Originally billed mostly as a dedicated games console in contrast to Sony’s multimedia-focused PlayStation 3, Microsoft’s done all it can in recent years to position their Xbox 360 as the premier go-to entertainment device and have it take over living rooms. It’s been very successful. Perhaps too successful.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is now used more for watching movies and TV shows, and listening to music online than it is for playing video games online. Well, in the US anyway – though it’s possible the same would ring true for South Africa if we actually received more apps for the purpose – oh, and affordable bandwidth.
"The original vision for the Xbox was for it to be the heart of connected digital entertainment and it has been amazing to watch the arc," said Otto Berkes, former Microsoft employee and one of the visionaries behind the Xbox, now a senior vice president of consumer technology at HBO.
Thanks to 36 different video and music applications like Netflix, ESPN, Hulu, Vudu, Muzu.TV and YouTube, more people are using the console for its broader entertainment capabilities.
"What we’re seeing,” says Microsoft’s Xbox marketing and strategy boss Yusuf Mehdi “is that people are turning on the Xbox to play games and then keeping it on afterwards to get other types of entertainment."
According to Mehdi, US Xbox Live subscribers are spending an average of 84 hours a week online with their Xboxes – and that over half of that time is spent watching video or listening to music. On the one hand, it means that Microsoft has successfully taken over the living room – though it could also mean that XBAWX HAS NO GAEMS!
Last Updated: March 28, 2012
