Microsoft went all out at E3 2011 to show that its Kinect motion controller camera for its Xbox 360 game console was its main thrust for games in the future. But is Microsoft planning to do the same for the ad industry as well. According to a new trademark filed by Microsoft, the answer may be, "Yes."
The trademark, as spotted by Techie Buzz, is for a product called NUAds. According to the trademark, which was filed last week, NUAds is for "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."
Obviously Microsoft is aiming to give advertising that same sort of interactive feel that gamers currently get with the Kinect controller. Giving ads the kind of voice and body gesture content would certainly be of huge interest to ad agencies who have been searching for ways to make ad presentations more exciting than the typical static TV ad.
Microsoft is already moving into the next phase with the Kinect controller for its games. Last week at E3 it announced numerous first and third party Kinect based games including hard core titles like Mass Effect 3, Ghost Recon Future Warrior and Fable The Journey. In addition, a new Xbox 360 dashboard will launch for the console this fall that will allow users to use just their voice to navigate the dashboard interface.