Marc Whitten, Xbox Live General Manager, has said they plan to see ”how far” software evolution can go before thinking about new hardware.
Games on Demand, Zune Video and Facebook are examples of new Xbox Live features that’ll keep the embers burning for ”years to come.” All these arrive before Project Natal.
Obviously Microsoft’s motion-sensing camera is in fact a new piece of Xbox hardware, but that’s a long way off right now compared with impending software upgrades to Live. ”I think we should continue to see how far we can evolve the experience just through software.”
”I think you can also see with Project Natal that there are things you can do to add to that experience,” said Whitton.
”Frankly regardless of when, if and how we see the next hardware platform, this one will have legs for years and years to come. We will be able to do so much with what we have with the Xbox 360 - sitting in everyone’s living room, everybody connected together.”
”The magic is really that 20 million people are connected to each other and they’re enjoying this contented together in the living room. That’s the part that really brings these things together,” he continued.
”It’s fun and easy to think of the experiences that are going to make that sync.” Xbox Live’s launch of the New Xbox Experience sure did its job as subscriptions shot up thanks to the new and more user friendly design. Now it’s all about giving NXE more muscle to flex.
Source: CVG
