Xbox TV Services, Kinect Highlighted at E3

New services for Xbox Live subscribers, including live television, integrated YouTube support, and streaming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, were announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June 2011. The added offerings, along with Bing search integration and a revised user interface, will be released on the Xbox later in 2011. Microsoft also demonstrated several upcoming games and navigational elements that leverage the motion-control and voice-input capabilities of the Kinect peripheral. The announcements build on the market momentum of the Xbox platform (now the top-selling game console in the United States), while positioning the system as the centerpiece of living room entertainment.

Xbox Momentum Continues

According to market research firm NPD, Xbox 360 has been the top-selling console in the United States for 11 of the last 12 months. Microsoft claims that about 55 million Xbox 360 consoles have sold since its 2005 launch, and the Xbox Live service, which lets players connect their consoles to the Internet to play with remote users, download games, and stream movies, has about 35 million subscribers. The Kinect peripheral has set sales records, selling over 10 million units since it became available in Nov. 2010. Microsoft believes that Xbox will become the number-one-selling console in the world within the next year, topping competitors from Nintendo and Sony.