With all of the rumors surrounding Project Natal being released for $150 I have heard many arguments on both sides.  What seems to stand out the most is the attach rate that this product is going to be able to obtain.  After hearing this price, I really thought about the prospect of paying this for this add-on.  While everything about the device is pretty much rumor and speculation at this point, it really does beg the question of what apps and games are going to motivate the mass market to pick this up, much less the hardcore following that is not looking for another Wii Sports retread.  I am still a bit confused by the message that MS is trying to put out there with this product, and I am still not convinced that it is going to be able to really make a dent in the user base. 
 
The main problem that has been brought up by several people, and it is the most glaring one that I can see, is that developers - 3rd party that is - are not going to invest a great deal of money into a product for a peripheral that is only in a fraction of the households.  This has been the problem with all add-ons after launch.  In what should have been a slam-dunk for Nintendo, the Motion Plus add-on is in several million households, but there are only two games that were built around this.  The reason seems that the studios do not want to prevent a large part of Wii owners from being able to play the game, and making two different versions is simply not practical.  In the end, all you get is a muddied version for the add-on. 
 
Herein lies the same problem for MS, and I am wondering if they really think that this is going to be able to extend the life cycle of the console.  By all accounts, this is exactly what it seems like they are trying to do, and I am not sure if it is going to be able to make any noticeable effect.  If the price-point is real, it really seems like Natal is DOA.  I am all for having an open mind for what they will present in their MTV showcase, but I am not convinced that they are going to show much beyond mini-game collections and interface additions to the XBOX NXE.  While the idea of swiping your arms to move around the UI is intriguing, and the thought of voice recognition is neat, it is simply a novelty that will quickly pass. 
 
It will be interesting to see what MS does, and to see if they really are believing in all of the hyperbole that they have been putting out to the public so far.  In the end, I am not sure if games really need to get rid of the controller, and for Natal this really is a problem if the mass majority of gamers feel the same way.  These are, after all, the people that buy 95% of the games that are sold.   While the casual audience may be appealing, the reality is that history with the Wii has shown that very few games are purchased after Wii Sports and a couple of 1st party Nintendo titles, if any.