Microsoft Invests in the "Future of TV" on Xbox

The Xbox is no longer a simple games platform — it's an entertainment hub — and to support that trend, Microsoft has revealed new information about its Los Angeles-based studio focused on producing "true interactive content." The 125 person effort is being spearheaded by Nancy Tellem, former president of CBS Television Studios who joined the company last year, and will expand upon the company's ongoing efforts with live events, such as the interactive polls it utilized during the Academy Awards. The studio, Tellem says, will be integral to the company's strategy to "pioneering the future of TV," which will include over 40 new TV and movie apps coming to Xbox in the next year.

[Axonometri]

Lost me... It would take some serious changes and extremely impressive innovation to even make me think of buying another Xbox product.

Even then, I have a really taint taste in my mouth from the joke that is the current Xbox slim Kinect console. I have no clue why people are still buying the thing. Are MS even interested in gaming any more?

[andibandit]

If the next xbox takes off like a rocket and gets a huuge userbase, you know game publishers will follow them likes flies to ****, and force their developers to develop for it.
Why try to wrestle with publishers and game developers to try to keep them exclusive, if you're sooo big, that they simply cant afford not to develop for your platform.

This would convince me to get another xbox.

[Axonometri]

It won't make a bit of difference if the games suck a$$ and are not actually games that people want to play. A game console is supposed to be just that. All this social BS and connectivity Honkey is not what a game console is suppose to be.

It is about Games. Period.

[StrongMan]

MS have completely abandoned the hardcore that made the Xbox what it WAS. This will come back and bite them in the butt next gen. They keep pushing Kinect games that don't sell so you would think they'd learn their lesson by now.

[abzdine]

the problem isn't that kinect games sell or do not sell, it's about the quality. i have more fun playing a SEGA Superstar EyeToy game than any Kinect game cause the recognition is broken and is so frustrating.

man those DBZ Kinect and Sonic Racing Kinect are the worst motion controlled games i've ever seen. but pigeons will always follow

[K1SSMYAZZ]

Actually no it will not mess them up. Microsoft has made the gaming industry much bigger by inviting all facets of ages to play games together and have fun doing it (Kinect). My grand father use to hate us playing games, now he himself is up and playing and would always ask us to play with him...-_-

So give Microsoft it's props where props due. There are more gamers out there today then hc gamers.

[urwifeminder]

Day one for me love to be entertained.

[fooltheman]

Entertainment should benefit gaming, not abandoning gaming.

[CatXFlash]

I can't stand CableTV and do not watch it... has been many years and will never again watch that trash... this pretty much means that XBOX is useless to me.

I want a Video Game system and nothing more I hope SONY gives us that because I already have a $500 machine that had an HDMi to connect to anything for my movies ext... its called a laptop.

[PS4isKing_82]

Wow guess Microsoft really doesn't care about games at all anymore.
Glad I've been with Sony since I was 13 ever since the ps1 came out.
I'm 30 now and they've never let me down since.

[deadfrag]

"pioneering the future of TV," in the US!!!99% of this new apps are for US consumers and not for Europeans.Europeans and most xbox european fans will pick up the next Ps4 because they dont have nothing to gain from M$ next generation.I really hope good ridance do M$,but im european and since they dont show nothing of interesting for the EU market im sticking with just a PS4 next generation,atleast i know that sony will support gamers in EU with games!

[M2-]

How can you be blaming MS for EU/country specific laws that can restrict content. You do realize that EU PS3 owners are missing apps and content that are available in the US or JPN and vice versa, hence the reason why many PS3 owners create regional accounts.

Why do Sony fanatics consistently embarrass themselves?

[nirwanda]

I'm an 360 owner, i bought it a launch because I knew it was the most powerful gaming machine availible for at least a year and i knew the gpu wouldn't be as good in the ps3 and devs were struggling with the cell.
This time there won't be a year gap so i'm probably going to go with a playstation.

I live in the UK and know alot of the MS apps wont come here and it would be much worse if i lived elsewhere in Europe.

How can you say its not MS's fault for basing the console on American media if the rest of the world won't have access to it.

[M2-]

They do share the blame but MS is also an American company. You have to remember that any apps or content that are created are created through partnerships with their respective owners or bound by license agreements/regional laws. Have you ever wondered why hulu is restricted to the US/NA and the UK equivalent (lovefilm) is restricted to some EU countries?

With more partnerships in the US it's obvious there will be more content the same is true for the PS3 in Japan. You cannot also ignore the fact that most of the western worlds media primarily comes from the US.

[abzdine]

i dont buy a console to watch TV but to play.

[Karpetburnz]

Very true, A lot of Tv sevices and apps are available on PS3 aswell but thats not Sony's main focus, Sony hasnt ditched the core gamers.

[Karpetburnz]

You wont be able to get the majority of those TV services in most countries. And Microsoft forces you to pay for XBL Gold just to access them even If they already require a fee.

[TheKayle]

Ok we know that sony isnt moving in the "living room" direction.....i understand that 6 more exclusives can drive u insane (this exclusive 4 gone on shops.....2 still in eternal production and from that 4...at least 2 was bad games)...to think that playing 5 games + than "me" mean that u r an hardcore player while im a idiot

i dont get why having apps and "non gaming" stuff on the console would mean in anyway...that they will not give u ms exclusives and 3rd party games...

If u search my old post.....ppl of my age 30 years or more....was just ASKING for what ms is just DOING...i want more than a mid lvl pc inside a box (looking at the ps4 architecture....well is just sthis) ....i want multitasking apps....an ecosystem....i want videochat i want a nice browser and cool games....

for what i understand ..."u" (pointed to sony cheerleaders) want just games....well to be right..u want just 5 games more than me....ok whatever to make u sleep good..im interested in more than that 5 games......(also coz i play in a lots of platforms.....xbox,ps,pc) so i dont never feel "oh my god i have no games!)...but the truth is....that when i played every games on the ps3...i just sold that (1 month ago)....keeping my 360 for just the APPS (oh i know im stupid coz ...boh i dont know..im just stupid right?)....(mediaset premium...cubovision) that ....sony dosnt give me

i think console need to grow up and moving away from what that small piece of marketshare (2%?) of 14 years old players called "hardcore".....to take everything

Ms wanna do bingo

Sony is pointing to the 2%

[VonBraunschweigg]

Maaaaaaaan what a boatload of crap, not ... to ... mention ... it ... reads even worse.

iF Wii, all: start/doing...this;it's (going2-b)...OnE, helluva.,.m3sS

And bingo?

[wenaldy]

Only on US, the navel of the earth, MURIKKKA!!!!!

[RogueSmurf]

just get a playstation, its free to play online and exclusive titles are better, enough said

[STARRHUNTER29]

i got cable ............i just want games ms

[VonBraunschweigg]

Clear statement, but somebody here thinks you do not have cable or don't want just games.

Probably MS itself.

*you want the next xBox*
*you want the future of tv*
*you want to be entertained*
*you want it*
*you want it*
*YOU WANT IT G'DAMMIT AND YOU WILL BUY IT*

[VonBraunschweigg]

The future of this, the future of that, but meanwhile in the present times of core gaming they almost got nothing to show for.

70 million 360's, about 40 million on Live, mainly for online multiplayer. The other 30 million are the casuals not interested in online so they don't have Live...so for the next generation MS has the brilliant idea of focussing on the casuals AND make them pay for Live? This way they're alienating both audiences. The core gamer will feel left behind and the casual will feel overcharged.

It can work, but then Halo 5 has to become the all-time best FPS the world has ever seen. MS better come up with some hallelujah titles that make core gamers want to stay. I for one spend more time on gaming every year BECAUSE TELEVISION SUCKS BIGTIME THESE DAYS!

[DigitalSmoke]

Wow, a TV box MS? TV sucks hard, besides a few HBO shows, and that has a world wide app already.

More and more i get a sense that Microsoft will lose a ton of ground for the get go.

[Animal Mutha 76]

I like the idea of a do it all box that is games console, pvr and media player... but as a gamer I need it to do the big games first and do them as well as, or better than, the competition. This is the key point. If MS stray from this guiding principle then they might make inroads into the living room for media but they will lose a lot of gamers, myself included.

As a UK gamer I use my Xbox for games 99% and BBC iplayer/Sky Go 1%. That's not going to change.

My Sky HD box is a very capable pvr. MS needs to be wary of trying to do to many things - too many fingers in many pies. They may end up doing many things at a mediocre level.

[TheKayle]

@animal mutha 76

ok mysky hd is what i have too and its great
but u know what?..what if in someway they put the "on demand" section just up the app over the xbox?
here in italy we have mediaset premium too.and the ondemand section is great and is fantastic to have it on the xbox..with cubovision and all the other apps

to have two mysky hd in two tvs..u need to pay for "multivision" that is just the double of the main fee...(sky is just crazy)..with the xbox u have all this things on another tv for free (well not free u pay xbl to have it)

the main good thing is that ms understand that most of ppl r bored to have millions platforms to do each thing

- itunes for music
- tablet or phones for easy fast arcade gaming
- smarttv or android or ios for apps
- set top box for dvr cable tv
- console for games
- pc or tablet for browsing internet

well..they givin an big answer to this
have u seen the xbox music? is like itunes plus ITS FREE..on w8 with 1 commercial after 3 or 4 songs i find it fantastic..have u seen the browser of the x360? honestly is x10 times better than that ps3 mobile crap browser ( i admit that at least it stream flash..SOMETIME)
but flash is old..and also the new MEGAVIDEO (the site is called now just mega..is only html5)..imagine what it will be on x720

well all the xbl was better then psn..like all the os of the xbox was more "flashy and beauty" than the bar of the ps3

now they wanna give u more apps...more integration with their ecosystem (tablets,pcs,mobiles)..an ecosystem that sony dosnt have coz sony isnt the owner of the 90% pcs Operating system..Windows
they can try to revive the failing vita with some integration with the ps4...but u know what? they should cut the price to 150$..coz none would buy a "controller" that cost as much a wii u

oh i forget the hated kinect...that finally in the x720 will have enough ram...an 100Gflops audio chips (the entire ps4 8 jaguar cores cpu have 100 gflops) and if u dont trust in me just check what "insiders" r saying on neogaf like bkillian (was working on the durango)
well and kinect will have also a separated chip..and 100% infrared

maybe finally we will have that device that we dreamed about for years where u can control ur machine with hands and voice ( im not talking about gaming ..so dont start with that boring crap...coz i could answer ...also sony put out the ps move..but it fail hard...x10 more than kinect that sold 20 milions of pieces)

add the usual franchise ...like gears,halo,forza,forza horizon,alan wake,fable......add some new ips (we know already that we have at least 4 new) add timed AAA+ big exclusives like...Destiny will be (bungie game)..add probably the best support from 3rd parties ....like was for the x360

as i said in my first post in this thread....well u can love ps (and ill buy it too after the x720) u can love their "type" of games...and that 5 famous exclusives that have more than the xbox....

but if u compare all the other things....well xbox is just ahead......if u cant live without that 5 games......u need to buy the ps......if u just dont care..and prefeer "all the other things".....u NEED just the xbox

if u have enough money buy both..and say gtfu ..to the fanboys

ps. ppl r bored to have 10 devices to do 10 things
is like saying "oooh is stupid to have the Air conditioner in the car....if i wanna have some fresh air i got the ac in my room ....or i have a big portable fan"...ecc.ecc
faster u understand this...faster..u will understand where the market is moving..and why ms is pointing on that ;)

[VonBraunschweigg]

Where?
- corner of 1st and main
How serious?
- complete fubar, hurry up

Ta-tu-ta-tu wew-wew-wew ta-tu-ta-tu

[Ron_Danger]

@TheKayle

Your period usage privileges are now revoked.

[Ron_Danger]

So what are the odds that the price for Gold stays the same it is now?

[MilkMan]

Keep watching TV on your consoles fools!

[kingPoS]

Xbox the new cable box. I would have never seen that coming three years ago.
If the 720 has a coaxial input, then we'll all know whats up.

[dcbronco]

You never saw the articles about Microsoft partnering with cable companies for IPTV several years ago.

[ger2396]

And there you have it, their Trojan horse.

[hazelamy]

there seems to be a bit of a schizophrenic air to ms when it comes to the xbox.

on one hand they seem to be all about all these new multimedia features, at the cost of games, but then they also seem to be using those multimedia features more as a tool to sell live.

if they really believed all these other services were the future of the xbox they would make sure every xbox owner could use them.

[dcbronco]

I think people are being really short sighted when they look at things like this. First off, companies survive by diversifying. Entertainment, including gaming is a ever growing section and any major company should be trying to get their foot in. Things like this are the things that will benefit everyone in the end. Whether or not Microsoft handles it correctly.

Here's how. Right now there are a few people that decide what gets greenlighted for us to see. Expanding that number of people is always a good thing. Look at some of the main shows gamers are into. AMC did Walking Dead. Would we ever have seen that if we were still a 4 network ten channel nation. Nope. Look at all of the great shows HBO have brought us.

Then look at what Netflix is doing with House of Cards and Arrested Development. I was watching the Browncoats reunite about Firefly the other day. I loved that show. What if a Microsoft or Netflix picked that up after it was dumped by Fox. How many shows would still be around if their were more choices.

If Microsoft was to offer a bunch of Apps that connected to high quality exclusive new content, I'm all for it.

[evilhasitsway]

not even going to read this or anyones comments enough was said with the title thats why next xbox will lose next gen war cause there worried about putting more tv crap on the nextbox instead of focusing on ips and other stuff. im sorry but all next gen should focus on gaming it is what made them what they are a gaming consle not a tv box. i have been a gamer going on 20+yrs im buy these sytems to play games not watch tv thats what cable is for. one more thing off topic is the gold membership most people like myself who pay for netflix and hulu why do i pay to pay to watch them when i can go on pc or ps3 and dont have too? its just a way to make more money for ms cant believe people actually pay for that crap. thats like going to someone and just giveing them your money thats all your doing.