Microsoft plans big things for Xbox

Fudzilla ^ | Friday, 11 January 2013 10:55 | Nick Farrell

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Hires SlingBox’s Blake Krikorian

Microsoft appears to have big plans for its Xbox after hiring of technology entrepreneur Blake Krikorian.

Krikorian will be corporate vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business, reporting to Marc Whitten, chief product officer for the division. The appointment follows Microsoft's recent acquisition of Krikorian's company, id8 Group R2 Studios, which had developed an application that allows users to control home heating and lighting systems from smartphones.

It would mean that Redmond is going to have a shot at transforming the  Xbox from a gaming device into a broader service that controls most aspects of home entertainment, including music, movies, TV and sports. Krikorian's Sling Media, which was sold to EchoStar Communications in 2007, made the Slingbox device for watching TV over the Internet.

Krikorian resigned from Amazon.com Inc's board in late December after about a year and a half as a director at the company, the Internet's largest retailer.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Microsoft seeking revenues beyond the PC and Gaming?

One box to control it all?

Will it help their stock....Varney wants to know>(Varney of Fox Business News.)

[KC_Lion]

Microsoft has alot to answer for with their first round of production with the 360.

[Marine_Uncle]

"One box to control it all?"
I'll bet that statement would get the kenyan's ears to raise up a bit. :)

[JerseyHighlander]

This has to be for the next gen Xbox.

Don’t know if there is enough time for MS to get this to market.
The external appliance (game console, streaming WiFi BD player, etc) might be obsolete sooner than the release of the Xbox720 or whatever game consoles come out. If TVs have built in apps, the excitement of buying a game console for extra apps loses it’s reasoning. It costs under US$40 to add apps to a TV right now.

[Azeem]

Microsoft is already doing it.

My Xbox is also one of my AT&T Uverse cable boxes. I select the Uverse app on the dashboard and I can watch TV through it.

[PIF]

“The external appliance (game console, streaming WiFi BD player, etc) might be obsolete ...”

That would be par for MS.

[BereanBrain]

XBOX = a generation of users that resent Msoft being the Hardware provider, because they have replaced their broken Xbox 3 - 4 times in as many years.

The thermal design is JUNK. It’s a 3 core PowerPC processor with a weak x clamp thermal bond. In other words, this is NOT a professional product. If SONY, APPLE, etc had a product like this they would be crucified in the media.

What’s to like? The GAMES that the DEVELOPERS write. Microsoft’s only HIT is Halo, which is now ho-hum, on it’s 4th edition.

What will happen? the New Xbox - I will call it Xbox 980 will use intel and/or ARM chipsets, be based on the W2012 code base (modified). I HOPE the hardware is better. A 50$ PC is better than the Xbox 360 hardware

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See some of my posts, (HITECH - keyword) for some new entries into the gaming console market place,....Nvidia;s Shield and Xi3 Piston with interface to Valve' s Steam....gaming ecosystem.