1100°

Microsoft Xbox LIVE Diamond subscription IPTV tipped for E3 2011

GizmoFusion.com Writes: Details from Microsoft’s E3 keynote “may” have in fact leaked, according to some information SlashGear was able to get. We have talked before about the possibility of MS using their Xbox 360 console to become the first virtual cable operator in the country and if these rumors pan out it looks like that will be happening.

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slashgear.com
fluffydelusions4745d ago

That would actually be pretty cool.

BigKev454745d ago

Who disagreed? A MS hater of course.

Chuk54745d ago

Whatever, they're blind if they don't see the potential.

MintBerryCrunch4745d ago

wouldnt that mean an increase in xbox live...unless it ends up being optional, and a separate service from live

SixShotCop4745d ago

Xbox Live Diamond Berrycrunch. Reading helps.

hazelamy4745d ago (Edited 4745d ago )

people who don't live in the us maybe?
they might disagree.

QuodEratDemonstrandm4745d ago

I'm no Xbox fan, and I think it's a cool idea.

Breadisgood4745d ago

In some ways I'm hoping this isn't true. It'll only be available in the US (I'm in the UK) and if it is true, it's all we'll be hearing about at E3.

Just like last year with Kinect, it'll be boring as hell.

darthv724745d ago

seems to be the way things are heading with cable/satellite providers. Squeezing content over existing broadband connections has potential.

I just got uverse and I thing that is how they are delivering the video feed to my house. With MS getting into this it could help promote the increase in faster speeds to more rural areas.

lugia 40004745d ago Show
Nadasico4745d ago

QuodEratDemonstrandm I agree, though what's with the line steal E3 again. I mean I think its cool... all the same but E3 is about games last time I checked. There has been one winner for E3 since this gen got started as far as games are concerned.

RedDead4745d ago

Meh though, it's a good idea for non gamers. I want games though, Gears 3 and The witcher 2 now for me. That's all though, maybe that new kingdoms game. Hoep they have more than some BS that gamers don't really care about. Xbox is a gaming console first and foremost.

SkyGamer4745d ago

Gotta remember that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen owns Charter. They could definitely get it working. Also the other free services don't give you every channel. That is where XBL would be different. Especially if they charge for it. Who would not want to pay 90 or even a 100 bucks a year for diamond if they never need to pay a 50 dollar monthly service again?

rob60214745d ago

@SkyGamer

You're going to be paying a lot more than $100 a year if you expect to get a full cable package. $100 is unrealistic unless MS only has a partial package. The $400 a year range would be a better estimate - of course they wouldn't charge by the year.

Biggest4745d ago

I would only be cool if it was extremely cheap. It would have to outdo at least Dish Network in both price and features to be worthwhile.

OneSneakyMofo4745d ago

And how does Microsoft extend its GAMING platform? By slapping on a television extension. As cool as this is, where are the killer features that would make me, a PS3 fanboy, jump over the Microsoft's console? Microsoft doesn't get it.

Boody-Bandit4745d ago

Listen while the concept is cool I don't see what this has to do with gaming. A lot of other technologies have most of these features already, like "smart tv's" that are now on store shelves.

Why would I want to turn on a "gaming" console to utilize such features when my PC, laptops, Droid and smart tv I just purchased have most of these same features?

Most people have the technology I listed above and at the end of the day the XBox 360 is suppose to be a gaming platform first and fore most. Where are the GAMES?

I don't want to be gimmicked and integrated to death. I use my 360 for gaming and gaming only. I sure hope MS has more to offer than things like this and Kinect games or I am going to lose it. After last E3 I didn't think it could get any worse but now I am starting to think other wise.

DigitalRaptor4744d ago (Edited 4744d ago )

-
I bought my PS3 primarily for its games, but the features such as Blu-ray playback, Internet browser, Home and other media features were other very sweet benefits.

Microsoft and their fans made it clear that those features weren't important and that Sony were focussing too much on multimedia and not games. A Blu-ray player first, and a gaming console second... right? That's what we were told.

Now it seems to be the complete opposite situation, where Sony is offering great games first and foremost in massive quantity. And Microsoft is distracted by the gimmicks of the market, and things unrelated to gaming. And that distraction is passing on to its consumers. They just aren't releasing games like they used to.

Things like this are just another reason why, as much as I like some of Microsoft's content, I won't buy their console this gen.

+ Show (13) more repliesLast reply 4744d ago
pain777pas4745d ago

@PBelanger
Agreed. That would be worth the money for live for sure. Wow that is actually pretty huge the more I think about it. Well played Microsoft. Gotta hand it to you IF true.

BISHOP-BRASIL4745d ago

Worth which money? You do realize that XBL Diamond is supposed to be a premium service over XBL Gold and Silver, right? It doesn't look like they plan to replace XBLG membership pricing range...

As far as we know XBLG will still cost "60" bucks a year (although they do promotion every time, this is the official tag and I don't see them droping it considering the price was actually raised in late last year).

If you consider the cable/satelite prices on the market for basic TV packages, XBLD membership is likely to cost double that of XBLG or even more... I'm not saying it will cost too much, just saying wait for actual announcement on the price and content before declaring it "worth the money".

pain777pas4745d ago

You are right Bishop. But to each his own really. Even if you get internet for 29.99 a month unlimited. However you pay yearly for this I hope and it should be no more than $70 for gold membership + IPTV. When you break it down monthly you could see a reduction. It would come down to price and how robust the service is. If there is current shows and live sports you have to look into it as a rational consumer. There COULD be possible savings and the way I watch TV which is hardly ever a streaming TV service with shows available at anytime would fit my lifestyle. I see where you're going with this though and depending on the price you could be right.

BISHOP-BRASIL4745d ago

Don't get me wrong. If they made such a service available in my region and by that kind of price with good content, I would buy a 360 tomorrow and cancel my cable, but I don't think it's possible.

Look at how much any kind of cable or satelite service costs you. Look at how much professional IPTV services cost... Not much better considering the content.

Even if we factor in the fact this is based on a yearly subscription (which should make it a bit cheaper) I don't see they having it for under 100 bucks a year anyway, and that's which mediocre to half-good content. Prime content sure as hell either would cost a lot more or would be still sold as VOD (which is itself IPTV to some extent and I think is much more likely).

All I'm saying is don't get your hopes up for rainbows and unicorns... Bill Gates is no magician, if this service is anything like a virtual cable provider as they taunt in the article, it either gonna cost some considerable money or will have just basic programming with everything else on VOD/PPV. Better play the wait and see game.

pain777pas4744d ago

Of course Bishop I won't get burned again with a 360 trust me. I have painful memories when I was immersed in everything Xbox. E3 should be interesting to say the least. Cheers!

kneon4744d ago

We haven't seen a price yet so how do you know it's worth it? But keep in mind that they have to pay to carry most TV channels, just like the satellite and cable companies do, so don't expect it to be just $20-30 more per year than XBLG, more likely $20-30 more per month.

Also this is not going to be viable for those with low bandwidth or monthly data caps.

It sounds good, just don't expect it to be cheap or a viable alternative for everyone.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4744d ago
Misterhbk4745d ago

It's a cool idea gotta give props just not for me.

I don't even have dish or cable anymore. Me and my wife just stream all of our favorite shows or events or movies. HDMI ftw

4745d ago Replies(4)
subtenko4745d ago

Excuse me, but how is it the first? The PS3 has these services (mostly the EU tho, since some services on ps3 arent on American accounts).

But other than that, this is interesting for the xbox360

milliniumstylz4745d ago

wow sony has there own cable tv provider overseas i did not know that.. what is it called.

skip2mylou4745d ago

milli i think it was called japan tv network

fr0sty4745d ago

I called this days ago when MS started announcing they were trying to rebrand xbox 360 as an entertainment platform instead of just a gaming console. Not a bad idea. I won't be buying a 360 for it (only a matter of time before PC and PS3 have something similar, and probably cheaper knowing how MS likes to price things), but for those who already own it, a damn good idea.

BlackTar1874745d ago

god i remember the crys from xbox people that they wanted a game console not a all in one. how the tables have turned

Megaton4744d ago

Pachter called this like a year ago on Bonus Round. I heard rumblings of it from other random internet people even further back than that.

SilentNegotiator4745d ago

I don't even know how to respond to this. It's pretty unprecedented.

There's, of course, always the worry that adding an entire division focused on virtual cable could possibly detract from other resources; especially ones that gamers treasure (hint: games). The focus on "entertainment" could certainly find itself to be a profitable one, but that doesn't necessarily mean good things for us.

We'll see. Right now it's just a rumor.

Vherostar4745d ago

Anything for more money eh MS?? Sony offer this free with PlayTV and have for years.. Come up with something new eh?? I want new stuff on my 360 dammit not recycled crap I dont even want for my ps3.

4745d ago
WAR_MACHINE774744d ago

"it just meets all your entertainment needs." yeah except for VIDEO GAMES! You know... the whole damn reason it exists in the first place. I've owned both PS3 and 360 for years now. When I got the 360 I loved it, but the last year or two I'm finding less and less of a reason to keep it. If they don't get off their asses and make some games it'll be on its way out the door. At this point I'm only holding out for gears 3 and hoping to god for something at E3.

showtimefolks4745d ago

but don't you remember because of inclusion of espn they had to bump up the price. maybe leave it as an option if you want it pay additional $15 a month and get it

I am a huge pro sony guy but you have to give MS credit they are trying new things with xblive

hopefully sony will also have some plans to improve psn

disagree all you want you can look in my comments history i am always a pro-sony gamers but i give credit where credit is due

Rhythmattic4744d ago

Here in OZ, unless you pay a few hundred bucks, your download quota is capped.. Albeit $60 for 150Gb (with metered uploads) which pretty much translates to $63 US

In my job I meet alot of oversea's people, and every American cant believe the cost of the internet plans here...

Question.

How many of you have fast, stable, quota free internet, and what price?
Because from what I've heard, your plans are ridiculously cheap, and that makes this a winner...

MariaHelFutura4744d ago (Edited 4744d ago )

To the people wondering why MS is progressing this way and not talking about games, the answer is simple.

They have 2-3 internal studios for making games for only their console. Sony and Nintendo have over 20 each.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 4744d ago
rebirthofcaos4745d ago

well, if thats is the best they can do, then seems that there will be not that many games for 360.

fluffydelusions4745d ago

Have you seen all the multiplats releasing this year? That alone will kill my wallet lol

Solid_Malone4745d ago

thats why im buying them for pc, appears to be cheaper that way i guess :)

omi25p4745d ago

Exactly. Everyone keeps saying they want microsoft to announce some exclusives for this year. Im already buying 1 or more games a month and the epic edtion of gears 3. Which means i cant afford for anymore good games to come out this year.

Vherostar4745d ago

Exactly not much reason to buy a 360 if you aint got one anymore though :(. PS3 seems to be the way it too has all those games plus a mountain of exclusives..

Istanbull4745d ago

Well duh, Microsoft has showed nothing good for 2 years now. They blew things like Facebook or ESPN integration way out of proportion, like it was such a big f*cking deal.

xtremexx4745d ago

i dont get it, i have an xbox 360 and all but i dont get it, why would you pay for tv on your xbox? are US cable rates really high?

NoobJobz4745d ago

If it's cheaper than cable why not? Who doesn't want to save some money?

fluffydelusions4745d ago (Edited 4745d ago )

It depends how it is priced and quantity of channels available. I don't have cable not because I cannot afford it but I just don't want it but I think it's like $50 here in NYC for the cheapest option.

FFXI1014745d ago

I agree, especially when I come home after work(about 9:30-10pm cst) I just want to play video game. Unless there are sports event I want to watch.

B1663r4745d ago

Because the xbox already works a lot better than the cable boxes that have onDemand services here in the states, and yes, us cable rates are extremely high. For example, I have opted for xbox live + netflix + huluPlus as my video service, because that is a better value proposition at about ~$50 a month than a comparable video package from my cable service which would be $100+

But never mind that, the xbox simple works better as a on demand video service than the crappy Motorola box that the cable company would give you.

iamnsuperman4745d ago (Edited 4745d ago )

That maybe true in the US but in the uk with freeview and other premium services like sky/virgin which are really good and are quite cheap (freeview is free). So it maybe popular in te US but in the uk the service already provided is very good infrastructure and is very cheap ( just look at how many low income households have digital). A lot of people in the UK also get internet with the TV as well and so have these services. So I agree it may be good in the US but countries like the UK will probably be not as good especially if it charges extra

THILLREBORN4745d ago (Edited 4745d ago )

@B1663r
That's BS XBL is $60 alone so stop selling wolf tickets the other two features put into the $80 to $90 range. Learn how to count son.

Clarence4745d ago (Edited 4745d ago )

I disagree. I have at&t uverse and its great. I have 4 hd boxes, all the hd channels as well as 3d espn ch, every box can record, and on demand for a 150.

Im not sure how this 360 cable would work. I have 4 tv's in my house so would that mean I would have to purchase 3 more 360's? Plus using this type of service means you have to run your 360 all day and night if you want play games or watch tv. Im not comfortable with that. The 360 is not the most reliable console.
Most of all if you have a wife like me who does not deal with gaming consoles your going to have a problem. Trust me happy wife happy life!

This would be good for college students or people who are in and out of the house.

Nice, but this definitly won't steal E3.

jbiz3304745d ago

@THILLREBORN

youre a damned idiot.. xbl is 60 a YEAR

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4745d ago
4745d ago Replies(3)
xtremexx4745d ago

@iamnsuperman, your right, uk is so cheap compared to US, and we have freeview in the UK, i think it will be good in the US but probably not in the uk

callahan094745d ago

Cheaper than cable, maybe, but then there's bandwidth caps to contend with. Last month I was dangerously close to exceeding my 250 GB bandwidth limit. When I hit 249 with 3 days to go in the month, I turned off my cable modem until June 1 and exclusively used 3G internet on my phone to get my 'Net fix. I watch every one of my favorite team's baseball games in HD over my internet connection, from MLBTV (because I don't live in the television market for my favorite team). I think I watched like 2 movies from Netflix instant streaming. I stream all of my music from my Amazon Cloud Drive Player. I bought and downloaded a couple of new games from Steam. And then just usual web browsing. And THAT got me to 249 out of 250 available GB of bandwidth in less than the span of the month. If I were to introduce IPTV as my primary method of watching TV, I would definitely need to find a new ISP with a higher bandwidth cap, and that would wind up costing a lot more money.

kwicksandz4745d ago

i live in australia the land of shitty internet and i have a terrabyte cap. 250gb sucks

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4744d ago
Baka-akaB4745d ago (Edited 4745d ago )

"If they can sign off, and we would assume it will be a go, MS could easily steal E3 yet again with such a huge announcement."

Why exactly ? I get the potential especially financially for ms and those involved , and it's always good to get more services ... but i think the gaming side of the news would be far more interesting and "e3 steal" worthy than that

Chuk54745d ago

Yeah, I don't think that alone will steal e3. A handful of games, some Kinetic titles that are actually good and IPTV would make for a pretty good showing.

Breadisgood4745d ago

Yeah I think it should read "MS could easily have the most boring E3 conference yet again".

By the way, the only console I own is the 360 so I'm not just being a fanboy. I'm genuinely disappointed that this could be true and will be the only thing they talk about at the conference.

mrv3214745d ago

I like the concept, I HATE the name. Xbox Live diamond? Eh... Xbox Live Platinum sounds better.

Also, I think Sony might join with Google and release Google TV for PS3.

The Meerkat4745d ago

Xbox Live Diamond sound like its for OAPs

Wikkid6664745d ago

Diamond = TV, Phone, Online Game Play
Platinum = Phone and Game Play
Gold = Game Play

Show all comments (157)
150°

10 Biggest Xbox Mistakes of All Time (So Far)

The Xbox brand has done a lot of good over the years, but their various blunders are pretty wild to look back on in their magnitude.

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culturedvultures.com
piroh6d ago (Edited 6d ago )

Ironically number 9 can save them at this point (releasing games on multiple platforms)

ChasterMies5d ago

By “save them” you mean make more profit for Microsoft. Xbox will still be a dying hardware platform.

OtterX5d ago

You could add the naming scheme for the consoles, it just confuses customers. I know they wanted to avoid traditional numbering bc it would always be lower than their competitor, but this whole 360 then One then Series thing is confusing af. Imagine a Soccer Mom trying to figure this stuff out. I still mistakenly call the Series X the One from time to time on accident.

RNTody5d ago

Don't forget about the Xbox One, Xbox One X and Xbox Series X! Good luck to Soccer moms around the world.

S2Killinit5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

They did that on purpose to confuse and direct attention away from the generational numbering.

MS doesn’t like reminding people that they joined the industry after others had already been involved in gaming.

For instance, they called the xbox “360” to combat PlayStation “3” because they wanted to seem like “more” than “3”, so instead of xbox 2, they opted for xbox 360. Also this had the additional benefit of selling consoles to uninformed parents who might purchase a “360” instead of a “3” by mistake, or because they thought 360 was more than 3. Kind of a disingenuous move.

They have been continuing with their confusing naming patterns for pretty much the same reasons. Frankly, it fits with who and what they are as a brand.

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago

I can understand their reasoning, but whoever came up with that naming scheme should be fired, bad naming schemes have killed consoles (I'm pretty sure it was the major reason for the downfall of the WiiU). They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo and Sega have had for their consoles, far less confusing for the consumer.

rob-GP1d 5h ago

@FinalFantasyFanatic "They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo..."

lol, you mean:

NES, SNES
GameBoy, GameBoy Advanced, GameBoy Colour, GameBoy SP
DS, DSi, DSXL
3DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS, New 3DS XL
Wii, Wii U
Switch, Switch OLED

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 5h ago
Cacabunga5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Phil Spencer is the worst that has happened to Xbox.
They built a respectable brand up to Xbox one. Then this guy took over and things became a joke

Reaper22_5d ago

He still has his job. Something you can't say about Jim Ryan.

Cacabunga5d ago

Both bad execs. One is on job and one thankfully retired.

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I didn't like either person, both people damaged their respective brands and produced worse outcomes, but Phil did save the Xbox brand from being retired by Microsoft. Although in hindsight, he should have just let it die, rather than languish in limbo like it is now.

Rainbowcookie3d ago

Yeah but the one that was "bad" didn't even affect sales.

bunt-custardly5d ago

Phil Spencer was also on the team back when 360 was around, alongside Shane Kim, Peter Moore etc. I think the damage that did the most harm was the Don Mattrick "Always Online" console (ahead of its time basically). They handed Sony and Nintendo a free-pass when that was revealed. It went downhill from there. Then the corporate machine went into full swing to try and recover. They have to a degree as a games company for the masses, and less so for the core gamer. Outside USA, the Xbox brand does not sell as well as Japanese based consoles (citation needed).

Cacabunga5d ago

Want a decision maker. The always online and TV plans was a disaster yes, but they caught up by announcing 1st party games that gamers actually kept the hype going.. until this moron took over and introduced the PC day one release.. e all know where that ended..

S2Killinit5d ago

I dont think they were ever a respectable brand, not since the beginning, when their goal was never to be involved and share in the gaming space. I think the OG xbox was an exception because MS as a brand was still getting its foot in and so the people behind that were people of the gaming industry.

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago

The 360 was the brand in its prime though, everything went downhill towards the end of that generation. Its staple games like Halo, Forza and Gears are what kept the console relevant and afloat for so long.

MaximusPrime_5d ago

Really good video.

I remember the days with RRoD was big news on here, N4G.

Microsoft had it turbulence number of years.

Looking at the success of Sea of Thieves despite being 6 years old, time to release Halo, Forza horizon 4 & 5 on PS5. It'll help their revenue

shinoff21835d ago (Edited 5d ago )

2 of the 4 games they did already sold really well. So it's definitely going down. Idk about halo or forza but I feel those studios they've bought in the last 5 years, their coming

ChasterMies5d ago

I found this video painful to watch. Can someone list them out?

Top 10 for me from are:
1. 2013 reveal presentation
2. Bundling Kinect 2 with Xbox One
3. RRoD or why rushing to market with hardware is always a bad idea.
4. Buying studios only to close them.
5. Ads on the Home Screen
6. Letting Halo die.
7. Letting Geard of War die.
8. Every console name
9. Charging for Xbox Live on Xbox 360 when Sony let PS3 players play online for free.
10. Cancelling release of OG Xbox games after the Xbox 360 launched.

Show all comments (31)
150°

Microsoft to Add Copilot AI to Video Games

Microsoft recently revealed its plans to incorporate Copilot directly into video games, with Minecraft being the first showcased example.

Read Full Story >>
xpgained.co.uk
Fishy Fingers10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

F*** AI

"Hey Copilot, what's a good meme to prove I dislike AI".... https://giphy.com/clips/sou...

Einhander197210d ago

Two trillion dollar company that just can't wait to put as many people possible out of work as fast as possible.

It feels like every single thing they do is making gaming worse and destroying the industry.

10d ago
9d ago
9d ago
darthv729d ago

....you know it takes people to program the AI.... right? It isnt like it is sentient. We haven't reach skynet level of situation or anywhere close to the matrix just yet.

That's next Thursday.

Einhander19728d ago (Edited 8d ago )

It takes a people to program the AI then that AI is used for who knows how many games eliminating countless jobs which only grows as AI is used for more and more game creation functions.

What you're saying is so ridiculously short sighted and truly larking any kind of understanding and foresight.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 8d ago
CaptainFaisal9d ago

Why all the hate? Im actually excited about this! Always wanted this kind of immersion, and an AI companion with me all the time helping me out knowing the status of my skills/inventory/progress and giving me tips on the best approach or how to craft something specific is game changing for the industry.

Hate all you want about AI, but this is just the start and I can see the potential already. You wont be complaining in the next 5-10 years about this, but rather complain if a game hasn’t implemented it.

MrDead9d ago

Yes we can't wait for the work of others to be used without the need to pay them so that MS can profit even more from the people they fire.

I_am_Batman9d ago (Edited 9d ago )

There is no chance I'd ever use something like this, especially if it's not part of the core game design, but a layer on top of it. It's way too much handholding. Many games already feel like busy work, because they don't let the player figure things out on their own. Having a real-time interactive guide defeats the purpose of playing the game in the first place in my opinion.

If this were to become the standard like you predict, we'll see more and more video games get away with bad design, because people will just be used to ask for help from the AI companion anyway.

Number1TailzFan9d ago

Well Nintendo don't need this with some of their games these days, with invincible characters, items, easy bosses etc.. they do the hand holding built in

helicoptergirl9d ago

Takes "hand holding" in games to a whole new level.

BlackDoomAx8d ago

Because human nature xD Almost every new technology had these kind of comments.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 8d ago
Show all comments (19)
70°

Activision team is opening a new game studio in Poland 'Elsewhere Entertainment' to build new AAA IP

Microsoft's Activision subsidiary announced today that it is opening a new game development studio to take advantage of the huge talent pool growing in Poland. It'll be the second Activision studio based in the region, joining Infinity Ward Krakow, although this studio is, in fact, not working on Call of Duty.

Read Full Story >>
windowscentral.com
Psychonaut8513d ago

They’re not working on Call of Duty? Give it time.