Microsoft is adding interactivity to traditional Hollywood entertainment this year as it expands into original programming and exclusive coverage of red carpet events.
2012 also marked the Xbox’s biggest year for entertainment and games usage. Users enjoyed more than 18 billion hours of entertainment in 2012, with entertainment app usage growing 57 percent year over year globally. Last year in the United States, Xbox LIVE Gold members averaged 87 hours per month on Xbox, an increase of 10 percent year over year.
Those numbers strongly indicate that consumers enjoy all kinds of entertainment via Xbox, and Mehdi believes the future of entertainment is even brighter, as Microsoft plans to keep the momentum rolling.
“We believe that Xbox is being used by more people in the household, during more hours in the day and for more forms of entertainment,” he said. “People are using Xbox in the morning to work out with the Kinect Nike+ Fitness program, kids are watching cartoons, families are enjoying movies, and of course people are playing blockbuster games like Halo 4.”
The Future of TV Is Interactive and More Engaging
According to Mehdi, Xbox has something in the living room no one else has – a large installed base of devices already in the home, connected to TVs, and over half of those are already linked together, delivering amazing personalized and social entertainment experiences via the Xbox LIVE network.
Microsoft believes that the future of TV and entertainment is one where the TV becomes interactive and more engaging, Mehdi and Tellem explained. Microsoft sees that viewers want to do more with their TV shows, movies, sports and other forms of entertainment.
“We believe that we are at the start of the next wave of truly interactive entertainment,” Tellem said.
