An executive from Microsoft games division named Shane Kim believes the Xbox 360 will be around until 2015 giving the system a 10 year life span. Rumors have been floating around about how the current gen of consoles will not be replaced anytime soon. Which is a good thing indeed, but until 2015? We will see about that at the next E3. If there are no talks about new hardware, the Xbox 360 will have at least a 6+ years old in 2011.

No matter what happens in the near future, the 360 will have a longer run than MS’ first console system. It seems Microsoft is hoping Project Natal and the new motion tech will increase the console’s life span until 2015. If the project bombs, maybe we will see the Xbox 720 much sooner than that.

Project COE was concerned if Microsoft would be jumping the gun again, by releasing the Xbox 360′s successor before Nintendo and Sony to gain an early lead etc.  But, with this new information, we might not have anything to worry about.  Here are a small quote from the interview with Shane Kim. Click on the link for the full interview with VentureBeat.

VB: Can you think about postponing the next-generation console launch if you introduce something big in mid-cycle like Project Natal?

SK: We firmly believe that the Xbox 360 has a life cycle through 2015 (10 years after the launch). Project Natal is a great innovation. It will work with every Xbox 360 sold. It’s not about pushing more pixels on the screen. It’s about how to break down barriers that stop people from playing games.

Source: Venture Beat