Xbox 360 stratergiser Shane Kim has claimed that the launch of Microsoft’s motion detecting camera will be as big as the 360.

“Conceptually, the launch of Natal will be like the launch of Xbox 360,” he told Kotaku. “It’s going to be that big. We’re not just going to ship it when the hardware and software are ready.

“We have to make sure that there are enough content experiences that are really good. That’s similar to how you would think of the launch of a new console. It’s got to have a great launch line-up. That’s the same thing here.”

“We’re not focused on this generation’s casual gamers or even PS2 people who haven’t upgraded. This is about the 60% of households were a video game console doesn’t exist… the problem is that the controller is a barrier for some people and now with Project Natal we completely eliminate that.”

It will be launched in 2010 “at the earliest”.