14 DAY TRIAL // Video game hardware developer and video game publisher Microsoft seems to be always interested in finding new uses for its Kinect motion tracking system and a new trademark, called NUADS, seems to be aimed at delivering a new kind of advertising to gamers via the hardware.
The description for the new trademark talks about “Advertising services, namely, promoting and marketing the goods and services of others through online interactive video games by enabling consumers to interact with third-party advertising content through voice or body gestures via computer game console and sensor devices.”
It's not clear whether Microsoft wants those who use Kinect to simply experience interactive ads by using voice commands and motions of their body or whether the company will encourage advertisers to create entirely new ads that have a built-in gameplay element designed to attract attention by engaging possible customers.
A few years ago, Microsoft seemed to be really interested in the potential of in-game advertising, even going so far as to buy a whole company that specialized in such services, called Massive.
The division was shut down late in 2010, despite Microsoft spending a few hundred million dollars on it, mainly because the in-game advertising market proved to be smaller than originally expected.
Kinect might be more engrossing as an advertising device because it encourages gamers to immerse themselves in the experience, be it game or commercial.
Kinect has so far managed to perform better than Microsoft expected, selling 10 million hardware packages and the same number of video games that use it.
At the E3 2011 press conference, the company also said that Kinect would be getting a new interface in the coming months, allowing gamers to use voice control for more of the Xbox 360 services and features.
It will also be used in all upcoming first party games for the platform.