This November, Microsoft rolls out the New Xbox Experience, an update to its 3 year old online gaming network. This new update marks a change, in the platform positioning itself from being a purely gaming network to one of a social network.
- The New Xbox Experience is big part of Live’s transformation from a multiplayer matchmaking service to a social and entertainment network
- Microsoft is trying to make social networking the linchpin of its effort to attract an expanded gaming audience to the platform.
- Microsoft will be investing more in social networking capabilities with an aim to tap into the growth of social networking and the disruption in the media industry.
- With the New Xbox Experience, players will connect with such networking elements as avatars that will enhance self-expression–just like decking out their MySpace pages. They will share photos or voice chat with friends, and they can even form their own groups for game playing.
- Platform engagement will be driven by social connections users have on Xbox Live. The more time they’ll spend on the service, the more money they’ll spend in Xbox Live’s Marketplace downloading new games or movies.
- This aim of further engagement through social connections is a theme being utilized by all three major gaming platforms. Xbox and Playstation are creating online social networks where as Wii has created this social network in the real world through a focus on an accessible, multiplayer gaming experience.
NXE (Courtesy Gizmodo)
Original Article – http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/11/18/meta-data-xbox-tech-ebiz-cx_mji_1118xboxmeta.html
