According to Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft’s new Project Natal should have a life span of about 5 years –
“The richness of the technology is going to really enable experiences that never had existed before. And we’re not just speaking about what we’re doing this year, but I think two, three, four, five years from now as this evolves.”
I actually think this is a sign that current gen consoles will also last for about 5-6 years, unless of course Microsoft releases a new Xbox in lets say 3 years, and Natal will work with it, but i doubt that.
So this is actually a good thing, i think current gen consoles are great, and theres not need to move on to the next gen yet, 5 years seems reasonable.
Greenberg also stated that Natal is still on the codename of the product and that the full name will be revealed at E3 this year.
Natal is expected to be released this holiday season.