XBOX LIVE ON THE HIGH STREET
bonus months and you get an in- game weapon to use in Gears of War 3.”
What’s more, Microsoft is increasingly bundling Xbox Live points, subs and even entire downloadable games with retail releases – such as the inclusion of XBLA title Fruit Ninja Kinectwith boxed game The Gunstringer. “There’s going to be a lot of in- game bundling activity,” continues Burrowes. “So for certain Kinect games coming out this Christmas there will be codes included, which we will talk more about soon. “Consumers will also be able to buy a subscription card and you will get points that can redeemed against movies or games.”
FRIEND OR FOE?
As a platform that sells games, Xbox Live is technically a rival to the High Street. Yet Microsoft has kept its relationship with retail intact by not challenging it head-on.
Boxed Xbox 360 games are always released on shelves before they are fully made available to download – often there’s as much as a six-month gap between the retail and digital versions. This is in stark contrast to Sony, which is offering up all PlayStation Vita games over PSN at the same time as they are released in stores. Burrowes adds: “There are no plans for that kind of day and date parity. Right now, we are very respectful of that retail environment, in that we have a window between the release of a retail game and the digital one. There are no immediate plans to change that.” Furthermore, Microsoft promotes its Xbox Live Arcade service during the summer, and away from retail’s crucial Christmas sales period. “Xbox Live Arcade is almost counter-cyclical to traditional retail,” explains Burrowes.
“Mainly driven on the back of programmes like Summer of
THE NEW XBOX 360 DASHBOARD
Arcade, which has had titles like Braid and Trials HD.
“
MICROSOFT’S latest plan for Xbox Live is to introduce a new Xbox 360 dashboard, which will be made available before Christmas. Xbox Live marketing manager Robin Burrowes tells us why it has been updated.
“Our entertainment consumption is growing at least 100 per cent per annum in terms of movies and downloads,” he says. “We recognise the need to broaden the content experiences, and there is an ambition to bring more
22 September 9th 2011 “
As more stuff gets added to Xbox Live, it becomes really hard to discover the content. Robin Burrowes, Microsoft
Right now we are very respectful of that retail
environment. We have a window between the release of the retail game and the digital one. Robin Burrowes, Microsoft
“What we see during peak time, when the big blockbuster retail games come out, is that Xbox Live Arcade has been traditionally soft. It is in the quieter times that we have been very actively pushing the XBLA service, such as what we are doing with Summer of Arcade right now. From Dustis doing really well and Fruit Ninja Kinectis doing very well indeed.”
DIGITAL DREAM
Microsoft proves that when it comes to the digital market, it’s not just retail that needs to evolve. By offering traditional outlets something they can sell – be it Call of Duty-branded points cards or Gears of Warsubscriptions – the High Street has been able to help Xbox Live establish itself as a powerful distribution platform. It’s a successful partnership that other publishers and platforms may want to learn from.
content partners to the platform. We are pretty close to some significant announcements.” One of the key reasons for changing the dashboard is because it’s become difficult to find content on Xbox Live, adds Burrowes. “As more content gets populated onto the platform, it becomes really hard to discover that content. The new dash will be a big step forward in the ability for people to find content by controller, gesture or voice.”
The new style is in-line with the Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, which are built with touch and gesture interfaces in mind. It means the new dash is better suited for Kinect use. “In the future there will be an obvious convergence between what we are doing on the Xbox 360 and the other platforms that we support,” adds Burrowes. But what impact does new servives and a dash update make to sales?
“Launching new services unquestionably does drive audience acquisition, it also helps drive audience retention as well. We will announce new partners in due course, and when we announce those partners, we expect an audience uplift and for it to have a healthy impact on retaining existing Xbox Live customers. Or, potentially, moving those Xbox Live customers from being a free member to being a Gold member.”
www.mcvuk.com
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