Forget calling Xbox a game console. That doesn't go far enough. Microsoft today announced licensing deals with 40 television content suppliers, including Comcast, HBO, Verizon and even Vevo, a music-video service.
Microsoft can tell consumers, any kind of entertainment you want--games, movies, music--we got it. One important caveat: the price isn't cheap. To watch shows from HBO or Comcast on the Xbox, you have to subscribe to those services.
If you're one of the cost-conscious people who railed against Netflix after the Web's No. 1 movie rental service raised prices and you were waiting for some rival to come riding over the hill to undercut Netflix, the Xbox is not it.
What did you expect? An a la carte channel system, where you could subscribe to ESPN, USA, Bravo, or CNN at $2 to $4 a pop?
Or perhaps you were looking for Microsoft to follow such services as Zediva or FilmOn and try to exploit a copyright loophole so it could offer content dirt cheap?
Microsoft can tell consumers, any kind of entertainment you want--games, movies, music--we got it. One important caveat: the price isn't cheap. To watch shows from HBO or Comcast on the Xbox, you have to subscribe to those services.
If you're one of the cost-conscious people who railed against Netflix after the Web's No. 1 movie rental service raised prices and you were waiting for some rival to come riding over the hill to undercut Netflix, the Xbox is not it.
What did you expect? An a la carte channel system, where you could subscribe to ESPN, USA, Bravo, or CNN at $2 to $4 a pop?
Or perhaps you were looking for Microsoft to follow such services as Zediva or FilmOn and try to exploit a copyright loophole so it could offer content dirt cheap?
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