Slim Xbox 360 Natal bundle predicted

Microsoft will launch a new hardware bundle containing an Xbox 360 Slim console, the motion-sensing Natal camera and a 250GB hard drive before the end of the year, so says industry analyst Michael Pachter.

Furthermore, Pachter believes that the price of SKU could end up being even lower if PS3 goes on to have the strong year that many are predicting.

At a minimum, we anticipate the introduction of a more feature-packed Xbox 360 as the standard SKU in late 2010 (likely with a 250GB hard drive) at the same $299 price point,” Pachter told investors.

It is far more likely that we will see a slim version of the Xbox 360 with a 250 GB hard drive and with Project Natal bundled into the box while maintaining the $299 price point, especially if Sony does not lower the price of the PS3 by the time Natal and Sony’s Move controllers launch in the fall.

We think that Microsoft will cut price before the fall only if it begins to lose significant market share to Sony.”