So the big question now about Natal (which is known as Kinect) is how much is it going to cost? Right now, Microsoft does not seem to have an answer to this question for us. Let’s review quickly what we do know about Kinect.

We do know that it will arrive on retailer shelves on November 4th. Microsoft claims that 15 titles will be available for Kinect in November to support the launch of the device. Microsoft did get specific as to which 15 titles would arrive in November to support the launch of the device, but our sources tell us that some changes could happen between now and launch day. We can make some guesses, but beyond Kinect Sports we have to think that much of what we have seen is still up in the air as far as making the November release.

As for the pricing, Microsoft has maybe done more harm than good by not announcing the pricing and allowing speculation to run rampant. Our sources are again whispering to us that (barring some sort of intervention from on high at Microsoft to start out by losing money on every Kinect unit sold) the price will come in at $149 to start with. (Retailer GameStop seems to support this $149 price as they are now accepting pre-orders at this price!)

This is not good news for publishers, developers, and consumers who were hoping for a price point that was less than $100 and closer to $75. There is no news yet on whether Microsoft plans to bundle some sort of pack-in title with Kinect, but we would not doubt that they are at least thinking about it.

Are we excited about Kinect after seeing all of what Microsoft has shown so far? Well, the best way to word it might be that “we are not as excited as we could have been, and we are more excited about the new slim revision of the Xbox 360 instead.”  Analysts that we have spoken with agreed with our assessment that Kinect needs more compelling software to make it more appealing, and that will be especially important if the $149 price point sticks.