Game Consoles to Become Streaming Media Centers
Game Consoles to Become Streaming Media Centers
Posted 01/18/2010 at 2:01pm
| by Bart Salisbury
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Market niches become filled after awhile. And when they do anxious manufacturers, hoping to wring a few more dollars out of their product, will look to expand their usability. Gaming consoles, while widely used, are still a niche product--they appeal to people who want to game. Once gamers have had their fill, what’s Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony to do? Teach their consoles a new trick is what. Make them devices that are equally at home with fraggers and media viewers by broadening their ability to stream media from the Internet.
True enough, Xbox, PlayStation, and the Wii already have such capabilities. But their repertoire is limited. What’s needed is a broader selection of media content, so that more people will be inclined to purchase. PlayStation users, for example, can watch the BBC and Weather Channel, while Xbox and Wii users can tap into Netflix. But what about regular TV? There the options are more limited.
Microsoft is hoping to rectify this. It's now in ‘secret’ negotiations with Disney to bring ESPN to the Xbox. Microsoft is taking the view that Xbox Live is more than a gaming community. It’s also a cable channel, with 20 million monthly subscribers, and 1 million daily users. (Numbers comparable to the Cartoon Network and TBS.) Microsoft already has an interactive game show, “1 vs. 100”. And it is looking to make itself a “bigger player” in film and television viewing.
There’s a definite logic to such moves by console makers. There are a lot more of us who watch TV than game. And gaming consoles, already present in many households, are reasonable platforms for streaming media from the Internet. But what happens if this new market focus supplants gaming? Right now console gamers are getting a lot of TLC from console makers. Should they no longer be the industry’s ‘golden child’, will console gamers be orphaned in favor of soap operas and reality TV?
Image Credit: garrettmurray/Flickr
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slumbersix
January 19, 2010 at 6:53am
Don't forget you can purchase a program called PlayOn from MediaMall that lets you stream Hulu, ABC, and tons of others to your video game systems. I've been using it and it's been great.
fullur
January 19, 2010 at 5:55am
something the author seems to be unaware of. PS3 can handle Netflix through the browser as mentioned below. Netflix also has a disk now that they will send to subscribers which allows users to watch instant play netflix natively on the PS3. Not as good as an "app" on the system itself, but I have heard that they cannot do that because of some kind of exclusivity deal. Once that deal ends, they are planning to release something to allow users to watch without the use of a disk.
justchad
January 18, 2010 at 10:35pm
If xbox was really looking "to expand their usability" they could start will adding a web browser! If thats to much for them, then they could at least add hulu!
COMMANDER_COOK
January 18, 2010 at 9:13pm
Edit the picture to make the 360 show the RRoD, please.
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COMMANDER_COOK
January 19, 2010 at 9:06pm
They're still pretty bad about doing that, aren't they?
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MeTo
January 18, 2010 at 3:00pm
Stream netflix for free on PS3 oh yea. Pay for Xbox gold on xbox360 to stream netflix ah nope.
zepontiff
January 19, 2010 at 11:10am
Pay $3 a month for a superior online GAMING experience ah yep. Pay 0 for online fail ah well yep I guess so too as I'm a GAMER.
mls067
January 18, 2010 at 2:49pm
and we still have to worry about i.s.p's capping! They can showboat this stuff all they want, when cable companies see a threat to their market share they will cry foul and say "too many people on the networks, we need to cap because we are too lazy,,err, I mean overloaded and can't keep up"
gizm0luvsu
January 18, 2010 at 2:46pm
i actually use my xbox in my room to stream movies more then to play games. the xbox is the connector to the computer. I use ps3 media server on my computer a nic card setup and i watch movies thru out my whole house. 720p and non hd. with the use of a prog called gotsent its very easy
CentiZen
January 18, 2010 at 2:25pm
With the PS3's web browser, I have no problem playing Youtube, hulu or netflix. While I would much rather use my PC, the PS3 is great if I have family over and they want to show each other some videos. So I would say that the PS3 already is a streaming centre. So is the Wii, but you have to pay for the browser which I think is kind of stupid. The xbox is kinda left out though
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