Could the Xbox 720 Offer a Complete Entertainment Experience?

The quantity of electronic devices around our homes seems to increase with every passing season. From DVD players to music systems, TV set-top boxes, to the all important Xbox console. To enjoy every entertainment option on offer we’ve always had to have every gadget on offer cluttering up our space, and emptying our bank accounts! If even a few of our many entertainment options could be combined into one handy unit it would certainly be useful, and the hope is that the new Xbox 720 could offer just that.

Partnering with the Big Boys

In a recent announcement Microsoft declared their new partnerships with a range of the providers of some of our favorite TV shows. In fact, more than 40 companies will soon be working with Microsoft to bring TV straight through our 360s; companies including HBO, UFC, Comcast, Verizon and SyFy. It’ll still be a while before we’re throwing out our set-top cable boxes though, particularly as there are likely to be subscription, or at least pay-per-view, costs for popular programs. But at least this is Microsoft moving in the direction of providing us with the complete entertainment machine that we crave.

It’s not all about curling up in front of a TV show of course; Microsoft is suggesting and implementing many other options that could turn a games console into a complete entertainment machine. Rumors of voice search using the Kinect and improved compatibility with all Microsoft devices will both work toward the end goal of an Xbox that really can be whatever you want it to be.

Back to the Future

Enough about current plans for the existing Xbox though, it’s the 720 that we’re really interested in after all. Creating a fully-fledged entertainment machine does seem to be a passion of Microsoft’s, so let’s think to the future and what we could expect from the next generation of Xbox console.

Blu-Ray/HD-DVD
We can debate what form of media the Xbox 720 will take until hell freezes over, but there’s no denying that some means of watching HD movies will certainly be incorporated. With a suitable remote control this could remove the requirement for a separate DVD/Blu-Ray player. Downloadable movies are also certain to see more and more place in our movie-watching future, so the ability to purchase and download, or just rent and stream, the newest releases through our Xbox 720s will keep us entertained for hours.

The Sound of Music
Whether or not the hills are alive with the sound of music in your local area is irrelevant, we all like to listen to our favorite tunes now and then. The day may be coming when we can replace our old CDs, instead storing all of our music on the Xbox 720 to listen through our surround sound system, or even streamed through our Windows Mobile phones.

A World at our Fingertips
How would we cope without the internet? Email, Google, Facebook, news and weather reports, the list goes on and on. When Nintendo invited their users to browse the web through the Wii it was an instantly popular decision, and internet enabled television sets are becoming more and more common in houses around the country. It seems we like to access this sticky web of information wherever we are. With improvements to voice recognition through the Kinect it could be easy to browse for whatever we want without navigating through fiddly text entry using a classic controller.

Microsofting our Worlds
Microsoft is a household name. PCs, smartphones, the Xbox and more; it’s all connected through this one company and yet, at present, the integration of all of this technology leaves something to be desired. We aren’t sure if the Xbox 720 will run from a version of Windows, but what if it were a possibility to make games PC and Xbox compatible? What if it were incredibly easy to upload music, movies and more to access on any of our Windows devices, whether in the house or out of it? To make the 720 a complete entertainment machine, Microsoft is going to have to tie in every gadget in their repertoire.

There’s no denying that technology will continue to play a larger and larger part of our lives as time goes by, so it’s time Microsoft stepped up and delivered a complete entertainment machine to make our technological lives complete!

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