Okay Geek Farm
E3 2011 -- Bing, Youtube, LiveTV, and Cloud storage features heading to Xbox this fall
Alex Tretrop
With the large Kinect focus during the Microsoft Press Conference, it’s easy to forget what Microsoft announced for its New, New, (New?) “Xbox Experience”. From Bing to Youtube, Xbox basically has everything you need besides actual internet browsing, and with most of those primarily for use on Kinect, Microsoft is hoping to change the way you view your content. — Details after the break!
- Youtube was confirmed for 360, with high definition streaming and Kinect voice controls so that you can now order your Xbox to watch that cat doing a backflip as many times as you want. The power of Kinect people!
- “LiveTV”, which streams live local television channels, was confirmed for the U.S. and also “around in the world,” which is a nice change for us Canadians who get screwed out of quite a few key features of the Xbox experience.
- Also confirmed, Bing for 360, with Kinect voice support so you can search up those things you clearly shouldn’t be looking at by yelling at your TV. The only problem right away with Bing here is that the search engine won’t be helping you browse the web; instead it’ll be used to find media across the various Youtube, Hulu Plus, Netflix, Zune channels already available on the Xbox.
Not actually mentioned during Microsoft’s briefing were two very important features that seemed to be pushed aside so we could get more uncomfortable watching the completely unncessary hyper actors play a game of footabll on Kinect Sports: Season 2.
Taken from Microsoft’s MajorNelson blog:
- “Beacon. We want to make it easy for you to connect with friends over your favorite games on Xbox LIVE, so we are introducing Beacons to the service. Beacons are a way to tell your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends that you want to play a game on Xbox LIVE. By setting a Beacon, you tell Xbox LIVE what you want to play. Then, Xbox LIVE lets you know when friends are playing or want to play the same game. With Beacons, no matter what you’re currently doing on Xbox LIVE your friends know that it’s ok to ask you to play your Beaconed games. Imagine sending out a Beacon to let your friends know you’re interested in playing “Halo,” while watching a movie on Netflix. It’s about making it easier for you to share and discover games and multiplayer opportunities with friends on Xbox LIVE.
- Cloud Storage for Game Saves and LIVE profile. Here at Xbox LIVE we listen to your feedback. We are making it easier for you to sign into your Xbox LIVE account from any console at any time to access your game saves and full profile, including items such as Microsoft Points to make purchases, Achievements and friends. Cloud storage will allow you to enjoy the same great Xbox LIVE gaming experience even when you’re not in your own living room by giving you the option to store your “game saves” securely in the Xbox LIVE cloud instead of on a portable memory unit or your console’s hard drive. Gone are the days of “gamertag recovery.” Now all you need to do is sign in, no matter where you are!”
Well, Microsoft really seemed to push Kinect this year even so far as to mold its dashboard around using the voice capabilities of the device. Though we got to be honest that local live tv stations does seem like a great idea, seeing as most people have forgone the tv route for an online entertainment diet.
