This is my theory on the existence and possible functionality of the new motion and sound-sensing peripheral.
#1 Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer mentioned that Microsoft's plan for next year's E3 will be to discuss game's that are "further out in the future".
Why the sudden change of strategy? Microsoft usually holds out for the shock and awe moment, however this time they have a new peripheral that they need to prove their commitment to and to show that’s not just a onetime gimmick.
#2 Microsoft’s Don Mattrick saying the company’s showing this year is going to change the way people think of home entertainment “Microsoft is gearing up for a big presence at E3 which will completely transform how people think about home entertainment”.
Home entertainment is such a broad term; it might mean that the new motion and sound sensing peripheral might control other things than games. It could be flicking around our NXE menu? Telling our Xbox what movie I want to see or song I want to listen too? Or maybe I might be able to tell my 360 what to write or search for me?
#3 The thought of flickering around on my NXE brings Microsoft Surface to my mind, which is also in Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division. Here are a few quotes from the Productivity and Extended Consumer Experiences Group Vice President Tom Gibbons:
Today, E&D’s vision is anchored in delivering end-to-end hardware, software and services across different pillars of Connected Entertainment, such as music, video, communication and gaming. That’s exactly what we’re doing with Microsoft Surface.
As a new product category, we see the Surface Computing group as extending Connected Entertainment to new devices, categories and platforms.
Over time, we envision a wide range of surfaces with surface computing technology and believe that this will become pervasive both inside and outside of the home.
#4 Could Peter Molyneux use the new peripheral in his next game? Well look at how he describes his current project.
"So, this big thing that we're working on is very, very different. You could possibly see where it came from in terms of our history. But if you look at it, there's nothing like it.
Since Black&White, we’ve been thinking a lot about AI, Lionhead was founded with that thought of AI in mind. In terms of the core or the theory of the AI, we’ve moved from Black&White onto a project called Dimitri. Dimitri was always an experimental thing, which is why I never showed it."
Peter Molyneux continued: "And then it moved from that experiment to a moment in time that happened six months ago when a discovery was made, and this discovery has been so exciting that it has lead to Lionhead focussing on it and sculpting a game around that."
Do you see what I mean? Does the discovery have anything to do with the new peripheral?
This moment, this evangelical moment came to me while I was sitting in a meeting. I was sitting in a meeting looking at someone else's game from another studio, and I saw this one picture. It was just this single image of a picture. I thought, "That's it. That's exactly what it needs." And so I rushed back and said, "Right, we should do this." It was one of those, so rarely happens in your life when you see something and you know so strongly that it's the right thing. What did he do in a meeting looking at some other studios game? Was it Microsoft demonstrating the new peripheral?
He continues "If you think back to the one thing about Black & White that was most fascinating, you'd have to say it was that creature that learned behavior and seemed, for a certain glimpse, to be alive. Imagine if you could take that and multiply it by a billion"
What? Doesn’t that make the creature as smart as a human? Is the next game Black & White 3? Is the player and the creature the same person? If you like trivia then you should look up Dimitri the swiss clown.
#5 Then we have the hardware side with Microsoft’s acquisitions of 3DV and Tellme.
3DV is a company behind 3D real-time depth detection technology for digital cameras.
The controlling shareholders of Israel-based 3DV have signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the purchase of their stake in 3DV to an undisclosed company, thought to be Microsoft. It's reported that, sadly, 3DV is sacking most of its 40 staff, meaning that 3DV's intellectual property will go to Redmond and be further developed there, not in Israel.
Tellme Networks, a speech recognition maker.
There are many ways that Microsoft could incorporate Tellme's technology, ranging from its work in unifying business telephony and e-mail systems, to adding speech technology to existing software.
"We've made great strides in speech technologies, but have only scratched the surface of what is possible," Microsoft Business Division President Jeff Raikes said in a statement.
Although Tellme will become part of Raikes' business software unit, Microsoft also plans to extend the technology broadly across the company," Raikes said.
#6 Microsoft and Rare, why are you so unusually quiet about your games?
I don’t know if I am too ambitious with my theory, it’s not impossible.
What do you think?
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Shaz from Pixel Swish: "Despite its bloated open world, ridiculous number of mini-games, and questionable narrative sensibilities that can oftentimes be at odds with itself in regards to tone, there's no denying the amount of love Square Enix has injected into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. A love that, though at times can lead to unnecessary padding, manages to keep a sense of wonder."
This post is meant to inspire future articles. How?
# E3 predictions
# Lionhead’s or Rare's next projects
# Surface coming to the Xbox 360
# The real cause for the NXE
# Why Microsoft moved all 3DV work to Redmond after purchase
# Is Microsoft going to implement tellme technology on the Xbox 360:
add live search and boost messenger functionality
awesome i can't wait to play killer instinct 3 with this they said the motion sensor is full body motion you can punch kick grab duck .
I have been saying this all along the time since the Wii came out. The Wii was a good idea, but not implemented too well. It would be much better on a more capable system, that actually tracks 1:1 movement. Plus the graphics are passable, as on the Wii, they are simply atrocious, an insult to us gamers.
Nice article. The blod and non bold parts of text sometimes mix up but other than that, a pretty good read, specially the parts with Molyneux but I don't think he will go with the new peripheral. If anything, Rare will probably will be the first company to use it in a new Perfect Dark game or Viva Pinata game.
It a decent blog post, almost quasi article apart from the as stated formatting issues.