This was a long time coming. Today Microsoft made it known that its Xbox franchise has reached a fresh milestone: entertainment usage on the devices has surpassed multiplayer gaming for the first time.
Microsoft has been working hard to reach this point by integrating an increasing number of content providers and sources into its device, broadening its base, and use; the Xbox is the firm’s living room strategy, not merely its gaming platform. However, the effectiveness of Microsoft’s shift of the Xbox 360 from a gamer’s delight to a family’s centerpeice has been a long process.
Today, for example, apps for Xfinity, HBO GO, and MLB.tv landed on the console.
PCMag manage to extract some granular information from Microsoft concerning market usage of the Xbox console: “since new entertainment apps were added to the Xbox 360 in December, total hours spent on Xbox Live have increased 30 percent year over year, while entertainment app usage has more than doubled in the same period. Gold members in the U.S. also average 84 hours every month on Xbox Live.” Those figure are impressive, and insinuate that the Xbox has become a device that people of nearly all ages enjoy.
Gone are the days of young gamers pining after the latest gaming gadget; the Xbox 360 is needed by the whole family. The old joke seems to be real after all: the older you get, the more your Xbox 360 turns into a Netflix Box.
As a final note: there is no new Xbox coming this year, sadly. We were all wrong about that. You have to wait for 2013. Sorry, bud.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.