Microsoft releases Nat Geo TV Xbox 360 Kinect game in India

Microsoft has introduced in India the all-new Kinect Nat Geo TV game, a two-way TV experience for Kinect with Xbox 360. Microsoft claims the game is the first such game available in India. Available exclusively for Xbox 360, it lets children talk directly to the TV show, by playing the roles of a variety of animals across their natural habitats as featured in the game. Priced at Rs 2,399, it hits stores across India today. The Nat Geo TV Xbox game includes eight 30-minute episodes of Casey Anderson’s “America the Wild”, and allows simultaneous play by two people.

Published by Microsoft in partnership with National Geographic and Relentless Software, the game gives children a chance to be a part of the Nat Geo TV show and play the part of the animals they see on the show. Kinect Nat Geo TV is a blend of world-renowned Nat Geo Wild TV programs with the intuitive Kinect for Xbox 360 technology. It takes children and their families to the stunning natural environment of planet Earth, filled with the wonders of animals and their unique and fascinating natural surroundings.

A screenshot from the Nat Geo TV Kinect game

“The Kinect Nat Geo TV game with its unique 2-Way TV Experience, is part of Microsoft’s effort to bring to India the latest in playful learning. The game encourages children to learn in a manner that is fun and engaging. Through the TV set, which most children spend a lot of time watching, Kinect NAT GEO game uses Kinect to turn the living room into natural habitats and players into a range of animals, creating a truly immersive experience for children. A unique innovation in the way children take in deep learning about their environment and observe nature and wildlife in a realistic manner. It’s a great combination of learning through doing as the Kinect technology enables young children to access learning through gaming naturally, using their body  and voice to interact with the show,” said Anshu Mor, Category Lead, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft India.

This is how the two-way TV experience works: Kinect scans the living room and projects its image on the TV screen in the form of a natural habitat for an animal with grass, trees and other things. Children can be invited to, for example, look for food as a bear. As they  call out to the TV set with this request, an image of the child appears on the TV screen complete with a bear head and claws, roaming around looking for food around the wild terrain recreated right there at home.

With Kinect Nat Geo TV, television night also becomes family night, as the TV set turns into a centre for playful learning though gaming. The entire family gets a chance to develop naturalist skills and learn about the many animals with Nat Geo wildlife expert, Casey Anderson.