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Natal likely priced at less than $80

by on22 February 2010

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May go for as little as $50 to increase sales

One of the biggest questions about Natal has been how much Microsoft will sell the add-on for. This pricing will be a pivotal decision for Microsoft. If it is priced too high, then the adoption rate could be lower than expected, leading to a lack of support from the software developer over the long haul. Our sources indicate that this is already a hot topic around Microsoft these days and Natal is still quite a ways off from being released.

Of course, the rumor mill already has tongues wagging trying to out-think what Natal will actually cost and how much Microsoft is willing to perhaps lose up front to increase software sales. As most already know, many times hardware is sold at a loss or near cost and the difference is made up on software sales.

It seems that the latest whispers indicate that the sale price will be $80 or less. Some sources suggest that Microsoft might be willing to let Natal go for as little as $50 to increase the adoption rate of the device. With pricing in this range, it is suspected that the cost to have it built for Microsoft will be in between the $50 to $80 range, meaning the potential is there for the company to lose a little bit on every one sold to start with.

Driving the actual cost down of the Natal hardware seems to be Mission One these days; and that explains some of the hardware decisions that are being made, according to our sources. If it is possible to do it in software, rather than having to use hardware to do it, Microsoft is reported to be looking at it. Anything that can be done to drive the actual cost down for the Natal hardware does not seem to be off the table at this point.

While no one really knows what it will cost yet, we do believe that the closer that Microsoft is able to get the price to the $50 price point the higher the sales will be for the holiday season. Of course, you have to have a good number of software titles that will support the use of Natal and the quality of the software will, of course, play a significant role in determining how many existing Xbox 360 owners will view Natal as a must have add-on for the holiday season. The goal isn’t to get rich selling Natal; the end game will be selling the Natal experience with the right kind of software.

Last modified on 23 February 2010
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