I’m not a fan of the newest 360 Dashboard update. I think it’s a User Interface mess, pushing adverts even more to the fore and games even further out of view. But I have been a huge fan of the media streaming applications that it brought with it. The web video services, catch up TV and Netflix’s arrival in the UK have all been fantastic additions to the console.
In an interview with the LA Times, Yusuf Mehdi – head of marketing and strategy for Xbox – has said that average Live usage has increased to 84 hours per month. That’s a year-on-year increase of 30%. But he also points out a significant landmark for the Xbox brand, just over half of that time is spent streaming videos or music. So non-interactive media is now more popular on Xbox Live than Halo, Call of Duty and Forza.
Apparently, there are 66 million Xbox 360s and 20 million Live Gold subscribers. At a very rough average of $60 per year, that’s $1.2 billion per year being spent on Microsoft’s online service.
New streaming services launch in the US today, bringing Major League Baseball’s excellent streaming service, MLB.tv as well as Comcast and HBO’s streaming service which will allow access to some of the best US drama of the past ten years with shows like The Wire, Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire. All three applications will require users to have an additional subscription to the individual companies on top of the Live Gold membership. Streaming media is huge business.
Source: LA Times
DixNeuf
The Xbox’s media streaming capabilities are superb, and really make a mockery of the PS3’s abilities – the apps are much nicer and even playback from a wireless media server is rock solid. If it wasn’t for the Blu-Ray player, my PS3 would be relegated to the bedroom with the Xbox handling entertainment duties in the living room.
Ed the Penguin
Blu-ray and the silence of the console (I have an Arcade 360).
stonyk
Some Xbox live things are better some PSN are better, although I would agree that Xbox Live is a better service overall than the PSN, but I would hope so – it costs me money. I’m still undecided whether over the 7 year period I’d pay the £280 (and increasing) ahead of the PSN given a choice of the two.
Forrest_01
Personally, i would stick to my free but slightly jittery PSN rather than pay upwards of £280 (is it really that much??) for a smoother service.
Then again, i am a skinflint, so that says a lot.
stonyk
@Forrest
I based the £280 on xbox being launched 2005 (7 years ago) and @ £40 a year. So this is not true for everyone, but if anyone has the machine online for the expected 10 year life span then it’d be around £400 which is quite a bit for something the PSN does the same for free. Hmmm. I have a feeling next gen PSN will not be free…..
Forrest_01
Ah, fair do’s – Thought it sounded a touch pricey for just a year! XD
That said, it could well have been that as far as i am concerned, as i know nothing when it comes to Live (apart from it is widely regarded as more reliable).
rossthebassist
im sorry im late to the party on this conversation.
Iplayer, 4oD, lovefilm, netflix all on xbox and ps3….
skyplayer 360 only
itv player ps3 only
now blink box, demand 5, youtube, etc etc dont have dedicated apps on the ps3 however these are all accessible from the (more stable but improvements still needed) webbrowser.
for Vevo you have Vidzone which IMO again is a better app.
MLB.tv has has had a dedicated app in america for years on ps3 and there is an ice hockey one aswell.
long story short (to late)
im chuffed that these apps are accessible on the 360 but bragging about stuff your rival platform has had for ages on there free system is a tad unsporting.
on a side note xbox live never stops impressing me. selling access to the internet on your platform for a fee is no easy feat and MS did it… and have marketed it so well that people see value in it, so well done MS for that.
stage1
“So non-interactive media is now more popular on Xbox Live than Halo, Call of Duty and Forza.”
Shall I go there? – Just this once?
It’s because the xbox has no gamezzzzz
Sorry, couldn’t resist :)
colossalblue
heh, I think it’s something like 80% of CoD played online (the biggest online MP game) is still played on 360. Even though their first party lineup is leaning on Kinect a lot these days, I’d be surprised if their online gaming wasn’t still far more active than the PS3’s. Which is a little odd when you consider that the PS3’s is free, isn’t it?
Forrest_01
Not really that odd as far as i am concerned – If i was paying for the service, i would make damn sure that i used it as often as possible.
With the PSN, i do use it a fair bit, but i don’t feel the need to at any point as i haven’t paid for it, so don’t need to ‘get my money’s worth’ so to speak.
Deathbrin
They do have the DLC earlier though
Deathbrin
Or should i say “on time”?
Ed the Penguin
I’m hoping Netflix will expand their UK catalogue soon, there’s still not a lot worth viewing on it. In the meantime, I’ll stick with viewing the US content.. Much better!
Omac_brother
Fair play to MS. They have done well with the other entertainment options available for users. I just couldnt stomach paying for my online gaming when I get everything I need from my PS3, Ive got Netflix, Lovefilm and music unlimited on my PS3 and they keep everyone in my family quite content coupled with the BBC and 4OD iplayers.
wick15
Good news for MS. I’ve got to say the Xbox has been great for media streaming recently. Although the dashboard is a mess and that you need a degree to navigate it, I still use my Xbox as my primary console. One of the reasons I renewed my gold was so I could keep Sky and Netflix on it. If they add Spotify to the Xbox, it would be perfect.
colossalblue
Have you tried the Muzo.tv app? I thought that was pretty good when I looked at it a while back.
wick15
Haven’t tried Muzo.tv. I use the Vevo app for listening to music on the 360 or Media Centre. I will give Muzo.tv a try though. Been looking for something that is just music and not music videos like Vevo.
colossalblue
Muzo.tv is still videos but they were grouped quite well and great quality. I only played with it for a little while but it was pretty impressive.
SH Number 7/Mini-Lipscombe
You say you would have to pay the subscriptions for the new apps as well as paying gold, but you only need gold to play games online, you could still use the apps with out gold.
sully1311
No you can’t. All apps except BBC iPlayer require Xbox Live Gold.
colossalblue
I thought the media streaming apps need a Gold account in order to do anything other than browse their catalogues?
Yep, I just checked with BlinkBox, YouTube, Muzo.tv and Crackle – with various degrees of access but none fully work with a silver account. If you want to watch anything on Muzo, BlinkBox or Crackle, for example, you need to upgrade to Gold. YouTube doesn’t even load for Silver members, it prompts you to switch to another account.
Did you mean that these new US subscription apps specifically don’t need a Gold account?
hazelam
it’s funny, when people asked for a browser on the xbox forums, so many people would always come back with the old “it’s a games console, it doesn’t need a browser” line.
i’d love to know what they think of all this.
aerobes
Impressive stuff and it just goes to show what all round superb multi-tasking machines this generations “game” consoles are.