Our sources tell us that despite the fact that Natal could be sold for less than $80, latency (otherwise known as lag) is an issue with Natal. From the whispers that we hear the latency, or lag, could be as much as .08 seconds to as much as .12 seconds, but more often than not, the lag hovers around .10 second average.

According to those that wish to remain nameless, the lag can be an issue for any tracking that you are expecting Natal to pick up quickly, which is leading to some development challenges. This could be an early indication that fast action titles are not going to be a fit for Natal.

While it is possible and expected that the closer that Natal gets to actual release the tracking will improve, and our sources suggest that with better software it will be possible to cut the lag down, it is doubtful that it will be able to totally be eliminated. Still, developers are working with what amounts to pre-release hardware and developmental code to control Natal and it will improve. Still, the initial perception that Natal suffers from lag issues could be a potential problem that will follow the unreleased device until both the hardware and the software are further along in the development process.