“The only way to bring interactive entertainment to everybody,” Steven Spielberg proclaimed at E3 in Los Angeles, “is to make the technology invisible. Only then can we shine the spotlight where it belongs, which is on you.”

When, in “Back to the Future: Part II”, Marty (Michael J. Fox) demonstrated his skill at Wild Gunman, a video game at Cafe 80′s, one of the two young boys he was showing said, “You have to use your hands? That’s a baby’s game!” Well, now you don’t havt to hold anything when playing, or better put, interacting with the x Box360 using the new xBox controller, referred to as Project Natal.

The handheld controller seems to be the thing that’s holding video games back from realizing their full potential (meaning complete immersion – utter suspension of disbelief). No more fiddling around with buttons and joysticks? That seems unlikely but, look at what a game changer was the WII. The WII redefined the way we play with video games with its physically interactive controllers.

WII brought video gaming to the mainstream, like no other device. This showed that there is a hungry audience from pre-tikes to grayhairs. The new Xbox controller, if it does half of what Microsoft’s marketing division has portrayed, will bring a wide spread buying frenzy to the Christmas season this year. Let this not be more vaporware!