XBOX 360 as distribution model?
Filed under: Tech Stuff, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Games and Game Movies
In yesterday’s Variety, Ben Fritz
speculated that internet-enabled game systems such as the spanking-new
Xbox 360 and the much-anticipated PS3 could turn out to be the
distribution systems of the future. Amongst the highlights:
- 360 as legal download device. “Thanks
to Xbox Live [Microsoft's private internet experience for 360 users],
the 360 stands between the
Internet and the TV, making it a powerful delivery mechanism for any
form of media.” Fritz tells us to expect official, downloadable content
for the 360 soon, starting with game-related peripherals, but
potentially including movies-on-demand at some point down the line. - Gaming is only the beginning. Fritz uggests that with devices like the 360 (and soon, the PS3) any and all gaming applications are merely “Trojan
horses to get Microsoft and Sony devices into as many homes as
possible.” He posits that if studios want the valuable, young male
demographic to watch their films, they’ll go out of their way to make
the content available on Sony’s PS3-compatible Blu-Ray DVD, or format
their media for delivery via Xbox Live. - People don’t want to go to the movies? Fine.
Fritz notes the “irony” in the fact that Sony – the most struggling
studio in a distribution climate that can only be described as
generally bad – is soon to launch the PS3, which will stoke the
stay-at-home fires. But maybe they know what they’re doing: “[I]t
could also be seen as a savvy company
recognizing fresh potential. Rather than fight a new technology – as
studios have done with every innovation from radio through the Internet
– Sony and most of its competitors are jumping on the bandwagon when
it comes to gamers.” - Gaming is already changing the way Hollywood thinks about content. Fritz cites several examples of movie producers planning game production into film production, including the new King Kong
game, which incorporates graphics designed by Weta for Peter Jackson’s
film. Disney, too, is getting in on the act; Fritz quotes their senior
VP of games: “We’re looking at sharing tools with our feature
animation division to help produce higher quality games within the time
frames we have.”
What do you think about all of this? Will gaming
devices soon become the hub of every home entertainment center? Or is
Fritz thinking way, way too far out of the Xbox?
One Comment
Here in the UK Microsoft has teamed up with Sky TV to add Sky’s online Sky Player Service to the Xbox’s Live Channels. Now using the Xbox you can watch Sky TV, that’s all the sports and all the movies using your Xbox no need for a seperate Sky Dish any more. The future has well and truly arrived. AWESOME!