Ah, the age old story. Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Girl thinks boy might be able to give her stuff. Boy throws $400 million at girl. Most of boy’s friends think he’s insane. Yeah, it’s sorta like that.
An anonymous source reported that the deal is worth $400 million over five years for the NFL. I understand that football (the American kind, not the one the rest of the world thinks of) is big business in the States – 108 million Americans watched the Super Bowl this year, and that was lower than the previous viewership of 111 million in 2012.
Microsoft and the NFL keep going on and on about how great the experience will be.
Fans will get new television viewing innovations, including the ability to watch games, Skype video chat with other fans, view statistics, access highlights in real time and gather fantasy information about players and teams — all on a single screen. For those who prefer multiple screens, fans can get an even deeper experience on mobile devices and tablets with SmartGlass technology.
“From the use of instant replay to the yellow first-down line that has become an important element of the at-home television viewing experience, the NFL is committed to leveraging technology to improve our game for coaches, players and fans,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We’re thrilled to be teaming with a true innovator like Microsoft to shape the future of the NFL game experience both on-field, and in the living room.”
So, basically, Microsoft has finally come to terms with the fact that the US is their main market; rather than try to woo the rest of the world, they will just pour all their money into keeping the Americans. For the rest of us, seems like an awfully big waste of money.
Last Updated: May 23, 2013
Admiral Chief Commander
May 23, 2013 at 14:12
doh
Jonah Cash
May 23, 2013 at 14:13
I wonder if they even know how many people all over the world watch real football???? They should rather try and make something with that…. Or…. or…. just ignore us and start with that “world series” stuff for things that only USA are involved with!!
Argentil
May 23, 2013 at 14:15
I don’t understand this move. The US is their strongest market, shouldn’t they be wining and dining the international market? I’ve always thought of MS as a forward-thinking company (in the past) – the US market isn’t going to grow much more than it already has, whereas demand in other countries is growing at a much larger rate.
Andre116
May 24, 2013 at 07:21
I think it can actually grow quite a bit more. They are now appealing to the brodudes who might not have cared about xbox in the past. Throw in NFL as a main feature and you have a bunch of people who will buy it only for that feature.
Tasty peas mixed with porridge
May 23, 2013 at 14:20
I have never felt so Alienated with one of the many brands that I have been very loyal to during my 30 year hobby.
Like the Wii – US LONG TERM HARDCORE UNIVERSAL GAMERS pushed their stalled cars to the top of the hill after 2 decades only so they can leave us behind and drive off with the iPhone market.
SAD PANDA
Skyblue
May 24, 2013 at 00:05
Wait for E3, I’m pretty sure there will be some big game news coming. They fucked up the leak but it was placed so close to E3 that they prob didn’t want to steal anything away from the show. We know the device can still play games and M$ will have to sort out the connectivity and used games policy so the strong backlash is probably a good thing.
Should give someone a wake up call and a solid kick in the ass. Early days yet…
Umar 'Van Hohenhaim' Bastra
May 23, 2013 at 14:23
400 million???……..No wonder they are after our bums
Sir Twakkus Maximus
May 23, 2013 at 14:41
WOW, thats allot of people looking at a glorified advertisement show.