I think of two things when I hear ‘magic wand.’ One is something you’d give to a little girl to make her a happy little princess. The other is something you’d hand to an older girl to make her a happy little princess. Neither mental image has anything that would connect it to Microsoft or gaming.
J Allard filed a gaming-related patent for a magic wand in November of 2007. Edge says that this patented device can “utilize one or more sensor from a collection of sensors to determine an orientation or gesture in connection with the wand.” It also has walkie-talkie-like functions and can even recognize the user holding it, with an automatic avatar appearing on-screen.
Microsoft has not commented on this patent. It does sound quite a bit different from the more recently rumored full-body motion-sensing device we keep hearing about.
