The Xbox 360 and its ecosystem continue to give Microsoft new stats and figures to brag about. Today’s new installment: “While people are still playing a ton of video games, 40 percent of all Xbox activity now is non-game.”
That’s right, nearly half of all Xbox activity is now not a teenager trying to beat on a friend in a virtual deathmatch. Instead, non-game entertainment is creeping up as a main component of Xbox 360 use, and according to the same post by Microsoft, every Xbox plays an average of 30 hours of video a month.
That’s an hour a day, and Microsoft claims that the figure is “growing fast.”
Microsoft’s content strategy seems to be paying off. By partnering with Hulu, Netflix, and ESPN (and by integrating Zune with its media relationships), the Xbox 360 console located in the living room has access to enough video related content to give gaming a run for its money in terms of sheer consumer options.
According to the company, some 53 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold, and there are now 30 million Xbox LIVE members. The rise of Xbox as more of a media platform, and less of a pure gaming machine, is no accident: “you’ll see Xbox marketed more as an entertainment brand this year,” Microsoft said.
The Xbox forms the crux of Microsoft’s living room strategy. While other companies that have content deals in place, such as Apple, are fighting to get devices into living rooms (Apple TV, Mac Mini, Boxee), Microsoft is already there, around the world. Of course, content licensing is harder to arrange than the shipping of a unit, but eventually Microsoft should be able to expand what is available in the US to other countries.
Next Monday at E3, Microsoft is set to demo new Xbox elements. TNWmicrosoft will be covering whatever they show off.
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