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E3 2009: Shane Kim: Natal extended Xbox 360 life through 2015

Posted Jun 4, 2009 at 6:19AM EST by Mabie A.

Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: e3, industry news, Microsoft, Shane Kim
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Microsoft at E3 2009 - Image 1 


Because of Project Natal, the Xbox 360's lifecycle has just been booked solid through 2015, or 10 years after its initial launch. This is what Microsoft executive Shane Kim asserts in an interview, after their successful E3 2009 presentation.

Said Kim,

We firmly believe that the Xbox 360 has a life cycle through 2015. Project Natal is a great innovation. It will work with every Xbox 360 sold. It's not about pushing more pixels on the screen. It's about how to break down barriers that stop people from playing games.


As to their performance in their conference on the first day of this year's E3 event, Kim is a firm-believer that they won, thanks to their games portfolio, and of course, Natal.

It's not just me saying that. It's pretty universal. We had something very special [on their presentation], starting with the games portfolio. We had a lot of content for a normal E3 briefing. But Project Natal doesn't come along every year, and it is very difficult to match.


You can check out the rest of the interview, which focuses on the birth of Natal, after the jump.



Related Microsoft Articles:


Via Venture Beat



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Comments 


 
# I hope not...Echo307 2009-06-04 07:42
I have to disagree with this... I don't think Natal extended the life of the 360, I mean it's already nearing it's graphical/gameplay peak (Forza 3 coming on 2 discs is a direct sign of that), whereas the PS3 still has room to grow because of it's programming difficulty. If MS really tries to extend the 360's life to 10 years without putting out another console, I think they take a huge risk of losing some of the hardcore crowd to the PS3, who will still be making graphical/gameplay strides forward for at least another 2-4 years.

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# ...Silver-Tiger 2009-06-04 08:48
I completely agree with everything you said.

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# ...Shatterdome 2009-06-04 08:48
I am sure they will come out with a "next-gen" xbox in the next couple years. I think they are just going to keep the 360 around like Sony has kept the PS2 around....

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# KindaChaosZero112 2009-06-04 08:50
The PS3's graphics have been pushed already. And gameplay + Natal (you can't have much more gameplay than using your body lol).



Just because the lifespan is until 2015, doesn't mean a new console can't come out in 2012.

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# HmmmMaster Chef 2009-06-04 10:19
I agree with ChaosZero, I think Shane means they'll keep the 360 on the market and support it until 2015. Which is all Shane really said, he didn't say they won't release a new console soon, just that 360's "life span" will continue thru 2015



New Xbox will drop in 2012, count on it

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# @Master ChefEcho307 2009-06-04 11:28
I hope you're right... I want this console war to stay as close as it can... the closer it stays, the harder both companies are going to try to gain any sort of an edge... and that's better for all of us gamers, regardless of which side you chose.

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# In response to Echo307 postDiablith 2009-06-04 11:46
I'll have to disagree about the fact the 360 has already hit its graphical peak. I mean look at the PS2, sure it's not the main platform of this generation, but the games that still come out on it still look WAY better than the games from even a year ago.



It is not a bad thing for developers to master a system. It's the best thing that could ever happen to a game. So when the developers have mastered the system that means they can only improve. Both systems have crippling set backs. 360: DVD's and Failure Rate. PS3 may not have a RROD problem (there is the Yellow Light Of Death, but no where near as bad as RROD). PS3: Blu-ray (Blu-ray does have a mass amount of storage, but the drive reads slow which is why a lot of games require installs), and RAM. The Xbox uses a unified RAM structure of 512MB of RAM . so if the System (CPU) only needs 100MBs, the GPU and take and use all of the 412MBs. The PS3 has a TOTAL of 512MB of RAM. 256MB for the CPU and 256MB for the GPU. Those amounts of RAM allocated to those chipsets are all they'll get. They can't dip over. So for Xbox developers must work about the DVD. For the PS3- the RAM is the work around. Neither of them are perfect and they're quite actually on par with each other in terms of power (with some differences and minor advantages and disadvantages on both sides). If people would actually read up on these things you'd realize these things.

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# @ DiablithEcho307 2009-06-04 13:11
I'm well aware of the technical specs of both consoles, so don't fault me for not knowing something without giving me a chance to respond and tell you I do.



When I talk about graphical progression, I'm talking real progression, not tiny details here and there. Look at the games that came out within the first year of 360's launch... games like Halo 3, COD2, Perfect Dark, PGR 3, etc.. Now look at the games we're seeing after 3.5 years... Gears 2, Forza 3, etc.. These newer games look hands down better than the titles of 3 years ago. I'm just saying we're not going to see the 360 make another jump like that in the next 3 years. Yes, devs will figure out how to squeeze a little extra here and there, but we're not going to have another major jump in the 360's life cycle, IMO.



Sony on the other hand made their console a pain in the ass to program for (or so the devs say), so I think it's very possible that we see another big jump in graphical push before it's all said and done with. I own a PS2, and I have since within it's first year of launch, and while I rarely play it anymore, nothing that I have seen that's come out in the last year or two has been hands down better than what we saw after years 5 and 6. Little details improve, yes, major pushes to something far greater? No.



It's important you understand that I'm not bashing the 360, I'm merely stating my opinion based on the facts I've gathered and the 12+ years of console gaming experience I've had from 4 different console developers (I've owned them all). No, the 360 hasn't quite hit the graphical wall yet, but it's close.

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# ughRelys 2009-06-04 17:18
The amount of PS3 fanboys here are sickening. Disk storage has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE POWER/GRAPHIC CAPABILITIES OF THE SYSTEM. I bet half of the PS3 games are under the size of a double layer disk after you strip them down of packing. I mean, PC games still use double layer disks, and they outclass all the consoles.



I mean, the PS3 is doing as good this year so far (if not better). I just played the Infamous demo and it was great. (Plus the release of Killzone 2, and the upcoming release of Uncharted 2). But bashing on the 360's hardware is just stupid. If there's actual good software support of project natal I can see it being Microsofts next system. (Just like how Nintendo should have sold a Wiimote attachment for gamecubes instead of releasing a whole new console).



Constructive criticism only. :)

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# @ Echo307Diablith 2009-06-04 20:42
I'm sorry, I didn't mean for to sound like I was attacking you personally. I would not have any knowing of your knowledge (well I do now). I was merely stating. And I guess I misunderstood your post. But with your reply I can see what you mean.

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# ResponseEcho307 2009-06-04 22:39
@ Diablith

No worried man, just having a friendly debate:-)



@ Relys

There wasn't the slightest hint or mention of a fanboy in here for the most part until you came in... we were having a perfectly good debate without someone throwing the fanboy comment around, until you arrived...

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# natal..optimaxxx 2009-06-04 23:33
can someone pleeeaase tell me what the fuss is about?



isn't it just a camera?

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# NoEcho307 2009-06-05 12:09
No, it's 2 cameras and what sounds like some pretty awesome software to back it up. I question that it will be as fluid as their demo showed, but it looks as though it has potential. Just because it's a camera doesn't mean it's just like the eye toy (the arguement most of the PS3 fanboys are making)... that's like saying that a Poloroid camera of 10 years ago and a new Cannon HD camera are the same thing because they both have a lense...



I just wonder how long it's going to take to get to the market... it looks a little too ambitious for Microsoft, and personally I don't want to see a video of something that I'm not going to get to play until Q4 2010... which is my prediction of when it will hit the market, BTW. I think it's popularity will drop is Sony gets their motion controls to the market first (and they almost certainly will from the looks of things). Natal and PSMotion are actually 2 entirely different things, but to the untrained casual/non-gamer eye, they appear very similar.

Reply
 

 
# xbox max out?Binary 2009-06-06 20:19
I dunno about you guys but every time I buy a new release game the graphics keeps getting better.





I thought Gears of War had best graphics but 2 surpise me.



Meh I dont care its not going to make me get PS3 anytime soon

Reply
 

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