UPDATA: Other senior officials at Microsoft are stating that Ballmer’s comments were incorrect and that he was most likely mixing things up when speaking about Natal. They have reiterated that no new console will be coming in 2010.

What I still don’t see outlets pushing on in their follow-ups with MS is the idea that this isn’t a “new” console so much as an iteration; an enhanced Xbox 360, if you will. If anyone actually asked that specific question, I must have missed it. Eh, time will tell, right?

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1UP.com speculated not long ago that when Project Natal finally rolled into stores it would be not only as a standalone product, but also packed in with a possibly revised Xbox 360 unit. Some people scoffed and rolled their eyes, obviously forgetting the positive prognostications that came from the same site regarding PSP Go.

Looks like they may be 2-for-2 as Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, speaking at The Executive’s Club of Chicago earlier today, kinda sorta tipped the company’s hand a bit early.

Ballmer confirmed that a new Xbox 360 would be on shelves in 2010. Beyond stating that the new version of the console would sport a “natural interface” – which would include a built-in camera with voice and movement recognition – no other news was forthcoming.

That is, unless you count Ballmer’s statement that the tech was “really, really close” to completion as something new, which we really, really don’t.

Regardless, it’s interesting to see how this information made its way out into the wild – not from a trade show or press release or even from a leaked GameStop memo. Instead, we get an offhand remark during a conference about innovation during the recession. What’s this world coming to, eh? We’ll see what Microsoft has to say about this in the coming days.