Microsoft says it's standing by its previously announced "holiday" launch window for next-generation motion controller Project Natal, despite rumors of an October release.
Word of a possible early launch spread Monday after Gamertag Radio posted video of a Saudi TV interview with a Microsoft vendor. "Project Natal will be launched in Saudi Arabia on the same [garbled] that it will be launched in the world," Syed Bilal Tariq says in the video. "That is going to be sometime in October."
But in a Tuesday phone conversation with Wired.com, a Microsoft spokeswoman dismissed Tariq's claims, reiterating the company's previous statement from corporate PR group manager David Dennis. "As we confirmed earlier this year, Project Natal will launch this holiday," the e-mailed statement reads. "We have no further details to share at this time."
Project Natal, first demonstrated at last year's E3 videogame conference, is the code name for Microsoft's intriguing system that lets users control an Xbox 360 through gestures and spoken commands. Powered by an add-on peripheral with twin cameras and a microphone, Natal packs the potential to transform the way players interact with games.
Though Tariq is identified as a Microsoft employee in Gamertag's video clip, the Microsoft rep said the source's relationship with the company isn't quite so cozy. "He's a vendor," the spokeswoman said.
Such a relationship could mean Tariq is privy to Microsoft's launch plans for Natal. But it's unlikely the company will have much more to say about Project Natal, despite this supposed leak: Microsoft plans to officially unveil Natal a little over a month from now at the E3 conference in Los Angeles.
Video: Microsoft confirms October worldwide launch for Project Natal [Gamertag Radio]
Image courtesy Microsoft
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