granted a patent that will further help in this endeavor.
[caption id="attachment_11417" align="aligncenter" width="302"]
Microsoft dvr patent[/caption]
The actual patent is for an “integrated gaming and media experience” that enables users to record media via a DVR application running alongside a television client component. This actual patent was filed back in 2007, just a few short months after the release of the Playstation 3.
For those that don’t know, the current Xbox 360 already allows some DVR functions but it must be done through linking to a DVR that is installed by the TV service provider, and not a directly integrated experience.
A full DVR/multimedia experience might make it in a further revision of the 360, but I’m not certain. Will the next Xbox become a full multimedia hub that bring the internet, video, TV, and recording to all users? More than likely.
More and more non-gaming users are starting to adopt the Xbox (and other consoles) just for their multimedia capabilites, and this is likely to be even more true in the next generation.
Soon ‘gaming consoles’ will likely no longer exist, instead just replaced by multimedia entertainment devices that also function as ‘game players’.
Microsoft’s Xbox is certainly part of its future strategy, beyond the OS market and will continue to grow as a more and more lucrative market as it reaches casual gamers, multmedia buffs, and traditional gamers as well.
What do you think of this patent and what it could mean for gaming/multimedia systems in the future? Share your thoughts below.]]>
