Report - Microsoft racer Joy Ride to launch with Natal

Microsoft's arcade racer Joy Ride is being reported as a Natal launch title by a retail source close to CVG.

According to the retailer, it is to be made available for Natal at launch later in the year, but pricing as yet to be determined.

"The hope for us is that it will be a boxed release - we're still in the dark on that one - but it's definitely for Natal and will definitely be here for launch," the source said.

"We've been told it will no longer be free to play, but that it's been completely reworked into a bigger, richer game than before. They're putting the final touches to it now. The biggest thing for us is that it just works with Natal's racing controls. We're reliably informed it's very intuitive."

The source also implied that it will be revealed during the Natal event on June 13.

The game is currently in development at BigPark, which was acquired by Microsoft last May, which debuted the Avatar racer at E3 the following month.

It was announced at the event that it would be
a free download, but you would have to purchase cars and tracks.

Originally slated for release in 2009, Microsoft told CVG that instead it planned to "bring BigPark's vision to life in 2010", but that there was "nothing further to announce at this time".

Guess we'll find out in a fee days, we reckon. Until then, check out the video of it from E3 2009.