About a year ago, back when the Xbox One was still rumored as the Xbox 720, a document was leaked from Microsoft, which showed some of the system specs, but also hinted at the development of Kinect Glasses. Now, a patent document has been discovered which confirms Microsoft’s plans to further their gaming hardware by implementing a head mounted display device.

Here’s an excerpt from the patent:

“Online multiplayer games are typically played across multiple hardware devices in various locations. Such games may associate a particular user to a hardware device via an abstraction, and make a connection through the abstraction to the device. Additionally, some multiplayer games may be played through a hardware device, such as a gaming console, that is typically located in a fixed location, such as an entertainment room in a home.

To invite others to join a multiplayer game, a user may access and work through a menu system with his or her hardware device to send an invitation to another player. Using such a menu system may be time-consuming and may involve the user focusing on the tasks associated with sending an invitation. Such a menu system may also offer a stilted and limited user experience that discourages a user from making spontaneous invitations. Additionally, if the user is actively playing a multiplayer game, using such a menu system to send invitations mid-game may take the user away from the game action. Further, where the user’s hardware device is located in a fixed location, the user’s ability to make face-to-face invitations in other locations may also be limited.

To address the above issues, a multiplayer game invitation system including a user head-mounted display device and related methods for inviting a potential player to participate in a multiplayer game are provided. In one example, a method may include receiving user voice data from a user and determining that the user voice data is an invitation to participate in a multiplayer game. Eye-tracking information, depth information, facial recognition information, potential player head-mounted display device information, and/or potential player voice data may be received. The invitation from the user may be associated with the potential player using the eye-tracking information, the depth information, the facial recognition information, the potential player head-mounted display device information, and/or the potential player voice data.

The method may include matching a potential player account with the potential player. The method may further include receiving an acceptance response from the potential player, and joining the potential player account with a user account associated with the user in participating in the multiplayer game.

Eye-tracking information, depth information, facial recognition information, potential player head-mounted display device information, and/or potential player voice data may be received. The invitation from the user may be associated with the potential player using the eye-tracking information, the depth information, the facial recognition information, the potential player head-mounted display device information, and/or the potential player voice data.”

The implications of the implementation of this sort of technology cannot be understated when it comes to the affect it will have on the gaming industry. With innovative strides from one company, all of its competitors strive to keep pace and outstrip the competition, making for better products for all of us gaming fans.

What are your thoughts on the Kinect Glasses?

Source: Patents

A chart has also been compiled which showcases the amount of search queries and interest generated for the Xbox 360 versus Sony’s Playstation 4. The chart looks at the number of information searches in Google (y-axis, in millions) over the last 11 months (x-axis). As can be seen, the Xbox 720 outstrips the Playstation 4 greatly.

Of course, we won’t know the true state of demand worldwide until both consoles are released, since the PS3 has consistently outperformed the Xbox 360 in Japan. Will this trend continue into the next generation? We’ll see when E3 2013 approaches.

Source: SeekingAlpha