Gaming

From time to time a gaming device comes along that pushes the envelope on our perceptions of what it means to be entertained. Yesterday XBOX launched the next took in product integration that has potential to turn your client's products into transcendent tools they use in their entertainment experiences.

First thing, watch the video above. It's a trailer for Project Natal which was announced at E3 — the biggest gaming event of the year. Natal is basically a combo camera/scanner/audio system that can recognize your face, voice and body movements then translate them into actions.

For example, you're playing a boxing game — rather than pressing the A button, then B plus up for a left punch, upper cut combo — you punch the air with your left hand and follow up with that uppercut. Again, the video above shows you how this works.

The product integration is what you should be really stoked about though. In the clip, a kid holds up his skateboard, the XBOX scans it, and then he uses that board in the game. In his living room, the kid is standing on that deck.

Off the top of my head, let's say you represent Nike which is launching a new skate shoe. But how to get 15 year olds to buy it...Well why not offer secret levels in the new Tony Hawk game for people who use the new shoe while playing?

Since the unit can scan pretty much anything (or, will apparently be able to), the potential for integration is wide open. Tell us what you think (oh, and it won't be available until 2010).

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Check out Obama's in game advertising in Xbox's Burnout Paradise. There is some speculation that the captured images are actually photoshopped, but no one is certain. Looks darn good though and the idea of political advertising making a play into gaming? Sick.

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Check out the latest Wii ad, here. Just watch it. It's totally fun. Not sure if this is the work of Karmarama who picked up the account after Leo Burnett UK resigned in 2007.

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