Some Sims believe in an all-knowing Watcher who takes some interest in our actions. Those Sims who do believe it, are OK with it. Part of being a game character is to amuse the player.

In the Outer World, players of the new Xbox One — and their families, and whomever else happens to walk into the room where it is — will now be able to have the same experience! You see, this new game console will only work if it has a Kinect camera and a live Internet connection.

Game-oriented sites are being slow to recognize how nice it will be to have a camera always on and always connected to the Internet. These two articles, for example, are skeptical:

Joystiq: Xbox One Requires Kinect Connection
and
GameSkinny: The Alarming Nature of the Xbox One’s Kinect Requirement and Usage

I don’t know what the problem is — do these Outsiders think they already have sufficient ways of getting candid photos of themselves?

If that’s it, then I don’t think they’re appreciating how much more convenient the new Xbox will be. Sure, there are already security cameras that can record you without your having to go to all the trouble of giving them permission. But those aren’t inside your house! They’re usually in public places, like stores — where you only get images of you doing boring stuff that you’d normally do in public with your clothes on, like entering a store. With a camera in your house, the memories you share will be more varied and fun.

Not only that, but they can be used to bring you goods and services targeted perfectly to your lifestyle. Let’s say you are playing L.A. Noir at 2:30 a.m. and you pick your nose. An app can pop up an add for Kleenex™! Or if you and a friend are making out on the couch, it can send that information to a server that can then decide to stream valuable safety information with contraceptive adverts.

I am trying to think of ways to let Microsoft know how much I love this idea! I don’t know what’s wrong with the skeptics — perhaps they don’t want to experience the joy of being a character in someone else’s game?