Microsoft is reaping the rewards of the Xbox 360 and Kinect’s success over the past year, and they’re showing it snuff in a large manner at CES 2012. However, identical little of the Xbox buzz coming from Microsoft has to do with games. 2012 might identical considerably be the Twelvemonth of the Xbox 360, merely not for many of the gamers that conveyed it thus far.
Xbox 360: Your New Streaming Media Set-Top Box
Streaming media isn’t anything young for the Xbox, of course–it was one of the first ways to watercourse Netflix Moment onto a TV without utilizing a PC. However, Microsoft is doubling down on streaming media this year, aiming for 100 apps by the ending of 2012. That’s not 100 dinky Android apps, either–each app requires that Microsoft partner with the content provider to make surely that Xbox users are getting the best have possible.
Kinect for Windows: Not for Consumer
When Steve Ballmer declared that Microsoft would be selling Kinect for Windows for $250, it caused quite a stir–why charge an extra $100 for what is essentially the same product?
As it turns out, there’s a passably good ground for that–the Kinect for Windows isn’t actually intended for consumers in the foremost place. Subsequently all, there’s not actually a whole luck you could employment it with in Windows, anyway.
Don’t Ask a Young Xbox Any Time Soon
There’s no incertitude that the existing generation of game consoles are starting to lag behind the PC. Blockbuster titles similar Skyrim or Battlefield 3 just don’t flavour as good or maneuver as considerably on an Xbox as they could on eventide a lower-end gaming PC–and when you consider the high-end niche gamer who wants to modern their games, crank up the settings, or even live-stream their sessions via Twitch.TV or other video streaming sites, there’s just no contest.
