Xbox TV still on track to launch this year
When Microsoft announced Xbox TV at E3 this past June, they were stingy with the details; pretty much all we were left knowing was that live TV was coming to the Xbox 360, and that it would have Kinect integration.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t really changed at this point. At a Microsoft financial analyst meeting that took place earlier this week, Microsoft was on hand to talk up the service to press in attendance, but they still weren’t willing to drop very many details.
Thanks to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, we at least know that Xbox TV is still on track to launch in time for the holiday season. According to CNN’s report from the meeting, Ballmer said that Microsoft was in talks with “dozens or hundreds” of content providers for Xbox TV.
Ballmer also touted Xbox TV’s Kinect functionality, particularly the Bing search functionality, which is set to be introduced with Xbox Live’s next major update later this year.
Microsoft believes so strongly in Bing search, in fact, that they think the feature is what will make them succeed where others, namely Apple and Google, have failed.
“Having all of that content is right on, it’s fantastic, but it brings a new challenge with it,” Ballmer said. “Certainly we all know the frustrations of using guides and menus and controllers, and we think a better way to do all of this is simply to bring Bing and voice to Xbox. You say it, Xbox finds it.”
Some analysts on hand didn’t buy into the Bing search, gimmick though. Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner, had this to say:
“Is there anything Microsoft is doing that hasn’t been done by other providers? No, not really,” said Baker. “Search is not discovery. Search as an answer to discovery implies you know what you’re looking for. Most people have no idea what they’re looking for.”
Assuming the price (and content) is right, would you be interested in trying out Xbox TV?
