E3, the electronic entertainment expo, is the computer and video game industry’s annual trade fair taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Centre in June.
Probably the most exciting development at E3 last week was the launch of Xbox One. While the Playstation 4 may have grabbed all the headlines – from the fan boys at least – Xbox One truly is a device for the future, equipped with some impressive features.
More than just being a gaming device, Xbox One is a fully-fledged hybrid entertainment experience. And with its over-the-top video, second screen capabilities, voice recognition and superior gaming, it has the potential to reverse the trend of traditional TV audience fragmentation, especially among the younger demographics.
One of the features that really grabbed me is the console’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) system. Xbox One collates a viewer’s data from a whole variety of factors, such as the TV shows and movies you’re currently watching, your web browsing habits and what you’ve been up to in the world of social media. Sounds a bit Big Brother-ish? Well maybe, because it takes this information and learns from it, before offering you up content geared towards what you like.
However, it doesn’t end there. The Xbox One has an expression-recognition system in place where it tracks whether you’re happy, sad, bored, angry or even scared. Based on factors such as heart rate and blood flow to your face, it gauges how you’re reacting to content, and responds accordingly.
I’ll give you an example to bring it to life. Maybe I’m watching Breaking Bad, and I’m wincing at some of the more gory scenes, but I’m excited, not disgusted. Xbox One will look at what other shows are similar to Breaking Bad that I might enjoy – Dexter, or Boardwalk Empire for example – and suggest them to me in real-time. Similarly, if I’ve been looking up the actor Brian Cranston, who plays ‘Walt’ in the show, and visiting his Wikipedia page, then Xbox One might suggest other shows with him in that I might enjoy.
This give the console the opportunity to become a one-to-one personal experience for the user. And for brands this mean the opportunity to interact with consumer on a whole new level, able to physically and mentally involve consumers with their brands. The potential of all this is simply mind-blowing. Now it’s up to the brands to figure out exactly how they can leverage this amazing technology.
