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Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

Comcast confirms Microsoft deal: Xfinity coming to Xbox 360

By | October 5, 2011, 9:52am PDT

Summary: Gaming consoles aren’t really for gaming anymore now that they’re being loaded with digital media from other providers.

Who has any time to use gaming consoles for video games anymore now that there are so many other options available? That question could be even more difficult to answer now as Comcast has confirmed that it will be delivering its Xfinity on-demand streaming service in a nicely packaged app for the Xbox 360.

Just last month, it was reported that Microsoft was in talks with both Comcast and Verizon to beef up its Xbox Live platform with more TV, film, and sports content in the United States and Europe.

So surprise, surprise! This rumor thankfully (at least for Xbox 360 owners who are Comcast subscribers) is true.

However, it won’t be available immediately. At this point, Comcast is just saying that the Xfinity for Xbox 360 app is “coming soon.” When it does arrive, we can expect to see a more “unique” experience as this version will take advantage of Kinect’s voice and gesture controls.

It’s not likely that Comcast subscribers will buy an Xbox 360 because of this as they likely already have cable boxes in their homes, so it’s not really necessary to have another box lying around for the same purpose. However, Xbox 360 owners might want to take more advantage out of their consoles and get Comcast, and then they can access Xfinity from multiple other devices, mainly PCs and tablets.

Another way this might play out is that Comcast subscribers might end up loaning their Comcast ID info to friends/family with Xbox 360s, which is quite likely. That might be to Comcast’s chagrin, but who knows? Maybe then those Xbox 360 owners will love Xfinity so much, they’ll sign up for Comcast accounts themselves! After all, Comcast was named as the “fastest Internet provider” in the United States by PC Magazine recently.

Now if only Sony’s PlayStation 3 could get this…

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Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.

Disclosure

Rachel King

Rachel King has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted in this blog.

Biography

Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated.

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RE: Comcast confirms Microsoft deal: Xfinity coming to Xbox 360
kronik pasta 21st Feb
i think this is a good idea, i like it because i can now do almost everything on my xbox. i hate haveing to switch from tv to computer to xbox to do everything. plus i love the crakle app in there now. and from what i know xfinity is free as long as you have a gold mmbership and have comcast/xfinity as your cable provider. :)))!! cant wait till its here!!! also my gamertag on xbox live is- KRoNiK PASTA
this is stupid i like the why it is now not all this update ****!!
"It???s not likely that Comcast subscribers will buy an Xbox 360 because of this as they likely already have cable boxes in their homes, so it???s not really necessary to have another box lying around for the same purpose."

Actually, I got rid of my cable box because I have a CableCard Windows Media Center which streams to my xBox. The only problem with that setup is no on-demand. Now that it will stream to my xBox, there are now no disadvantages to my setup (and many advantages).
I had a TiVo so can't get access to on-demand so this is a win!
This is AWESOME news. I love my MediaCenter, but it's a complete PITA to have to keep switching back to the cable box and navigate it's horrifyingly slow and clunky interface to find movies and other shows "on demand".

If this also allows my XBox to stream live content, on-demand content and also content from Hulu, netflix, etc., then I don't need a DVR any longer and can switch to XBox for ALL my movie/tv entertainment happy
Bets on whether you have to have an XBox Live Gold account for this to work? NetFlix, Zune Pass, etc all require them and its a shame, as I already pay a subscription for those. I am NOT willing to pay MS extra for the pleasure of this on my gaming Console when they are freely accessed on my phone and computer.
Comcast SUX, PC mag Sux, comcast is the worst internet service provider so bite me!! we dont need that on the xbox 360
@moondookie@... and you SUX for wasting your time reading something that you KNOW SUX: another 85'er.
With two HD Tivos in the house we miss the ability to access the on-demand Comcast library - this just might make me pony up for an XBOX subscription.
0 Votes
+ -
yzptsbf 49 ioj
cmakrekdw31-24379022951122313491458264008588 25th Nov
hbzjyg,tadlltzd87, jyuvr.
i think this is a good idea, i like it because i can now do almost everything on my xbox. i hate haveing to switch from tv to computer to xbox to do everything. plus i love the crakle app in there now. and from what i know xfinity is free as long as you have a gold mmbership and have comcast/xfinity as your cable provider. :)))!! cant wait till its here!!! also my gamertag on xbox live is- KRoNiK PASTA

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