Xbox Live video consumption greatly increased in 2011; entertainment apps in higher demand

by Ben Gilbert on Jan 17th 2012 6:30PM

Sure, there are lots of folks playing plain old video games on their Xbox 360s, but lots of folks are relying on their consoles to provide other forms of entertainment. The use of "entertainment apps" jumped dramatically with Xbox Live's introduction of several new programs late last year -- to the tune of 50 percent globally, Microsoft said in a recent release. And in the US that stat is much more dramatic, with "more than 60 percent" of Gold members employing the apps for up to an hour a day on average.

Video watching has also seen a marked increase, with global video consumption stats showing a 140 percent increase in 2011 over 2010. We suppose all of this could be little more than thinly veiled chest-pounding, but with 66 million Xbox 360s out there in the wild (as of earlier this month) and 35 million users on Xbox Live (as of August 2011), we'd call them a bit more telling than that.

Microsoft promises continued support of its entertainment app marketplace as 2012 continues, which we're hoping means the HBO Go app is arriving sooner, rather than later.

Source: Major Nelson

Tags: apps, hbo, hbo-go, microsoft, xbox, xbox-apps, xbox-live, xbox-live-apps, xbox-live-marketplace

Reader Comments (36)

Too bad they got rid of the aspect ratio adjustment feature in Netflix or I'd be using it right now.

No amount of complaints have gotten a statement from Microsoft or Netflix about it though. :|

@Ignatius

I know what is up with that. I just wanna fill out my screen.

@Ignatius
Too bad they got rid of the old Netflix app period. This new one is beyond horrid and whoever designed it should be put in the corner of shame to think about what they've done.

@Anticrawl

ugh. personally, i hate when video isn't in the correct aspect ratio. i don't care if i'm "wasting" part of my screen. that said, it's silly to remove the setting for those that want it.

@Ignatius The Netflix app is indeed horrible, which is why I now use the PS3 Netflix app. It's 1080p, (Xbox Netflix limited to 720p), has Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio, and is much easier to navigate.

For me a bigger issue on Xbox though is with video gamma levels. Since the last dash update all video has looked washed out and grey. It affects everything, including Netflix.

@moroboshi

Lol Xbox 360 Netflix program has always supported 1080p. The only difference PS3 had on 360 for the longest time was quadraphonic and 5.1 audio. Which I'm pretty sure was added in the last update. I do agree though that the new navigation is annoying.

I have both the PS3 and 360. Honestly though I use my Roku HD for Netflix because it consumes the least electricity and the 360/PS3 consume a ton (especially for people who fall asleep watching Netflix).

As long as the HBO app is up by the time Game of Thrones S2 rolls out then I'm happy.

Hey Microsoft! Bring back the Netflix Party feature! >:(

.....and 1 VS 100

@xGearSecondx I quite agree, Microsoft needs to bring back the Party for Netflix thing IMMEDIATELY

@xGearSecondx 1 vs 100 FTW.... still need that last chievo tho

Once again, I'm the opposite of the majority. I've found that the new dashboard actually makes me less likely to watch videos (vs the prior dashboard) and use apps. It's a more tedious process and the more organized dashboard somehow forces me not to distract myself from anything other than my games.

@FlashJS I agree, ever since this update I've been far less motivated to even turn my system on, as I know I'll just be greeted by obnoxious advertisements and clunky functionality.

@Calatia

but somehow you forget that with the NXE, the entire initial row of the dashboard was ads. by comparison, the new one is an improvement.

@maveric101 No it's not, not by a long shot. As soon as you turn the system on 3/4 of the space on the dashboard now is occupied by advertisements. Then on just about every other tab their are advertisements too. On NXE there were far fewer ads and they were far less intrusive.

I love the greasy checker burger ad lol

I really love the design... On Windows Phone 7... But weird shapes and stuff on my TV that affect my selection using a controller kind of got old fast.

I don't feel like I'm "getting better" at it either. Though I don't play with it all that much other than just games.

@D3m0sthenes

Try using your L and R shoulder buttons to quickly navigate sections - it's feels exactly like the original Xbox 360 Blade dash board.

Most people who complain about the Metro dash being difficult to navigate, never realize they can just use the shoulder buttons just like in the old days.

That just goes to show you... Reduce video quality on the new dashboard and people will blissfully ignorantly keep biting.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-what-went-wrong-with-the-360-dash

@(Unverified)
Eh, those differences are minute and don't matter in the least for people who just watch Netflix and Youtube (most people)

When I want the best quality I put in a blu-ray, but to pay too much attention to minor differences in streaming quality seems silly to me. The whole point of streaming is convenience, not necessarily quality.

@CaramelZappa You are right about convenience being a big part...but I highly doubt Netflix would be as popular as it is if it only offered SD quality streaming considering how fast people's internet connections are.

Also, 720p v. 1080p streaming is not what most of us are complaining about. You are right that most people won't even be able to tell the difference. The problem is that, for those of us who have carefully calibrated our TV sets, the color and black level reproduction on the new dashboard is f@cked compared to other video playback devices and even the old NXE dashboard. The washed out videos and gray blacks has nothing to do with streaming quality. Its sad especially considering how much MS is pushing the console as a legitimate video playback device.

Its sad that people have your attitude. I hope that if you encounter any future issues, other people don't brush them aside as "being minute" and just shrug when MS sweeps it all under a rug.

@CaramelZappa The washed out blacks of the new dash when playing video are incredibly obvious and greatly damage video playback.

@CaramelZappa Whether those differences are minute or not, they DO make the Xbox 360 non-compliant with existing video standards. The problem is that your average person doesn't know those standards even exist, or even what to look for when things aren't right. But in the age of digital television especially, a device is either digitally correct or it isn't... and since the new dashboard, the Xbox 360's video playback is digitally incorrect. Minute or not, Microsoft randomly broke something that previously was digitally correct on their box... not just for the new streaming apps, but for local video playback as well. And whether you think the differences are minute or not, you should be pissed that they exist at all, because there's no excuse when an "update" breaks something as basic as proper video playback levels.

I've been watching video less since the update. I hate the new netflix interface. It's clunky and ugly. And sometimes I want to choose a TV episode or read more information about a movie BEFORE it starts buffering and playing. Youtube, too. It works, but I mostly watch subscriptions. The way they organized subscriptions so that you have to dig through menus and manually look at each channel isntead of just having a stream of recent uploads and activity makes the Youtube app more tedious than convenient for me.

I don't get all the complaints about the general Metro'ness of the update, though. I rarely have to navigate any further than quick launch, which is far more convenient than it used to be.

i hope microsoft realizes by en large the current level of advertising saturation in traditional distribution is what is driving the 'entertainment' growth on their platform and don't make the mistake of trying to match their traditional counterparts.

i for one, and i don't think i'm alone, won't accept it.

I used to watch Major's Minute, Insider Moves, Jessica Chobot videos. Now they're buried under... Games? Games then video? I can't even remember. I think I found it last night, then realized there's no way to tell which are the newest.

And the Netflix app is terrible. When I start watching a supernatural BS reality show, I want to pick which episode sounds the least stupid, not automatically start at Season 1 Episode 1.

@benheckendorn

It is weird. I think their located under the Video tab actually, in the top right corner, not under games. Also, there's no way to access the archived videos anymore. I hope they sort some of this out.

@benheckendorn Then I recommend using Netflix on PS3. It has episode selection, 1080p, and correct video gamma levels.

@lolfirst2012 WORST comment (fixed)

This is absolutely true for me. I spend about 90% of the time I'm using my Xbox watching the ESPN app. This allowed me to cut cable, since ESPN was all I ever watched on it. Why spend nearly $100 a month for something you can get for free? So while other people complain that Xbox Live costs $50 a year, it's actually saving me $1,150 a year.

Maybe this will get Microsoft to lobby companies like Comcast to increase their bandwidth cap since they are still holding on to the archaic 250gb. I consistently get close and go over because we use Netflix and Hulu as our TV.

I just rented 3 movies on Zune Marketplace for my girlfriend and I this weekend. It's a terrific service.

i want that bright white background dammit

I'm still waiting for ESPN3 (TWC customer). I know its not MS's fault...but why officially announce it when a deal was never finalized?

It really does bother me that there are so many ads on a PAID service. Number should be zero, yo.

I personally don't watch as much as I use to. Although now I find myself messing with the dashboard. Hardly even watch trailers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I know I use Youtube a lot more now than I used now that it is on the 360.

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Xbox Live video consumption greatly increased in 2011; entertainment apps in higher demand

Reader Comments (36)

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 6:36PM Ignatius said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 8:20PM Anticrawl said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 9:16PM ProfessorBonkle said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 10:08PM maveric101 said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 4:01AM moroboshi said

Posted: Jan 21st 2012 2:05PM Anticrawl said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 6:44PM Baron Samedi said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 6:46PM xGearSecondx said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 7:28PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 8:10PM misterAKA said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 6:48PM FlashJS said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 6:57PM Calatia said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 12:58AM maveric101 said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 8:17AM Calatia said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 6:58PM Wizardsofwaverly said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 7:02PM D3m0sthenes said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 10:27AM Tachyonic Cargo said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 7:07PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 7:21PM CaramelZappa said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 1:10AM henhowc said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 4:03AM moroboshi said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 7:33AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 7:24PM CaramelZappa said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 7:41PM fid said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 7:58PM benheckendorn said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 9:56PM 343 Guilty Fart said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 4:04AM moroboshi said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 8:17PM AFATALERR0R said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 10:18PM MEGATOOL said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 10:44PM Justinian said

Posted: Jan 17th 2012 11:26PM Sgt Barone said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 1:04AM shabby329 said

Posted: Jan 18th 2012 1:13AM henhowc said

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Posted: Jan 18th 2012 9:41AM spid said

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