Based on this cnet article the system is confirmed as an addon for the 360

Microsoft Xbox Senior Vice President Don Mattrick did state that Project Natal would be compatible with every Xbox 360. But he didn't address how much it would cost, or whether it would be backward compatible with older Xbox 360 games. And afterward, Microsoft could not provide any additional details about the technology.

And also that SDKs are already going out:

On-stage at E3, Mattrick said that the Project Natal software development kits had just gone out. This means that while most of the video game world is in Los Angeles this week for the show, few people have had a chance to see it.

One who did get a sneak peek at Natal is Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski, the visionary behind "Gears of War."

"I had a chance to be hands-on with (Natal) a couple weeks ago," Bleszinski told CNET News, "and it was damned fun." But even Bleszinski said he hadn't gotten his hands on a SDK yet, and wasn't able to say anything about the development process.

I think you'll find this is far more real and possible than you have necessarily thought before.

I don't doubt there'll be annoyances and quirks with it, but by and large, I certainly, certainly welcome this as a direction to head in

I created a newer, less-buggy, more secure version a few weeks back or so, and as soon as Lucky gets that new one implemented (not backwards compatible) I'd like to see a new crossword puzzle, too. I think a couple of us would volunteer to make puzzles so Schmawy isn't held to that duty alone.

Though, I think people may be able to figure out my puzzles easily:

ACROSS
1. cat fart
2. cat fart
3. cat fart
6. cat fart
7. cat fart
8. cat fart
10. cat fart
13. cat fart

DOWN
1. cat fart
2. cat fart
4. cat fart
5. cat fart
7. cat fart
8. cat fart
9. cat fart
11. cat fart
12. cat fart

>> ^EMPIRE:
Well... let's count the nails in PS3's coffin:
8- Metal Gear Solid 4 is also not an exclusive anymore.
And I'm sure there are a few more I don't even remember right now.


You sure about that?

*videogames

*emo

>> ^blankfist:
I have a suggestion, too. Can it be a bit more forgiving with its backwards compatibility? I have an old PPT file that I can't open in the latest version of Power Point. Just, you know, keep it in mind for the next release.


BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA.

Seriously, though, stacking them up to at least, say a "magic 3" or even 5-ish would be nice. Automatically double the "silo-size" for donors.

I have a suggestion, too. Can it be a bit more forgiving with its backwards compatibility? I have an old PPT file that I can't open in the latest version of Power Point. Just, you know, keep it in mind for the next release.

Westy, I don't believe the concept of relativism applies to OS usability. (I assume you're talking strictly about the software capabilities and not the hardware.)

Just because each OS develops its own conventions and tools, doesn't mean they are equal. For instance, MS-DOS uses a CLI for user input, while more modern OSes use GUIs. Which is easier, typing "cd folder/myfolder/this folder" each time you want to change the directory you're browsing, or clicking "This Folder", and seeing a bunch of icons pop up? On top of that, there's certain coding restrictions that affect each OS's performance. For example, Windows requires native backwards compatibility with older versions of Windows, which makes for a huge number of quick-and-dirty fixes that end up biting Windows in the butt many many times. Mac OS X, on the other hand, uses an emulated environment to run older programs designed for Mac OS 9 and other older versions, allowing for a cleaner front-end OS. Obviously, there are going to be times when different situations make one OS more useful than another, but to say this is the case all the time is fallacious.

Or, as someone on Slashdot would say: "Windows sucks!"

Well... let's count the nails in PS3's coffin:

1- Botched "global" launch
2- Not nearly enough units to go around, even for the non-global launch.
3- 600 dollars (or euros if you're european, which makes it even more expensive).
4- So far, no game on it looks any better than it does on a Xbox 360.
5- Grand Theft Auto is no longer an exclusive in it's launch day.
6- Backwards compatibility obviously sucks ass.
7- Online service inferior to the 360.
8- Metal Gear Solid 4 is also not an exclusive anymore.

And I'm sure there are a few more I don't even remember right now.

Interesting observation about DirectX, do you have some background I can read about that?

'cause I'm planning on a nice upgrade in like two months, and if that's the case, I'm concerned.

But the way you just described that also concerns and confuses me - because the whole DirectX series seems to allow for a liberal amount of backwards compatability - hope you can elighten me... or perhaps Wiki can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX_10

Interesting - well by the time that becomes an issue it'll be time for a new gfx card for me anyway - my nVidia 5200 will soldier on a little while longer then - but I hope/assume my new mobo will do just fine.