New Super Mario Bros Wii has gotten a lot of attention for its Super Guide feature, but apparently Microsoft has been planning a similar helping hand for a year. Siliconera reports that the company’s game platform strategy director Andre Vrignaud has filed a patent for user-submitted game guides over Xbox Live. According to the patent, the system detects where a player is stuck, and accesses a database with user-made tips for that section. Given the innate desire of experienced gamers to brag, and the inconvenience of stepping away from your TV to access a FAQ, it seems like a win-win. And since it would be controlled through the Xbox Live interface, Microsoft wouldn’t have to manage a new guide for every individual game.
The authoring features allow users to capture screenshots and video clips, and to use a digital pencil to mark them. It also may allow for audio commentary and tags, and developers can submit their own guides that will take precedence over user-created guides. There are obvious problems to be ironed out. Handing users a digital pencil is bound to lead to phallus-laiden guides if there isn’t some form of quality control, and audio commentary could lead to all sorts of slurs. Not to mention, smaller games may be overlooked by the majority of the guide-making community, so a player getting stuck in a little-known title would simply stay stuck.
Right now this is only in the patent phase, so there’s no telling when, or even if, the guides will show up. But if Microsoft gets the kinks worked out, this would be another step towards marketing the Xbox 360 towards less experienced gamers, a move we already know they’re keen on with Project Natal.