As I wrote last week, the 2011 holidays may be remembered for casting a bright light on mobile TV. But that's just part of the story.
Another tale could be how non-gamers found room in the inn for a gaming console. In its Cyber Monday announcement, Amazon promised a $199 deal for the XBox 360 Holiday Bundle (with a 250GB console). It might just be the perfect gift for someone who still thinks "angels" when they hear Halo Reach and Aesop when they hear Fable III.
That non-gamers would ever want a high-end gaming console speaks to Microsoft's innovative approach to creating a different kind of entertainment system. Here are five reasons friends and family might come bearing 360s for non-gamers:
1) On-demand TV viewing: XBox Live already offers Netflix and Hulu, served via built-in WiFi, but in October the company announced it would blow those offerings away:
Nearly 40 world-leading TV and entertainment providers, including Bravo, Comcast, HBO GO, Verizon FiOS and Syfy in the U.S.; BBC in the U.K., Telefónica in Spain; Rogers On Demand in Canada; Televisa in Mexico; ZDF in Germany; and MediaSet in Italy, will begin rolling out entertainment services to the console this holiday, in more than 20 countries."
That didn't even mention YouTube, which is developing a whole new level of high quality entertainment and viewing experience.
XBox Live has set Dec. 6 to roll out its new interface. Look for further writing on this topic in the coming weeks.
2) Connected storage: Consumers can buy a 4GB XBox 360 for $199, but 250GB is serious downloaded media storage that is connected directly to the entertainment system. This is a practical, and distinct, advantage over hosting movies, music and pictures on hard drives that compete with spreadsheets, Word docs and whatever else their computer has on it.
3) Kinect: For an extra $100, non-gamers will have the most vibrant interactive technology consumers have ever seen. Or that has ever seen consumers. Kinect recognizes your body shape, connects it to your profile, and can hear your commands with amazing accuracy. And, according to Microsoft, it's about to get better."Users will be able to effortlessly navigate through their favorite entertainment on Xbox 360 using voice or gestures."
4) Fitness: With the Kinect, XBox 360 becomes a powerful personal trainer. Granted, Your Shape, Zumba Fitness and Biggest Loser software are technically games, but just try to play them while pounding down Cheetos. That orange is going to be hard to clean out of the carpet. Which brings me to ...
5) Games. My wife is not a gamer. But she cannot stop playing on the XBox. She's not shooting and scoring like most gamers do -- she is dancing and singing. These days, the question is rarely, "Do you game?" It's how you game. Wii was the first to prove that. PlayStation III can prove it too, of course. But XBox has put the most faith in an all-encompassing entertainment system that has gaming as an option. And this holiday season, traditionally non-gaming people will be key in answering Microsoft's prayers.
