Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg seems to like the Xbox 360’s media center attributes — he calls it “a real value add for Xbox owners with MCE machines” and “light years ahead” of other companies — but says “it’s not as big a deal as other are making this out.” Among Gartenberg’s points: “since there isn’t much of a marketing strategy between Xbox and MCE, it’s not likely many consumers will ever use this feature (or even trip over it). Even if they know about it, the issues related to getting this thing to work over a network at home are huge. Most consumers simply will either lack the technology or skills to make this thing connect properly.”
Microsoft has placed a fair amount of emphasis on the Media Center aspects in advance publicity but, from what I’ve seen so far, it’s not making a big push to market Xbox 360 and Media Center PCs together. That makes some sense now given that gamers are the low-hanging fruit but Gates and other Microsoft execs clearly see Xbox 360 as a link between multiple concepts including the Media Center and Microsoft Live. “In the living room itself, Xbox 360 is our centerpiece and a product that redefines what goes on there,” Gates said as the new console went on sale. More from AP.
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