Microsoft’s Project Natal, the motion-sensing game controls for the Xbox 360 unveiled at E3, is also being developed for PC use, Bill Gates told Cnet in a recent interview.

It doesn’t, however, sound like the PC applications for the tech are about gaming, at least not yet.

“I think the value is as great for if you’re in the home, as you want to manage your movies, music, home system type stuff, it’s very cool there,” Gates said. “And I think there’s incredible value as we use that in the office connected to a Windows PC. So Microsoft research and the product groups have a lot going on there, because you can use the cost reduction that will take place over the years to say, why shouldn’t that be in most office environments.”One can’t help but assume that if Natal tech makes its way to the PC, even as a Minority Report user interface, it would also be used for gaming eventually.

Gates said that Project Natal actually started in Microsoft research free from any platform designation, and that both the Xbox and Windows teams latched onto the concept and started commercialising it.

Gates: Natal to bring gesture recognition to Windows too [Cnet]

Since the original Xbox launched in 2001, Microsoft has worked hard to deflate suspicions that the company wasn’t serious about video games.

Microsoft, skeptics assumed, was going to push gaming only as long as necessary to get Xboxes installed under every home TV. And then? The theory was that Microsoft would focus on the alchemy of dominating the set-top box market, with gaming as something less than the primary focus.

Much of that suspicion has been eliminated thanks to the Xbox 360’s dominance with the hardcore gaming market and the platform’s string of leading games. Microsoft has recently earned the reputation, in fact, of producing the premiere gamer’s game machine of this console generation.

But non-gaming aspects of the Xbox 360 are on the rise. Netflix has become a big story for the Xbox 360 since it was integrated into the platform last fall. And this E3 saw announcements of Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm integration into the machine. Microsoft is selling movies and TV shows on the 360 and is in the midst of beta-testing a game show that would network thousands of homes. In England it will push the 360 as a new portal through which to watch major soccer matches. Even Project Natal, which has been characterised as a next-level game controller was also shown at E3 as a next-level TV remote.

With all that in mind last week, we asked Shane Kim, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of interactive entertainment strategy whether the “video game console” term was going to soon become invalid for the Xbox 360.

“The centre Of Home Entertainment,” Kim responded, suggesting a more encompassing term. “It happens to be a great video game console. That’s not going away.”

Kim said the best sign of gaming’s continued importance to the Xbox 360 is its lead position during Microsoft’s E3 209 briefing. The show started with games. “We want to make people understand that we’re not leaving the gaming space. I definitely think that we can expand off that base, and that gaming is still going to be an important part of entertainment.”

Two years ago, while speaking of Microsoft’s entry into the console business, Bill Gates told Kotaku that “we wouldn’t have done it if it was just a gaming device.” He added: “”We wouldn’t have gone into the category at all. It was strategically getting into the living room. This is not some big secret, Sony says the same things.”

There was a time when comments about the Xbox’s expansion beyond gaming would have panicked gamers. But it’s worth re-assessing that fear. As Microsoft branches out from supporting a gaming-only home console, those who suggested that would be a bad thing don’t seem to be speaking as loudly as before.

Product share varies from country to country. In the US and the UK, the share [of Xbox 360] is high, but besides Japan, there are other areas we haven’t penetrated. From now on, I think the breakthrough’s going to be the online service, and you’ll be surprised if you look at that.

You know something else that’s surprising? The weekly Japanese sales figures.
Bill Gates Talks Online [Mainichi Thanks, Ben!] [Pic]

It was a little stunning to learn last week that at least one disgruntled Xbox 360 owner had decided to skip the regular channels when dealing with a burnt out 360 and instead went straight to Bill Gates. Even more stunning, Gates apparently knocked some heads and got the guy sorted out in record time (24 hours).

While Consumerist reader, and Xbox 360 owner, Jon was delighted with the outcome, it seems Microsoft was not so much. Today they’ve dropped us a friendly note to remind everyone that Bill really isn’t your go-to guy for Red Rings of Death:

Bill Gates or Microsoft executives are not an appropriate escalation point for customer service issues. Customers experiencing issues with their Xbox 360 console should contact Xbox Customer Service. Our customer service team is well equipped to ensure that the repair process goes smoothly.

That said, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience. We are continually improving the design and performance of the Xbox 360 consoles to decrease the likelihood that a customer will experience the three flashing red lights. In the event they do, they are covered for three years under our extended warranty.

Wow, can you imagine the tongue lashing the likely tsunami of angry emails spurred? Gates, I suspect, may be retired, but he’s not THAT retired.

Emailing Bill Gates Results in New Xbox [Consumerist]

I was one of the first to get an Xbox 360 when they came out, paying way more than I should have. I had problems with the console right out of the box and after weeks of haggling with their normal customer service department, I was contacted by their escalation department. Within a week, my problems were solved and they sent me a bunch of free stuff (games & controllers). Fast forward two years, and I’m having the same problem. I emailed both Bill Gates and Kathleen Hogan (Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Customer Service, Support and Customer and Partner Experience) yesterday…

I was contacted within twenty-four hours from the escalation department and a new console is on its way.

In doing a little bit of research, I figured out the email addresses for both and am providing them for your loyal readers. The link I am including will also provide the entire corporate teams names and titles.

khoganATmicrosoft.com
billgATmicrosoft.com
Microsoft Executives and Images

That’s nice and all. Though, we totally would’ve emailed someone else. Because when we want shit done, we want it done eXtreme.
Emailing Bill Gates [The Consumerist via M&C via Dtoid] [Pic]

You know what I’ll tell you. I will look like I’m full of shit if I tell you… I went to the bathroom, and the person next to me was Bill Gates. So, I had more than eye contact. Well, no contact. No, no, there wasn’t any contact, right. But, you know, it’s kind of a weird situation. You’re kinda like, ‘I know this guy.’ There was no bodyguard or nothing there… That’s a true story.

True or not, we take this as startling evidence that Bill Gates is in fact human.
Peeing Next to Bill Gates [Shiny Shiny] [Pic]

Sure Microsoft’s recent Xbox Live issues ticked off a bunch of new Xbox 360 owners and led to the company promising to hand out a free game down the line, but it was really just a hiccup says Bill Gates in a recent interview with sister site Gizmodo.

Actually we’re not entirely sure what he says. He seems to start speaking tongues halfway into his whole reliability-issue-was-a-hiccup comment. He says something about downloading curve, or something about him, or maybe he mentions peanuts, it’s hard to say. But he definitely does call the Live reliability issue a hiccup. Can anyone else make sense of the full comment? Maybe he’s spilling some beans about why Live was out. This is what I got:

Xbox live, which was immensely risky, we hadn’t been in the hardware business. We even had a hiccup in terms of ahhhhh… me not downloading curve… on that one reliability issue we ran into it. But Xbox alone has been fantastic success. A huge asset for the company.

BIll Gates Explains the Difference Between Microsoft and Apple [Gizmodo]

Seriously, you need to be watching Bill Gates’ farewell speech at CES. I’m sure news is coming, but that picture up there, that’s all you need. If you want actual news out of the speech make sure to check out Mike’s Liveblogging here.

Gates Speech [Microsoft]