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Microsoft planning Kinect dashboard ads?

NUAds trademark hints at motion-controlled advertising for Xbox 360

Microsoft may be planning a new system of Kinect-enabled advertising for the Xbox 360, following the discovery of a new trademark for "NUAds".

A trademark application discovered by website Techie Buzz refers to a new service called NUAds and although Kinect is not mentioned by name it appears to be instrumental to the new concept.

"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", reads the description.

The description appears to imply advertising via the Xbox 360 dashboard, rather than in-game. Static and video advertising is already streamed via the current dashboard and a new fully Kinect-controlled version of the interface was unveiled at the recently concluded E3 expo.

The website Techie Buzz speculates that the new service may be an attempt by Microsoft to introduce an equivalent to Apple's iAds - a touch-controlled advertising platform for iOS developers.

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Chris Buckley avatar
Chris Buckley joined GamesIndustry in January 2010, now based in BC Canada, Chris is a veteran of the global games industry. Starting out in coin-operated amusement machine (arcades) trade publishing in 1995, for Centaur Communications ‘AB (Amusement Business) Europe’ magazine, Chris made the leap into consumer games and joined MCV Media in February 2000, where he quickly became head of sales looking after a number of entertainment brands and sales staff, before immigrating to Canada in 2008. Chris now handles all commercial sales activity for GamesIndustry.biz, and sponsorships for GamesIndustry’s trade events like the GI Investment Summit.
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