Xbox 360 Elite with IPTV could change the world

Nipping at the heels of our "Orb" story below, Gizmodo is reporting that the rumored and unconfirmed and who-cares-'cause-we-all-know-it's-coming Xbox 360 Elite will be IPTV ready out of the box.

This may be a problem for Sony and, to a lesser degree, Nintendo as Gizmodo concludes, "VOD? (video on demand) IPTV? DVR? Media streaming? The 360 is looking more and more like the best convergence box of its generation."

But, could the Xbox 360 Elite really change the world? Make no mistake, Sony and Microsoft are both vying to get consumers to leave the old concept of gaming consoles being just for games behind so they can transition to the elusive and highly coveted "Universal Set Top Box" - an all-in-one media delivery tool that allows consumers to receive every type of conceivable digital content through one easy-to-use interface right into their living rooms.

What's at stake? The first company to deliver this concept to the public in a way that successfully drives widespread consumer adoption is going to have a huge leg up in the Digital Distribution Industry (DDI) moving forward in this century. Century? Yes, this is not some short-term concept we're discussing, this is a serious "Next Big Thing" kinda thing. DDI will be looked back on as being as revolutionary as Radio and TV were when they were introduced. Do you know anyone who doesn't own a TV or a radio?

We're not talking about millions or even billions of dollars in possible revenue here, this could be worth trillions over the next several decades and could fundamentally change the very landscape of entertainment. Imagine no more music stores, no more theaters, no more movies or TV shows on discs. Once enough money is being diverted away from these brick and mortar endeavors and into the DDI, they may all become obsolete and extinct. I predict the change is coming sooner rather than later.

Of course, people may continue to support theaters and the like due to the social aspects of seeing a movie in a large group or they may not. If you and I and all our friends could watch the same movie from our individual living rooms while all being connected together with live voice chat (with the ability to mute the "movie-talker" or "annoying laugh guy")...wouldn't that actually be superior to a theater? We could laugh together at the right times and still be able to eat our own snacks, drink our own drinks and sit in our own recliners. I have to say, that sounds pretty compelling to me!

As with everything else, the market will decide.

PS3 crashes in Euro launch, MS crashes party

The PS3 (crashed) launched in Europe yesterday amid throngs of tens of people and moribund sales. Archrival Microsoft generated more excitement at a Paris launch party than anything Sony provided.

Microsoft is clearly done taking Sony’s jabs without a fight. At one of the largest launch parties in Paris, MS drove a boat by the PS3 party adorned with huge “XBOX 360 HEARTS YOU” banners. That’s not all. MS flunkies handed out chairs to weary fans waiting in the PS3 lines printed with a link to this site. Classic!! They also sent SMS messages to game journalists saying "The Xbox 360 team wishes you a good night." To top things off, the MS army was armed with whistles, blowing them from rooftops to drown out the noise of Sony PR. The embedded video below shows the Xbox 360 boat cruising by and the French journalists commenting about it; they seem to get a real kick out of it. If any of you can translate it, I’d love to know what they are saying.

Sony has spent a lot of time since the launch of the Xbox 360 dissing Microsoft and the supposed lack of capabilities of their console. Now, even after the 360 has proven to be a much more formidable opponent to the PS3 than Sony could have possibly imagined, Microsoft seems unwilling to accept their success gracefully; they want to rub it Sony’s face a bit. Can you really blame them? No one’s PR machine is more abrasive (see below) than Sony’s.

The funny thing is it seems Microsoft didn’t need to bother wasting their time or breathe on Sony’s European launch. Ken and the gang’s idiotic comments to fans seemed to do all the damage Microsoft could have wanted.

At French events, one store sold a paltry 50 consoles out of 1000, and another store sold just 300 out of 1000. At the grossly under-attended event at the Eiffel Tower, where officials were told to expect 3000 people, roughly 40 people turned out. That’s not a misprint folks…40! 40 people out of 3,000?! Are you serious? I could email my friends and gather that many people at one event. Of course, Sony’s fan-friendly security was still turning people away that didn’t have invitations. At that point you’d think Sony would have PAID those people to attend.

One would-be gate crasher said, "I came from the suburbs, perhaps they don't like my face." Ouch babe!

Way to go Sony! You’ve just set your brand name back five years in France.