard of the upcoming addition to the Xbox 360 that was announced at E3, Project Natal, that will be adding motion control without an actual controller. Well, 1UP.com is reporting that Microsoft’s Project Natal will actually be a new console launch, due Fall 2010. Yes sir, a brand new Xbox console is coming out!

“Microsoft will not only release Natal as an add-on for the Xbox 360, it will come standard with the next Xbox console,” 1UP writes. “Yes, there will be a new Xbox console next fall.”

But don’t get it twisted. This new console won’t be a whole new leap to another console generation, but more of a slight upgrade.

“However, the new console won’t just be an Xbox 360 with a camera, though — we’ve heard it will be considered a new platform and carry a new name (Xbox Natal?). It’s not clear what sort of upgrades we might see, but some have suggested it will be an slight upgrade of the current Xbox 360 technology.”

So, if 1UP sources are correct, we can expect a new Xbox console next year that will be a slighlty upgraded 360, with the Project Natal camera with it. I guess you can look it at like what Nintendo did, essentially taking the GameCube hardware and adding motion controls and slapping the Wii name on it.

1UP is believes that we will hear about the new Xbox console at next year’s Game Developer’s Conference, where it will be unveiled and a target release date of Fall 2010 will be announced.

Tags: Microsoft, new microsoft console, new xbox 360, new xbox console, Project Natal, xbox natal

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1 Comment » greeneggsnsam on June 13, 2009 6:38 pm Makes sense. The Xbox has been labelled a gamer's console and Microsoft aren't happy with that. the only way to steal Nintendo's customers is to rebrand it so the frat-boy connotations go away. RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.