Xbox Fluid follows growing trend
Video games have come a long, long way.
Xbox Fluid is the tentative name for Microsoft’s someday-to-be-released invention, a new kind of motion-sensing video game controller. The Nintendo Wii was the first video game system to mass market motion-controlled video games.
The Wii has been so successful, it seems other companies have to keep up or shut down. Microsoft has made a definitive decision with the Xbox Fluid. If the new technology catches on, which I predict it will, Microsoft won’t be needing debt relief any time soon.
Electronic Entertainment Expo
Microsoft chose this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo today, otherwise known as E3, as the launching pad for the Xbox Fluid. At least, that’s the case according to CNN:
Industry experts say Microsoft is expected Monday to unveil new motion-tracking technology, called Xbox Fluid, that will let gamers use their bodies to act out what their characters do in a video game.
Catching up
The Nintendo Wii has changed the video game industry, attracting many gamers and non-gamers alike because of its motion-sensing controllers and nontraditional games.
Games that have nontraditional accessories instead of joystick or push-button controllers — think the guitar from “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero,” or skateboards and DJ turntables, which are expected to be part of new games — also should be popular at the show, said Brian Crecente, editor-in-chief of Kotaku.com, a video game news site.
However, the Xbox Fluid will reportedly take motion-sensing technology to a new level:
“But Xbox Fluid is expected to employ a camera that senses a player’s body movements so it doesn’t require a hand held remote, as the Wii does,” says CNN.
More from E3
The video game market has managed to stay lucrative using ever-changing technology and appealing to a much larger audience. When the video game industry first took off, it was largely marketed toward and patronized by 12-to-30-year-old men. Now, there are video games targeted toward every imaginable audience.
Accessories and gesture-tracking technology show that gaming companies are becoming more interested in general consumers than the hard-core gamers who used to be their chief targets, said Christopher Grant, editor of Joystiq.com and a judge at E3.
Future of gaming
The only target audience that seems to be missing from the video game industry’s marketing strategy is senior citizens. However, I predict that as the 30-somethings of today age, they will continue to use video games as not only a personal entertainment tool, but a social tool as well.
The groups of friends that are now using “Rock Band” as an excuse to get together with friends will be playing video games with their grandchildren 30 years from now.
I remember when I was a little kid, my grandma always kept lots of kids’ movies and board games around the house to encourage us to come visit and keep us entertained. I think the grandparents of the future will invest in the Xbox Fluid, “Rock Band 10,” “Lute Hero” and other yet-to-be invented games for their grandchildren.
