14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is really going all out when it comes to Project Natal and what the concept promises to do. The motion-sensing controller has already been described as having to do with more areas than just video games, but now the company has announced one of the exact secondary areas in which Natal will operate. During the Streaming Media West show last week, Marc Whitten, the Xbox Live general manager, unveiled Natal's involvement in Television and said that the device could entirely replace remote controls, as long as the TV was linked to an Xbox 360.
"I believe that this will be the largest leap of TV experience since the remote control," Whitten said, as reported by Yahoo! Tech. "With the flick of my wrist I can change a channel. With the power of my voice I can start a movie." And this would be but the beginning.
Microsoft's new device could push the television experience to a new level of interactivity. "Laughter is an input. Yelling at the TV when I know an answer on 'Jeopardy' is an input. Attention is an input. The number of people in the room at one time is an input," he explained. Whitten also added that Project Natal could understand these reactions and make use of them to benefit the viewers.
As such, the company sees itself as very involved in the future of television, promoting the concept of less available channels, but more flexible ones. Whitten said that, "It's hard for me to think of that even in terms of a programming or channel guide. It's hard for me to think of a channel 1 billion. I imagine you'd need a really good 'up' button on the remote control." He further detailed that, "The context is not 1 billion channels, but one. One channel, with what I want, when I want it."
It seems that, if Microsoft has its way, after taking over most of our computers, the company plans to flood our television sets as well. In no time at all might we even end up eating Micro-snacks, home-ordered through Project Natal's interpretation of our growling stomachs.