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微软Kinect体感系统将改变商界营销方式 机遇与挑战并存

发布时间:2011-03-26 16:36:24 Tags:,,

Xbox体感控制系统Kinect的面世足以改变游戏业,而全球各行业经销商也想借此赚个盆满钵盈,即便连微软自己都未曾料到该系统会取得如此成效。去年11月Kinect发布时,微软预测到2010年末将卖出3百万套。然而,两个月内公司共售出8百万套,成为历史上最畅销的消费类电子产品,载入吉尼斯世界记录。对产品来说,未来还充满着更多的机遇和挑战。

除体感外,微软这款最新Xbox 360附属产品可识别用户的声音,实时捕捉面部表情,甚至还能区分不同玩家的动作。自20世纪80年代鼠标普及以来,还从未有过如此先进的主流电子配件设计。

Kinect及潜藏其中的PrimeSense技术势必会为各大行业打开新的突破口,拓展人们对在线产品的观念和看法。今天的网络世界无外乎点击式的设备和预设的超链接,随着时间流逝,这些限制将会渐渐消失。在决定Kinect技术何时会从游戏产品转变成主流应用方面,经销商扮演着重要的角色。

Kinect改变营销方式

技术的潜力

包括汉堡王和三星在内的某些大品牌在Kinect促销中率先投入资金,产品的销售潜力远远超出视频游戏领域。近期内,经销商可以利用Kinect技术制作令人瞠目结舌的商展,或将其运用于店内促销。这项技术已经从游戏主机中脱离而出,给人们带来充满真实感的互动体验。

目前全球有15%的家庭和用户在使用这项技术,而且比例还在不断加速增长,因而开发新型基于网络的应用程序也值得考虑。游戏邦获悉,微软不久将借Avatar Kinect进军庞大的社交媒体行业,公司对新技术前景的规划显然不局限于游戏领域。Kinect无控制器的操作环境不仅激发硬核主机游戏玩家的兴趣,在休闲游戏玩家身上也同样存在消费诉求,而这必然会导致大量经销商关注这款产品。事实上,微软给广告商提供的广告用语就是男女老幼皆可享受Kinect带来的快乐。将近150美元的售价相对来说也不贵,或许这才是最重要的。

可以预见到,将来被扫描进系统的消费者理论上可以同产品的三维模型互动,福特公司完全可以在其新产品C-MAX营销中使用这项技术。对众多服装品牌而言,该技术在电子商务上的潜力无与伦比,Eddie Bauer可以让消费者试穿虚拟的服装。在旅游业中的潜能就更大了,游客能够在Club Med上漫步于卡巴纳斯。通过对整个房间的扫描,The Home Depot可允许客户自行设计厨房中新橱柜的布局,宜家家居可以将沙发展示在消费者客厅的虚拟模型中。

技术所面临的实际挑战

在这个全新的环境中,经销商有极大的机遇在竞争中脱颖而出,然而他们也面临无说明或先例可借鉴的挑战。代理商和开发者将这项应用品牌化铸造营销新方式之前,必须首先弄清楚这项技术的优势,这就是开发者忙于剖析Kinect的原因。

现阶段Kinect开发工具还未成熟,但足以利用其开发某些有趣的应用。随着微软投入更多精力支持这些工具以及开发团队的不断增加,Kinect带来的机遇将迅速增长。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,转载请注明来源:游戏邦)

Why Xbox Kinect Technology Will Be the Next Frontier for Marketers

If you’re among the many marketers trying to grasp the game-changing impact of Xbox’s motion-controlled add-on Kinect, you’re not alone. Even Microsoft didn’t realize what it had on its hands. When launching in November, Microsoft predicted sales of 3 million units by the end of 2010. Instead, the company sold 8 million in two months and recently entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling consumer electronics product in history. For brands, the excitement is just beginning — and so are the challenges.

In addition to sensing motion, Microsoft’s newest periphery for the Xbox 360 recognizes voices, captures facial expressions in real time, and can even tell players apart. It’s arguably the biggest advance in mainstream digital interface design since the widespread adoption of the computer mouse in the ’80s.

Kinect and its underlying PrimeSense technology promise to open new doors and could explode our conceptions of what’s possible online. Today’s online world remains governed by the conventions of preset hyperlinks and point-and-click devices, but over time, those constraints will be shattered. The popularity of touchscreens on smartphones and tablets suggest we were already headed in this direction. Marketers may play an important role in determining how quickly Kinect technology crosses the chasm from hardcore gamers to mainstream adoption.

The Engagement Potential for Brands

Big brands, including Burger King and Samsung, jumped in first with Kinect gaming promotions. But the marketing potential of Kinect extends far beyond video games. In the near term, marketers could leverage Kinect technology to create eye-opening trade show displays and in-store promotions. Freed from the gaming console, the technology can draw people into an immersive, interactive experience.

Innovative web-based applications will also be worth considering as the technology reaches a critical mass of 15% of households or users, a point at which adoption rates tend to accelerate. With Avatar Kinect, Microsoft will soon move into augmented social media. Microsoft’s plans for the new technology clearly go beyond gaming. And Kinect’s controller-free environment should appeal to casual gamers, not just the hardcore console jocks, which will heighten appeal for mass marketers. Indeed, the pitch to advertisers from Microsoft is that women, younger children and tweens are “joining in the fun” with Kinect. Most importantly, perhaps, the price is relatively inexpensive; approximately $150.

In the future, it’s conceivable that consumers scanned into the system could theoretically interact with three-dimensional models of products. Why couldn’t Ford, which recently launched an exclusive Xbox campaign for its C-MAX, put consumers behind the wheel and let them take the newest model for a spin? For catalog clothing brands, the ecommerce implications are immense. Why couldn’t Eddie Bauer let consumers try on clothes virtually? In the travel industry, the applications are even more numerous — a walking tour of the cabanas at Club Med, anyone? And with the capacity to scan an entire room, why couldn’t The Home Depot let customers design the layout of new kitchen cabinets or Ikea showcase sofas within digital models of consumers’ living rooms?

Peak Expectations Meet Practical Challenges

Marketers have tremendous opportunities to differentiate themselves from their competitors in this new environment. Yet they also face the challenge of developing those experiences without instructions or precedents. Before agencies and developers can create the architecture of this new world — and customized applications for brands — they must first study what makes the new technology tick, which is why developers have been so busy “hacking” Kinect.

The development tools for Kinect are still fairly immature at this stage, but they do provide enough capabilities to build some interesting applications. As more work is done to support these tools by Microsoft and the larger development community, the possibilities for Kinect will grow exponentially. (Source: Mashable)


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