As a child I watched "Sesame Street" on a daily basis, learning from the educational content and amused by the colorful characters. The show has undergone significant changes since my childhood, but "Sesame Street Kinect TV" might be the most innovative change of all.
The new Kinect application offers children an interactive TV experience where they can actually engage with beloved characters including Big Bird, Grover, Cookie Monster, Elmo and many more. When I was kid, I dreamt of interacting with my favorite television programs. Now kids can actually do this.
Microsoft knows that Kinect and Xbox Live have the ability to offer a unique experience that hasn't been offered in other platforms. Microsoft's recent hiring of former president of CBS television programming Nancy Tellem to run a new production studio in Los Angeles, is proof that the company is looking for new way to capture a nontraditional audience for its console and Xbox Live service.
"Sesame Street Kinect TV" may be an indication of what is to come. The app truly engages children to get up and participate in activities and task involving their favorite Sesame Street characters.
The app uses content from actual episodes of the 42nd season of Sesame Street, new content created exclusively for Kinect and access to thousands of classic clips from the Sesame Street archive.
The interactions between the player and Sesame characters worked perfectly in the sample episode. But if the player doesn't want to interact, he or she can just sit back and watch the show. It offers innovation with the option to still be a passive viewer.
The game is available in at retail stores in disc form and as a download through the app section of Xbox Live. The retail disc cost $29.99 and includes eight 30-minute episodes on two discs. The application allows potential buyers the ability to buy all eight episodes for 2400 Microsoft points or pay 400 points per episode. The app and retail disc are available now.
Watch a video demonstration of the new app below...
