3 ms·
The article makes a lot of reference to the importance of an integrated hardware/software platform for Win8. But XBox Live is the elephant in the room here. Qu
by jonnathanson 14y ago
The article makes a lot of reference to the importance of an integrated hardware/software platform for Win8. But XBox Live is the elephant in the room here.
Quietly -- or not so quielty, depending on your perspective -- the XBox has become a behemoth in the entertainment world. Not just with video games, but with all forms of entertainment content (aside from music, which MSFT has never really been able to nail). Take, for instance, the interesting stat that over 60% of all Netflix streaming users stream via a gaming console. Or that close to half of all XBox owners watch one hour or more of TV or movie content per day through their consoles. Though it has formidable competitors in Amazon, Apple, and to some extent Google, Microsoft has a pretty impressive strategic position in the battle for the living room.
The only chink in the armor has been mobile. That's why MSFT kept investing so heavily in Windows Phone, and why it's going to fight as hard as possible in the tablet space. Not owning mobile means not owning the total entertainment experience, which means not having a ubiquitous ecosystem. So mobile is pretty darned crucial here.
- podperson 14y agoI'm guessing your 60% figure is (a) accurate, and (b) from memory. If so, this is trending in the wrong direction for Microsoft: http://www.statisticbrain.com/netflix-statistics/ http://www.statisticbrain.com/netflix-statistics/ The figure quoted is 50%. Also bear in mind that it's not exclusive, and it's counting all supported game consoles (e.g. including the Nintendo Wii). My guess is that TVs with built-in Netflix streaming support and AppleTV (now outselling XBox http://macdailynews.com/2012/07/25/some-hobby-apple-tv-outsold-xbox-360-last-quarter/ http://macdailynews.com/2012/07/25/some-hobby-apple-tv-outso...) are hurting this. Given that XBox has been marginally successful as a business and was greatly dependent, for its success, on the dominance of the PC gaming platform, I don't think XBox is Microsoft's ace in the hole.
- meta 14y agoJust as an anecdote: I used to stream my Netflix through my console (PS3) as my primary usage of said console. I got so frustrated with having to do Software Updates, seemly "every time I turn the bloody thing on!", just to launch the Netflix app that I went out and bought an AppleTV. My console is no longer even connected to a TV or power cable.
- evilduck 14y agoI did a similar thing because I was almost exclusively using my PS3 for Netflix, but my motivation was mainly because the AppleTV runs at ~6 watts and my "fat" PS3 runs about 170 watts at idle and we were always leaving the damn thing on. By my calculations, my Gen2 AppleTV paid for itself in electricity savings about 3 months ago. I keep it because it's my only way to play discs on my TV, but it's seldom used, and PSN's massive security blunder left a bad taste in my mouth.
- podperson 14y agoI never even considered the power consumption of AppleTV but that's a great point. (It's also silent, and as of today supports Hulu+.)