 "New Microsoft patent lets viewers get achievements for watching TV")
Microsoft may be taking its achievement system in a whole new direction. The company has attained a new patent that basically rewards those who are watching things on the TV with achievements. The patent, titled Awards and Achievements Across TV Ecosystem, will award those who watch TV shows, movies or even ads with achievement points on their Xbox Live account. However, the patent text doesn’t reveal where the company will be using the patent, since it doesn’t mention the Xbox One, the Xbox 360, Windows 8 or even Windows Phone 8.
The Kinect will undoubtedly be a big part of this
According to the patent text, “Traditional television viewing experiences tend to be passive, and do not frequently provide opportunities for a viewer to engage with the programming. Additionally, with the proliferation of digital video recording devices, advertisers are finding it increasingly difficult to introduce their advertisements to viewers.” It continues: “To increase interactive viewing and encourage a user to watch one or more particular items of video content, awards and achievements may be tied to those items of video content. Producers, distributors, and advertisers of the video content may set viewing goals and award a viewer who has reached the goals.”
There are some examples of how the patent could be used in the patent text. Some of the examples include watching an entire TV series from start to end, and for some reason, “performing a specific action while watching the linear video content”. More creepily, achievements can also be awarded for watching certain ads.
Although it is unclear where the patent will be used, it is very likely that the Xbox One will be the first place where we get to see it, since the console has a heavy focus on its TV capabilities.
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