NXE Marketing and Netflix HD

[Siraris]

http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/8E03FD60-90F7-452B-8627-EACAE77E0686/0/UH370_nxe_1.jpg

Instead of creating two separate headlines, I thought I'd condense into one post of ooey, gooey, NXE goodness.

First off, we have actual news that you can grab hold of. From Engadget (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/10/29/hd-netflix-streaming-comes-to-xbox-360-first/):

It's something you can't get on the Roku. Nor on LG's BD300. Nor on Samsung's P2500 / P2550 Blu-ray players. Nor through Netflix's own "Watch Instantly" portal. It's high-def Netflix streaming, and it's coming first to Microsoft's Xbox 360. Yes friends, when the all new dashboard hits on November 19th, with it will come HD Netflix streaming for Xbox Live Gold members. You should know that this is only a "soft launch" with about 300 titles available for now, and the litany of details you're surely craving simply aren't available at present time. At any rate, we'd say things just got a lot more interesting in the world of digital downloads, but there's really no need.

Next up, is the announcement that Microsoft will be launching the biggest marketing campaign in the history of the Xbox name (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20827) in order to get the word out about the New Xbox Experience.

But the "re-launch" of the entire Xbox 360 experience will also be accompanied with in-store outreach, says Greenberg.

"We will be launching the largest marketing campaign in the history of Xbox," he says. "We will be spending more money in marketing in advertising this holiday than we ever have in the history of our business."

Finally, what Greenberg claims is the industry's "biggest and broadest" games lineup rounds out the appeal, he says. "We have had some broad-appeal games in the past, but we have never had a year where we had... Think about the music genre and all the titles we have there; from Rock Band, to Guitar Hero, to Lips, to the social games like You're in the Movies and Scene It."

I am quite excited to get my hands on the NXE as soon as possible.

[yeti]

Same here, especially the 1680x1050 VGA resolution part.

[Psykoboy2]

"Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money to fix Red Rings. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money to fix red rings."

Sorry, that's all I could think of when I read about the marketing campaign.

[Xerxes]

"Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money to fix Red Rings. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money to fix red rings."

Sorry, that's all I could think of when I read about the marketing campaign.
That's funny. No really... it it.

Netflix HD is some sweet action. I hope I get access tomorrow. That is the day they announce the winners right? I mean beta testers. :D

[Whunpo]

"Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money to fix Red Rings. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money to fix red rings."

Sorry, that's all I could think of when I read about the marketing campaign.
I think you're forgetting that Microsoft is giving 3 year warranty's to all systems against Red Rings. What was it? A billion dollars.
Sure, they're spending a lot of money on marketing, but I don't know how much more I could expect from them.

[Xerxes]

I think you're forgetting that Microsoft is giving 3 year warranty's to all systems against Red Rings. What was it? A billion dollars.
Sure, they're spending a lot of money on marketing, but I don't know how much more I could expect from them.
Shhhhh... It's funny to make M$ I hear. :o

[Orca]

The high-def Netflix was the announcement I was talking about a while ago. The option was available in an early build of NXE, but pulled out recently - I think because the general media was getting their hands on it.

[Telefrog]

I think you're forgetting that Microsoft is giving 3 year warranty's to all systems against Red Rings. What was it? A billion dollars.
Sure, they're spending a lot of money on marketing, but I don't know how much more I could expect from them.

How about covering the shitty disc drive as well?

[MachEnergy]

The whole Netflix integration is giving me serious reason to consider switching from Blockbuster Online. If only I wasn't so satisfied with BB.....and if there was an easy way to export my queue of 500 movies from BB and easily import it into Netflix.

Anyone really talented with GreaseMonkey? :)

[Johan]

THIS is one of the features I am looking forward to with great anticipation. I will become a Netflix subscriber when this hits...and I think many others will, as well. It will be a win-win for MS and Netflix.

Awesome idea. Just awesome. I've never liked the idea of a mail-order rental service because the "wait" time seemed like a real rip-off. Well...the "wait" is now a whole lot less. I do want some details, however.

Is there a limit to how many movies you can download during a specified period of time?

If it's unlimited, I'm all over it. ALL over it. If it's limited, but a generous limit, I'm all over it as well. If it's a stingy cap, then I'll pass.

[Mdot]

Really can't wait for this update. Seems like they've improved every area of the current dashboard and the integration with Netflix is awesome. Also, on the minor detail side, Engadget's confirmation of the much speedier interface is so clutch. That's always been one of my huge complaints.

[Loki_09]

Wow, I dont think I've ever been this giddy about a interface overhaul. It pretty much matches my excitement for some of the high profile games that are due this fall. Netflix streaming in HD is the icing on the cake. Not just any icing, Funfetti icing. The good stuff.

[Loki_09]

Is there a limit to how many movies you can download during a specified period of time?.

There used to be on the Netflix site, you only got a certain number of downloads for whichever subscription you had. But I'm almost positive they got rid of the restriction. So, to answer your question, I don't think so, although I havent read anything official.

[Telefrog]

There used to be on the Netflix site, you only got a certain number of downloads for whichever subscription you had. But I'm almost positive they got rid of the restriction. So, to answer your question, I don't think so, although I havent read anything official.

The cheapest plan has a two hour cap on the download per use, so you'll only get to one movie at a time. None of the other subscription plans have a hard limit.

Of course, your internet provider may have a different restriction. ;)

[Slack3r78]

Is there a limit to how many movies you can download during a specified period of time?

If it's unlimited, I'm all over it. ALL over it. If it's limited, but a generous limit, I'm all over it as well. If it's a stingy cap, then I'll pass.
Netflix streaming is unlimited, unless they change something with the 360.

The caveat is that selection on the streaming stuff isn't as good, but that's improving.

[agentgray]

This is cool, but I predict Live to be down on Nov 19 and a few days afterward.

Also, I'm already watching Netflix via my PS3 using PlayOn. Not in HD, but it's there.

[Psykoboy2]

Also, the emails go out today (supposedly) for those who are getting into the NXE early that signed up last week.

[Loki_09]

Of course, your internet provider may have a different restriction. ;)

Hooray for Comcast. I'll be switching over to AT&T at some point.

[bean]

Do you guys love the "broad appeal" marketing term as much as I do? That is a fantastic rebranding of "casual" and "family friendly". :) I joke, but that actually is a good description as well as good marketing, so I can live with it.

I'm interested to see their commercials. A lot of money spent on commercials that don't bring the message home won't be that useful. I would give examples, but their recent ads are so forgettable that no one seems to have put them on youtube. For example, they finally did a commercial that advertises the biggest strength of the Xbox 360 in that it has the most games and by far the most highly rated games, but the whole commercial is just closeups of the machine and game boxes with text and a narrator. They could have gone the route of showing off a montage of hit games or they could have done something funny and creative like having someone build a fort out of the Xbox 360 game library that is elaborate and huge compared to the forts made by competitors who have fewer titles.

Going after the "broad" audience is absolutely a good idea for them with the lower price-point, but Scene It?, Viva Pinata, Banjo Kazooie, and In the Movies won't sell systems. They can be a part of a montage showing families having fun playing together, especially when they use Xbox Live to play together from a distance, but GoW 2, CoD 5, and Fable 2 are still going to move more systems than these casual games. They could show off Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Madden as "broad appeal" games and accompany them with shorter clips from the broad appeal games mentioned above, but if they do a bunch of "Lips" commercials, it will be money poorly spent. Hopefully they'll take a page out of Nintendo's book and use their casual titles as buckshot rather than single bullets.

"Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money to fix Red Rings. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money for advertising. Money to fix red rings."

Wow. . . that's a very fast derail of the thread, and by someone who is supposed to be staff. This is a thread about Microsoft's marketing strategy and Netflix integration with Xbox Live. Why make a post about the console's poor reliability when they are already spending over a billion dollars to fix malfunctioning units? Maybe you think they should spend more money on making their new systems more reliable. . . no, they did that.

Sorry if I seem to be barking at you, but I'm tired of hearing about this in every Xbox 360 story (good or bad).

[Gorvi]

That's kinda strange that they'll be heavily advertising an interface change. It's not like people were being pushed away by the blades or anything.

[Telefrog]

That's kinda strange that they'll be heavily advertising an interface change. It's not like people were being pushed away by the blades or anything.

There's an article on Gamasutra (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20828) in which Aaron Greenberg explained that a lot of people didn't "get" the video store currently in the Marketplace, but when they told people about Netflix on 360, those same people instantly understood the concept.

Gizmodo has an awesome review (http://gizmodo.com/5070189/new-xbox-experience-nxe-review-its-pure-improvement) of the NXE.

All in all, it's a fantastic interface that makes for a trouble-free user experience. Microsoft nailed it. And we feel bad for Roku. They made a great product, and in one step, Microsoft made it pretty much obsolete. UPDATE: Especially because NXE will debut Netflix HD streaming.

At the End of the Day
Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether or not you like NXE, since we're all going to be forced to update the firmware to connect to Xbox Live. But luckily, NXE is an all-around upgrade from the old 360 OS—which really wasn't so bad in its own right.

NXE is faster, prettier and more functional than its predecessor. It brings us avatars and Netflix, full game installs and more robust multiplayer. Truth be told, we could have been shown NXE as the operating system behind the Xbox 720, and life wouldn't have been so bad. Instead, we get it a few years early. And we consider ourselves lucky.

[Gorvi]

There's an article on Gamasutra (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20828) in which Aaron Greenberg explained that a lot of people didn't "get" the video store currently in the Marketplace, but when they told people about Netflix on 360, those same people instantly understood the concept.

Gizmodo has an awesome review (http://gizmodo.com/5070189/new-xbox-experience-nxe-review-its-pure-improvement) of the NXE.
I never used it, but what was so hard to understand about the old (current) video marketplace? Other than the whole MS points thing, you pay x amount of money to rent and download a movie for a set period of time. That seems pretty simple to me.

[Johan]

I never used it, but what was so hard to understand about the old (current) video marketplace? Other than the whole MS points thing, you pay x amount of money to rent and download a movie for a set period of time. That seems pretty simple to me.

I think it's wise to advertise the features of the NXE, including carryover features from before. Many people won't know about products and services unless they're advertised/highlighted. I'm continually surprised, for example, at the little things I learn about MS Word that I didn't know. There are things that some people just aren't aware of, and they won't use the feature (i.e. spend money) if they don't know about it.

[JayVe]

I never used it, but what was so hard to understand about the old (current) video marketplace? Other than the whole MS points thing, you pay x amount of money to rent and download a movie for a set period of time. That seems pretty simple to me.

Even if you and I could understand the interface, there are BETTER ways to skin the cat. Microsoft has shown that they are willing to go out of their way and approach the interface from a user-centric approach, and I applaud them for this.

Also, streaming High Definition Netflix is gonna rock!

[Xerxes]

I wonder if MS gave them a lot of money for this HD setup. To fuck blu-ray in the ass I mean. Or were they just really keeping hush on it all this time for the sake of it.


MS: Great, so we can get the movies on exclusive for 360?
NF: (while holding bag of money) Hell, yeah!
MS: But we really need another way to disarm PS3. What do you have in the way of streaming HD.
NF: (blank look) We don't even have that on PCs yet. I mean in the fu...
MS: (hands over blank check)
NF: (holding bad of money in one hand and blank check in another) Hell, yeah!

[Gorvi]

Even if you and I could understand the interface, there are BETTER ways to skin the cat. Microsoft has shown that they are willing to go out of their way and approach the interface from a user-centric approach, and I applaud them for this.

Also, streaming High Definition Netflix is gonna rock!
I'm just not seeing where the misunderstanding is coming from. Short of shouting "Give me movies!" at your TV, it really doesn't get much simpler than what's already in place. It's one step past ordering Pay Per View on your cable box.

[Cyrillus]

Haven't really bothered to look it up, but from what I have read, I haven't seen anything about it.

Will this NXE finally include a searchable marketplace? That's one of the things I've never understood the absence of.

[Telefrog]

I'm just not seeing where the misunderstanding is coming from. Short of shouting "Give me movies!" at your TV, it really doesn't get much simpler than what's already in place. It's one step past ordering Pay Per View on your cable box.

I find that as a general rule, "never underestimate general stupidity" works out pretty well in life. :D

[Gorvi]

I find that as a general rule, "never underestimate general stupidity" works out pretty well in life. :D
That is very true. And we all drive to work with these people on the same roads. :eek:

[Xerxes]

I'm just not seeing where the misunderstanding is coming from. Short of shouting "Give me movies!" at your TV.

O_o
I've actually screamed that as I clicked on the x button when buying a movie before. Ahhhh lazy days with nothing to watch.

[Telefrog]

Haven't really bothered to look it up, but from what I have read, I haven't seen anything about it.

Will this NXE finally include a searchable marketplace? That's one of the things I've never understood the absence of.

From the Crunchgear overview (http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/29/review-the-new-xbox-experience-for-xbox-360/):

You can also search for items in various ways, but the inclusion of an alphabetical search is key.

Happy dance time! :p

Edit: By the way the crunchgear video may be the best overview I've seen of the NXE so far.

[Psykoboy2]

Wow. . . that's a very fast derail of the thread, and by someone who is supposed to be staff. This is a thread about Microsoft's marketing strategy and Netflix integration with Xbox Live. Why make a post about the console's poor reliability when they are already spending over a billion dollars to fix malfunctioning units? Maybe you think they should spend more money on making their new systems more reliable. . . no, they did that.

Sorry if I seem to be barking at you, but I'm tired of hearing about this in every Xbox 360 story (good or bad).

It was a joke. A funny. An attempt at humor. And nothing I elaborated on because the initial post had nothing to do with it. It just struck me as funny given the latest ad campaign for Apple talks about advertising vs. fixing the product they are advertising.

I should have used a smiley or something to help with that, but oh well, I'm saying it now: It was joke. Don't take it seriously, cause I sure as hell don't.

[Xerxes]

It was a joke. A funny. An attempt at humor. And nothing I elaborated on because the initial post had nothing to do with it. It just struck me as funny given the latest ad campaign for Apple talks about advertising vs. fixing the product they are advertising.

I should have used a smiley or something to help with that, but oh well, I'm saying it now: It was joke. Don't take it seriously, cause I sure as hell don't.

We knew you were joking. But the Xbox Offense Force have to bust balls every now and then. Go put your green power armor back on and get back to your post. :p

[bapenguin]

That's kinda strange that they'll be heavily advertising an interface change. It's not like people were being pushed away by the blades or anything.

They need to let people know that don't typically go online.

Remember, this stuff is coming on discs too. So they pop in new game X, it's like - hey, there's an update. Install?

Suddenly their entire user interface is 100% different. Might miff some people.

[Slack3r78]

I never used it, but what was so hard to understand about the old (current) video marketplace?
The fact that they advertise it as a marketplace but you buy some content and rent others and figuring that out is more effort than most are willing to invest.

[Bone]

I'm just not seeing where the misunderstanding is coming from. Short of shouting "Give me movies!" at your TV, it really doesn't get much simpler than what's already in place. It's one step past ordering Pay Per View on your cable box.I'll be honest, the entire 360 interface was very confusing to me when I first got it. And I mean that from a product interface standpoint- it's not that I couldn't process the information in front of me, just that it was poorly laid out and it required me to examine and learn the contents of every blade before I could feel comfortable knowing where my various options lived. Even today I sometimes forget where certain things are hidden.

This interface seems a lot more consistent, such that once you process the visual metaphor of the NXE, you can intuitively predict where each category will take you and how it will work.

[Gorvi]

They need to let people know that don't typically go online.

Remember, this stuff is coming on discs too. So they pop in new game X, it's like - hey, there's an update. Install?

Suddenly their entire user interface is 100% different. Might miff some people.
That's actually a great point. I'd think they could just tack something on to the existing 360 ads that they'll be running mentioning the new interface. That would make sense. Just a quick, 10 second "now with a new and improved interface" or something.

[Xerxes]

So will there be no more ads for gold customers? :)

[Telefrog]

So will there be no more ads for gold customers? :)

:D:D:D:D:D:D

Yeah... Whew. Thanks for the laugh.

[Xerxes]

:D:D:D:D:D:D

Yeah... Whew. Thanks for the laugh.

I could dream, right?

[Telefrog]

By the way, if you applied for the early access to the NXE, Major Nelson's Twitter said this regarding the email notifications.

Hopefully we can send them out later tonight (PT)

[KingGorilla]

Actually they are. Microsoft is famous for burying the lead when it comes to building interfaces. I would not be surprised to hear, long after this has gone out, data like MS found out when it revised Office for 2007:
Most of the functionality and features people wanted, were already staples of Office but were so buried no one could find them.

[MagGnome]

How about covering the shitty disc drive as well?

Why not cover the console for the life of the system - say 5 or 6 years?

Is it really too much to ask that a console make it all the way through one system cycle?


Netflix HD streaming is great. Hopefully there are some great titles on there.

[KingGorilla]

Netflix has Kelly's Heroes, and Captain N, there can be nothing more awesome.

[MagGnome]

I really enjoyed watch the first two seasons of Weeds on Netflix. Unfortunately season 3 is still DVD-only, so I had them mail me that one.

I'm holding off on using the streaming anymore until the NXE hits. I'm so glad that I won't have to boot into Windows and use Internet Explorer anymore for streaming Netflix - thanks Microsoft!! :D