Xbox One was designed with advertising in mind, members of the Xbox Live advertising team have confirmed. Speaking with StickTwiddlers, a number of Microsoft staffers in the Xbox Live advertising division have shed light on the lessons learned through Xbox 360 adverts, and how this will be applied in Xbox One. It also places Kinect as a key part of the strategy. Confirming that Kinect will use voice and facial recognition to tailor adverts on your console, one unnamed technical account manager said, “With the new Xbox One, the technology and Kinect has improved a lot, so that actually the voice recognition, the way you speak to your Xbox and the transition between gaming and watching TV is a lot smoother, and hopefully we can transpire [sic] that into advertising that we do.” The strategy goes hand-in-hand with Microsoft’s ‘Nuads’ campaign, which resulted in adverts that housed interactive polls, as a way of making users feel like they were participating in adverts, rather than absorbing them passively. The Microsoft employee added that Nuads, “transform passive TV advertising into something interactive, immersive, and actionable, redefining the relationship between consumers and brands with amazing new advertising opportunities”. While this might all sound intrusive and that Kinect is spying on users to sell them products, one of the Microsoft employees stressed that the company does not want the technology and its customers to be abused. However, the volume of data captured by Microsoft and advertisers via Kinect is said to be significantly lower than the information recorded by game developers. “This sort of works at two levels,” the Microsoft employee added. “There’s the game producers who have a different API, so a different set of code and system that they use, and they’ve got a lot more control of the whole thing, whereas from the advertising point of view we have a slightly more limited set, which is designed to protect the user. The company is very keen on protecting the user from any sort of abuse so we can’t do certain things.” Because Microsoft is wanting to move Xbox One into the living room of families using Kinect, the device can – for example – recognise when there are many people in a room, and target adverts to families and people of varying ages. Microsoft’s Senior Digital Art Director/UX Designer explained, “Xbox is moving more outside of the bedroom. We’re seeing much, much more people use it in living rooms where there is family, friends, there is lots going on, so there is a context of perceiving the content. “It’s not like when you’re at work when you sit in front of a screen and your experience is very personal. But with Xbox, it’s lots of people in front of once big screen. They are playing or watching together and advertising is being consumed in a totally different way.” They added, “On Xbox, the ad is part of the actual experience, it’s not something that is outside. The only difference is that the advertisement we have is quite small and not disruptive so people are not aware of clicking on the banners because they know this is a part of the whole experience on the dash. “So the users know that this is something that when they click on it, they won’t be hit by something crazy or something dangerous like on the web. Everything that lands there, we create.” One source called the development of adverts for Xbox One “exciting”, because, “the 360 console wasn’t built with advertising in mind, it was more of an afterthought, so we’ve had to adapt to the technology and how we work to fit them in to the console, whereas this new one is going to have advertising in mind. “So a lot of the limitations that we have now, hopefully the release of the boundaries will widened so the opportunities will be a lot greater.” What do you make of Microsoft’s attempts to target adverts to players using Kinect? Let us know below. Thanks NowGamer and OXM.
USER RIGHTS, Demand Xbox One Eliminate Anti consumer policies, and guarantee privacy. By Joel T. Milford, Massachusetts Sign Joel's Petition Please Read the Spoiler, attention to Bold text. Spoiler Let me start by saying this petition is not a petition focused on just video games. This petition is about end user license agreements and is more focused on your rights as a consumer to own the products you buy, and can do what you choose with the products you buy. This includes Movies, Games, TV Shows Seasons and digital media. Hardware such as Computers, Consoles, Tablets, and smartphones. If you have paid for these items, they are yours and you should not be told how or when you can use your property. The target of this petition is Microsoft and we do not want to see Microsoft fail, but after current business practices with the soon to be coming Xbox One, we must ask that the policies Microsoft plans on implementing be stopped. If they stay the course, we will not be buying the Xbox One, or any other product on the market that enforces anti consumer policy, and strips them of privacy through Terms of Service agreements. This petition is to hopefully set an example on user rights and privacy for future releases of all content and not just games. Anything online will have user rights and privacy as a standard. At the moment companies seem to be heading down a path that all have policies that are against the consumer interests and put the companies in a position where they can constantly spy and monitor you. Or a way to guarantee their profits by charging for things that were once free. This being making the consumer pay for their bottom line. Companies now have even gone as far as to telling the consumer how they can use their product through selling licenses with conditions; To purchase and use the product is to agree to those conditions. (Yet to be seen and cause for concern) Movies Restrictions: Recently Microsoft has filed a patent that monitors use of content licensing with the Kinect 2,0 sensor. If you're watching a movie and more than the minimum amount of people allowed to watch a movie is in the room, under the license, will cause the movie to stop and request you purchase another license for public viewing. Still Waiting for Change. Forced Kinect use: The kinect is a motion sensing device that uses a 1080p camera that is used to control the device hands free. This device can also detect your heart beat and heat signatures in a room. Tracks eye movement and is used to identify you through facial recognition. It is also designed to be always listening. Only the camera at present can be disabled. The console will not work without kinect. Terms of use for the kinect: Sections 9 and 12 of the current Terms of service Policy: If you accept the agreement, you “expressly authorize and consent to us accessing or disclosing information about you, including the content of your communications, in order to: (a) comply with the law or respond to lawful requests or legal process; ( B) protect the rights or property of Microsoft, our partners, or our customers, including the enforcement of our agreements or policies governing your use of the Service; or (c) act on a good faith belief that such access or disclosure is necessary to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, customers, or the public.” Microsoft also reserves the right to monitor your voice and chat sessions using their new camera system. “You should not expect any level of privacy concerning your use of the live communication features (for example, voice chat, video and communications in live-hosted game play sessions) offered through the Service.” They obviously won’t – and can’t – monitor every single system at the same time, but they say that they have the right to do so “to the maximum extent permitted by law.” Microsoft also “reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, in Microsoft’s sole discretion.” Thinking of disabling or bypassing any of these monitoring systems? Well, that’s illegal. Of course, the TOS has always included sections that one might deem questionable if they favored privacy. Source: Lazygamer.net We request: NO forced Kinect use. Make this optional and able to be unplugged for privacy purposes. You have no right to peer into my living room and the collective right of a company does not override individual rights. Terms of service must be amended to guarantee personal privacy as a mandatory practice. We the consumer reserve the right to not have, take it or leave it policies. We want options to opt out of any and all information collection on our personal habits. We understand that the technology used today leaves behind data. However, it is assumed that this data is sent from my Xbox/Computer/ Phone to its destination. Because it is a closed wire and arrives at routers and server in transit is no different than the postal service routing my mail. You do not have the right to peek at my mail and you should not have the right to monitor my data. You have attached essentially an illegal tap to the system and your new terms of service should guarantee any data collected is not shared and or destroyed. The apparatus to look through my kinect dismantled. (Recently Reversed, petition Request Met) Digital Rights Management (DRM): Is a policy which states that the disc you buy is not yours, it is licensed to you and you do not own it. Currently with the hardware out on the market user choice reigns supreme. (People can watch movies without restrictions, Play games without restrictions, and sell and trade them how they please with current Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.) but now companies like Microsoft are hoping to do away with this simple consumer choice system. (recently reversed Decision) Game Restrictions: that you can only install the disc on your machine. They manage how you can share a game and eventually movies (See patent), that it can only be done with someone on your friends list and they must have been for 30 days. (Recently reversed, Petition Request met) Console restrictions: 24 hour check in. The console is required to be online and must check in every 24 hours. Along with this is the need for Xbox live which is a 60 dollar a year, service unless you pay monthly which currently is over 10 dollars a month. Sign Joel's Petition The person (or organization) who started this petition is not affiliated with Change.org. Change.org did not create this petition and is not responsible for the petition content. This email was sent by Change.org to narcoticroger@yahoo.com. You can edit your email preferences or unsubscribe from Change.org emails. Start a petition on Change.org Mailing Address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130 · New York, NY 10025
