The device will go head to head with a new home console from Sony that is both a gaming console and content management system. It is not expected to be launched untill late in 2009 or early 2010. Key to the new Microsoft offering according to a development engineer is IP content which Microsoft believes is the future for both gaming and home entertainment.
During the past 12 months and at the recent CES Expo in Las Vegas, both Sony and Microsoft have met with global telecommunication companies to discuss home gateways and the delivery of IP content into the home and their new gaming and entertainment consoles.
In Australia senior Telstra executives have said that the future is not Blu-ray but Blu-ray quality content delivered over an IP network or via content kiosks. Telstra have also said that they want to deliver both games and entertainment content to both the new Sony and Microsoft devices with consumers given the option of either downloading the content to the device or picking up the content from storage kiosks located at Telstra mobile stores and at key public transport hubs.
