Project Natal Confirmed For 2H 2010 By Game Publisher

A launch in the second half of 2010 for Microsoft's Project Natal looks even more likely, as THQ CEO Brian Farrell inadvertently confirmed the launch schedule during his company's recent earnings call.  Asked about market changes in the upcoming cycle, Farrell told investors "With respect to the cycle itself, if you look at what's happening in the industry, the fact that we have for example, Natal from Microsoft, a platform addition coming late next year."

The apparent confirmation comes a week after hardware supplier leaks dated the motion-tracking gaming system to the same six-month launch period in the latter-half of next year.  Then, Aptina were tipped to exclusively provide the 1.3-megapixel image sensors used as part of Project Natal's hardware; the rumors also suggested that the system would be part of a new Xbox platform, rather than merely a peripheral.

On that, Farrell had nothing to say, and Microsoft have distanced themselves from such speculation.  Steve Ballmer, company CEO, was quoted – and subsequently corrected – as saying the "new Xbox 360" would be on shelves in 2010 in an interview last month.

Microsoft Project Natal demonstration:

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[Thanks Toby!]