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Xbox has made another leap into the gaming future, after it signed a deal which will give customers in France access to more than 3,000 films.

Gone are the days when sitting down at the console meant switching off from the world. Microsoft's Xbox tie-up with Canal+ is another move from console to community portal: the French video company owns rights to over 6,000 pieces of content.

If the evolution from Pacman to Oblivion has passed you by, it might be worth an update.

Gamers now use their consoles to make friends, watch football games through avatars, and chat remotely during shoot-em-ups.

Never before has battling psychopathic, intergalactic aliens been so socially rewarding.

But there is a more important battle at stake here: the battle for control of the entertainment hub of the future.

Don Mattrick is one of the men at the centre of this battle. Former president of EA Worldwide and one of the men behind games as varied as The Simms and Need For Speed - he has been an engine of creation for over 25 years. In 2007 the games guru became head of Xbox.

He is clear about the target: "Our aspiration is to touch hundreds of millions of consumers around the globe."

The Canal+ tie up is only the first step in Mattrick's plans to make the Xbox the place where you switch on to the world. New partnerships and a gaming service on PC and mobiles are the weapons in his armoury.

But he is not alone. Nintendo's Wii has outsold the Xbox 360 and the Playstation3 is hot on both of their heels. The stakes are high: the company that becomes the hub of the future will be involved in markets from social networking and gaming, to TV and shopping. Sound alarming to you?

Not for Mattrick: "We hope it will be delightful not dangerous - that's the goal of the programme. What we're focussing on is giving creators new tools in our category to create new experiences."

Xbox, Nintendo and Playstation are all acutely aware of a new pivotal market in the battle for the living room - enter the gaming mum. Young, working and with kids under 18 years old - she is now vying for a share of the controller.

"In the case of my family - my mum (after we did the E3 briefing) called me up and said she was just dying to use the video conferencing facility where she could use Live and connect with friends.

"Really what we're trying to do is create something which is going to appeal to all members of the family and doing it in a way that has never been done before."

Last month, Xbox revealed their secret weapon in wooing gamers of the future. A console without controllers. Yes, you heard right: a console which watches how you move and listens to what you say.

"Project Natal" will go commercial next year and may herald in a new era of gaming. It will be one where you have to do the punching, kicking and running with only your body.

Mattrick explains: "What the technology offers is the ability to interact with our camera sensors, with gestures, so it is able to transfer your body movements into real time motion data. The project also allows your to speak to the sensor and use voice as a command."

This is one reason to sit up and take notice of Xbox as a contender for having the largest share of the "entertainment hub" market. Another is that in the first quarter of 2009, Xbox's share of the market increased by 10% - taking 5% from Nintendo and Playstation each.

For years Microsoft have been working on their cameras and voice recognition systems in sophisticated laboratories and rooms with flashing lights.

Mattrick recalls the moment they brought him on board.

"It seemed like I was having an opportunity to look into the future and bring the future to the present," he smiles.

That gaming future, with its role from entertainment to the media, is now looking very close indeed.