PS4 and Xbox vie to dominate living room

November 15, 2013 12:12 pm

PS4 and Xbox vie to dominate living room

By Tim Bradshaw in San Francisco

Earlier this year, executives from Sony and Microsoft drew a clear battle line between their two new games consoles: the Xbox One was pitched as an all-in-one entertainment hub while the PlayStation 4 was – in the words of Sony chief Kaz Hirai – “all about the gamers”. That stance marked a reversal from the launch of the two companies’ previous consoles in the mid-2000s, when the PlayStation 3’s Blu-ray drive was almost as big a selling point as its gaming capabilities. Microsoft added support for other video services such as the BBC iPlayer only later in the Xbox 360’s life. Both consoles have subsequently become among the most popular ways to view video streaming services such as Netflix.“The last generation of consoles were a brilliant example of a Trojan horse strategy,” says Dan Cryan, analyst at IHS. “People bought them for the games then realised they could do all this other stuff.”

For 2013, Microsoft is putting greater emphasis on the Xbox One’s media capabilities, which include the ability to use its Kinect voice and motion sensor to hop between live cable or satellite channels or search for particular TV shows.

“All in one. Input one,” screamed Xbox banners at this summer’s E3 games conference, a reference to Microsoft’s aspiration that its console be the only cable input needed into its customers’ televisions. The Kinect sensor’s infrared transmitter allows it to act as a universal remote control for other living-room devices, such as a speaker system.

But in the run-up to this month’s launch of the two consoles, the ground between the two rivals seems to have narrowed.

Sony last week responded with its announcement of a range of digital entertainment apps for the PS4, including Amazon’s Instant Video, Hulu Plus and Netflix, as well as its own Music and Video Unlimited services. Up to eight PlayStation owners can chat to each other remotely through its Party mode while watching movies or playing games.

Both companies are keen to use the consoles to stake a claim in the living room, which is yet to be dominated by one or two large technology companies as PCs and mobile devices have been.

Apple’s long-expected move into television will not arrive until 2014 at the earliest, despite chief executive Tim Cook’s insistence earlier this year that TV was of “intense interest”. For now, its $99 Apple TV box still seems more like a hobby, amid reports that the company is still struggling to secure the content rights it wants.

Similarly, growing expectations that Amazon would launch a set-top box akin to the Apple TV or Roku have also failed to materialise in the lead-up to Christmas.

“There are a whole raft of advantages that go along with being tied into the biggest TV in the house,” says Mr Cryan. “The TV upgrade cycle is not very fast. If you’re going to try to get widespread penetration [in the living room], a games console is a great way of doing it.”