Microsoft is reaping the rewards of the Xbox 360 and Kinect’s success over the past year, and they’re showing it decease in a large way at CES 2012. However, identical small of the Xbox buzz coming from Microsoft has to do with games. 2012 might identical considerably be the Yr of the Xbox 360, merely not for many of the gamers that took it therefore 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 foremost ways to stream Netflix Second 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 substance provider to make surely that Xbox users are getting the best receive possible.
Kinect for Windows: Not for Consumer
When Steve Ballmer declared that Microsoft would exist selling Kinect for Windows for $250, it caused quite a stir–why charge an special $100 for what is essentially the same product?
As it turns out, there’s a reasonably good ground for that–the Kinect for Windows isn’t really intended for consumers in the first place. After all, there’s not actually a whole destiny you could usage it with in Windows, anyway.
Don’t Ask a New Xbox Any Time Soon
There’s no doubtfulness that the existing generation of game consoles are starting to lag behind the PC. Blockbuster titles similar Skyrim or Battlefield 3 merely don’t flavor equally good or manoeuvre equally well on an Xbox equally they could on even a lower-end gaming PC–and when you view the high-end niche gamer who wants to modernistic their games, crank up the settings, or eve live-stream their sessions via Twitch.TV or other video streaming sites, there’s merely no contest.
