DeaconKnowledge
Member
Tethered to a stationary device. That is Way too high of a drawback for Skype to be successful on XBOX.
You keep focusing on one sorta silly thing he said instead of what he said as a whole.
Never really thought about the TV tuner in that way. Certainly an interesting propositional but unless ISP's around the world work something out, it seems like a pipe-dream. An awesome IPTV dream.
I wonder how many companies are willing to drop their on boxes in order to support MS and push (possibly) worldwide. As someone from the UK, I would kill for MS to get it working since we always miss out on the more advanced XBL features that the US seem to get.
As for Skype, the more is gets integrated, the better it will be. Killer app? Maybe not but I am sure MS linking it in as the default Voice Comms and video chat feature for the 720 can only be a good thing.
Not just ISP's. Content providers would rebel wholesale against something like that.Never really thought about the TV tuner in that way. Certainly an interesting propositional but unless ISP's around the world work something out, it seems like a pipe-dream. An awesome IPTV dream.
snip
My TV has Skype and a TV turner
That said I'm sure the PS4 will have Skype, PS3 already did that TV turner thing in Europe
I really doubt anyone will care if the PS4 or 720 has them
Plus who is gonna want a a TV turner in their console if they have Sky?
I don't think you understand what killer app means. If no one is buying Xbox because of Skype (not the 16 year old, not grandma according to you), then it's not a killer app. It's simply a neat feature. Your visions of Skype TV chat becoming the new standard in home communications is just Microsoft marketing doing it's job on you.
Skype could be implemented into the PS4.
In my presentation at SXSW on Saturday night, I picked Microsoft to win next generation because I believe that they will include Skype and a TV tuner in the next Xbox. They have told me nothing, but the progression from Kinect, to voice search through Bing, to the integration of smart glass has led me to consistently "predict" that the next generation Xbox will have a TV tuner built in. The purchase of Skype for $11.5 billion in 2011 was done for a reason, and the fact that Kinect has a camera makes integration of Skype into the next Xbox a logical progression.
Why are either killer apps?
Skype first--My detractors on this site (and there are many of them) are quick to point out that Skype is available on many devices, including just about any laptop with a built-in camera and any smart phone or tablet. What they miss is that Skype isn't generally available with a wide-angle camera lens, isn't generally available in the living room, and isn't generally very easy for grandma to use. The next generation Xbox cures all of these issues, and lets anybody call anyone else by merely talking to their always connected Xbox. Again, I don't KNOW that this is going to happen, but it makes a lot of sense that it will. Why is that a killer app? Because if you're a 16 year-old living at home, it's an easy hook to sell your parents on the next generation Xbox by convincing them that the entire family can call grandma every night and say goodnight. I think it's even a compelling reason to buy a console for grandma, so she can video chat with her grandkids, and it conveniently gives the 16 year-old something to do when he's forced to visit grandma. I don't know for sure WHY Microsoft bought Skype, but this seems as logical a reason as any. I think that living room to any phone globally is a lot easier than PC to phone, and I think that people with families overseas or far away will be interested in making calls easily (and cheaply) via Skype if the service is included in a plug and play device like the next Xbox.
OK, that was the easy part. The TV side takes a bit more imagination.
Adding a TV tuner isn't really that big of a deal. However, the WAY the TV signal is delivered is a big deal. If Microsoft were to sign with one or more cable providers, the signal would not come over cable or satellite; instead, it would come over the Internet. Internet service providers are an impediment to this working (will discuss below), but if data cap issues are set aside for the moment, a cable company would be able to offer IPTV beyond their FCC-regulated region. That means that consumers could get any cable TV service in any jurisdiction (yes, this is U.S.-centric, but bear with me for a minute). Right now, Comcast has around half of U.S. households who subscribe to cable or satellite; if they had no territorial limitations, they could go for all households. That is meaningful to them, and to the guys who they plan to take market share from, so it is only a matter of time before everyone will sign up with Microsoft for this, assuming I'm right. I've been saying this for close to two years, and I think the technology has evolved to the point where this can happen with the next console.
Assuming I'm right, there are two advantages to the cable companies: first, the Xbox replaces the cable box (or at least, the primary box); and second, the cable company can sell service outside of its regulated area, since it will be selling IPTV. Choice is good for consumers, so the government will favor this outcome. It's an open question whether Microsoft can route the TV signal from the Xbox to other televisions in the same household wirelessly, but it seems that they could do so by attaching some sort of dongle to the other television, and trick the TV into thinking it was connected to a cable box. The cable company saves capital (no cable boxes to build), operating expense (no installation or service call), and ultimately can attract more customers.
The trick to this working is to get the ISPs to lift data caps. That's a tall order, but for those of you old enough to remember, cellular service used to work the same way as cable television worked, with carriers assigned certain regions. That all changed a few years ago, and roaming charges evaporated as if by magic. In order for that to happen, the carriers had to agree to carry one another's service on their proprietary networks. It worked, and I think something similar will happen with ISPs if cable television becomes IPTV. The good news for ISPs is that IPTV will drive even greater adoption of broadband, and will make broadband more essential, so I think that if the next generation Xbox is an IPTV tuner, we'll see a lot of happy cable companies and ISPs.
Why is this a killer app? Because television can go from a static delivery with a handful of programs on demand to a fully on-demand experience. If people are willing to pay, there is no reason why every episode of every TV show ever broadcast couldn't be pulled up and viewed on demand. This can absolutely happen with IPTV, and if a cable company has the rights to the programming, it is likely to happen.
The essential component of all of this is that the cable company sees the potential to sign up its customers to a long-term, high subscription price contract. This is similar to what mobile phone carriers saw when smart phones debuted, where data plans averaged $100 per month, and users got a subsidized smart phone in exchange for a two-year contract. I think we'll see the same thing with the next Xbox (if I'm right about the TV tuner): a subsidized console in exchange for a two-year cable TV contract. Other potential sources of subsidies are Microsoft themselves (subsidized console for a two-year subscription to XBL, at $20 - 30/month but including IPTV, XBL Gold and Skype for free) and ISPs (maybe a two-year broadband contract at $60/month or more).
Again, the 16 year-old who talks his parents into extending their current cable TV subscription or their broadband subscription for two years will end up with a cheap console. That makes Microsoft the favorite (for now), in my view.
Some of you asked why I had "predictions" now, instead of waiting for all of the details on pricing, features, specs and launch date to be announced? The answer is that SXSW was last weekend, and I had to write something. I may be wrong, but it's my best thinking as of now. Once we learn the details of the next Xbox, I'll modify my "predictions".
Hope that helps some of you to understand my madness a bit better.
Uhm, not on my tv so no, it isn't. Skype in my living room would be great on so many levels.
Phone != Tablet.
Giving an old couple an iPad with a large interface that's easy to read and navigate is completely different from giving them a phone that is smart and has apps.
iPad is a "computer replacement' iPhone is not.
Remember when phones were about talking exclusivelyRemember when consoles where about the games
Blocking the TV for Skype chats at the most unpredictable times is a steep proposition. That's why you have a laptop in your living room. Plus, laptops have keyboards, so you can actually use all of Skype, not just the impractical happy family tv commercial vision of it.
Haha. No one cares about TV video calls.
I never said it was a killer app. Literally all I said was PSP1 had it and I used it a few times.So a couple of times = killer app? Also not sure if your post was sarcasm.
Not trying to knock the use of the app since I use it as well....on my laptop.
These are gaming consoles, meant to play games and worry about this kind of stuff as secondary things. Vita has the app but people don't say to themselves "Oh, PS Vita has Skype, now I have to buy it" and I doubt it will be the case for Xbox3.
It should be about the games not apps. MS has it's priorities wrong.
The skype stuff, it's just not that big of a deal. You could do the same thing with video chat on 360, ps3, and even wii already. Some people surely used it, but people aren't buying consoles for themselves & their grandparents simply to use that feature - now that it's skype branded (in theory), how is that different?
All of my friends and family already use FaceTime exclusively. I'm not sure why they would switch just for a wide angle view.
PS3 doesn't have a Facebook or Twitter appNintedo 3DS don't have skype client, PS3 don't have a skype client, skype is a Microsoft product,
Why are you so sure that PS4 will have skype? If, as pachter said, Skype is one of the selling points, I would not be so sure that PS4 will have a skype client..
Well for one since it's Skype it wouldn't be limited from console-to-console. You could call anything that is skype enabled.
All of my friends and family already use FaceTime exclusively. I'm not sure why they would switch just for a wide angle view.
Video calls were the Holy Grail of communication starting at least from the 1960's with the video phone call in the movie 2001 right up until the point where suddenly most people had phones capable of making video calls. And what do people do with these amazing video-capable handheld supercomputers?That's true to a certain extent. Video calls were hyped in the late 90s to be the next big thing but it never happened. Not even on smartphones.
Welcome to the infinite Apple logic loop.
Story that one of my colleagues actually told me today. His father was Skyping with him and apparently needed help setting up a newfangled cable box. As the descriptions of parts and plugs went nowhere, he turned on video. Then picked up the laptop to use it as a portable video camera and showed my colleague the back of the TV setup with all the plugs and cables, so he could give some advice what to connect and how.However this is a different approach as back in the days. When talking vis-a-vis on the phone, nobody needs video if it is not related to sex. Pachters grandma example may be not the best, but if you are a bunch of people and want to contact someone the concept sounds great.
Well for one since it's Skype it wouldn't be limited from console-to-console. You could call anything that is skype enabled.
Well in Pachter's specific example, he cited video conferencing via Skype as being compelling enough such that a family would buy two Durangos in order to talk between the family and grandma:Well, you could say the same thing about the PS2 with Eyetoy Chat...
The thing that makes Skype a possible killer app is because it's not proprietary, Skype is everywhere. Grandma doesn't have to have a Wii U to call you.
Also, Grandma can call you with Skype. It depends on the always-online features, but the device itself would I'm assuming have some way of alerting you no matter if the TV is on or not (I'm not sure if the Wii U does that, probably not right?) The whole Skype app feature possibility really only holds its promise if it's as easy and reliable as a phone, so far the tablet and smartphone apps have come the closest but even they don't autoboot/force to stay resident and have to rely on the on/off mechanics as well as charge state of the system; a home box that can alert you to a Skype call in any condition would be huge.
...Still, I'm seeing no evidence why the next Xbox is the device that will both solve all those challenges and also cross over to the mainstream. Like I said, Roku could easily add a camera (or make a version with an embedded camera) and the job would be done for a fifth the price. Apple TV and Google TV also are hot on the subject, and Smart TVs are getting into cameras and voice integration too.
(Still, PS3 is the biggest Netflix box on the market, so nobody should rule out even remote possibilities.)
If this is the default scenario that we are going to work with, then I don't see how getting 2 Wii Us just for video conferencing is much different than getting 2 Durangos to do the same. In either case, a family is buying two pieces of expensive hardware, the hardware cannot be used practically while outside of the house, and the hardware requires an internet connection. Presumably the Durango will require being plugged in to a TV to be fully realized, while the Wii U won't need a TV.Because if you're a 16 year-old living at home, it's an easy hook to sell your parents on the next generation Xbox by convincing them that the entire family can call grandma every night and say goodnight. I think it's even a compelling reason to buy a console for grandma, so she can video chat with her grandkids, and it conveniently gives the 16 year-old something to do when he's forced to visit grandma.
Pachter is talking about generic people, gafers are talking as "core" gamers. If you are seeing things as a gamer, you will not see why Skype or TV things can be a selling point.
I think it's even a compelling reason to buy a console for grandma, so she can video chat with her grandkids, and it conveniently gives the 16 year-old something to do when he's forced to visit grandma. I don't know for sure WHY Microsoft bought Skype, but this seems as logical a reason as any. I think that living room to any phone globally is a lot easier than PC to phone, and I think that people with families overseas or far away will be interested in making calls easily (and cheaply) via Skype if the service is included in a plug and play device like the next Xbox.
Why are either killer apps?
Skype first--My detractors on this site (and there are many of them) are quick to point out that Skype is available on many devices, including just about any laptop with a built-in camera and any smart phone or tablet. What they miss is that Skype isn't generally available with a wide-angle camera lens, isn't generally available in the living room, and isn't generally very easy for grandma to use. The next generation Xbox cures all of these issues, and lets anybody call anyone else by merely talking to their always connected Xbox. Again, I don't KNOW that this is going to happen, but it makes a lot of sense that it will. Why is that a killer app? Because if you're a 16 year-old living at home, it's an easy hook to sell your parents on the next generation Xbox by convincing them that the entire family can call grandma every night and say goodnight. I think it's even a compelling reason to buy a console for grandma, so she can video chat with her grandkids, and it conveniently gives the 16 year-old something to do when he's forced to visit grandma. I don't know for sure WHY Microsoft bought Skype, but this seems as logical a reason as any. I think that living room to any phone globally is a lot easier than PC to phone, and I think that people with families overseas or far away will be interested in making calls easily (and cheaply) via Skype if the service is included in a plug and play device like the next Xbox.
OK, that was the easy part. The TV side takes a bit more imagination.
Adding a TV tuner isn't really that big of a deal. However, the WAY the TV signal is delivered is a big deal. If Microsoft were to sign with one or more cable providers, the signal would not come over cable or satellite; instead, it would come over the Internet. Internet service providers are an impediment to this working (will discuss below), but if data cap issues are set aside for the moment, a cable company would be able to offer IPTV beyond their FCC-regulated region. That means that consumers could get any cable TV service in any jurisdiction (yes, this is U.S.-centric, but bear with me for a minute). Right now, Comcast has around half of U.S. households who subscribe to cable or satellite; if they had no territorial limitations, they could go for all households. That is meaningful to them, and to the guys who they plan to take market share from, so it is only a matter of time before everyone will sign up with Microsoft for this, assuming I'm right. I've been saying this for close to two years, and I think the technology has evolved to the point where this can happen with the next console.
Remember when games consoles had games as killer apps? If this is what sells games consoles next generation, then fuck next gen.
My gran already went out and pre-ordered the next xbox because she doesn't know how to use skype on ipad.I dont have a gran
I like this michaelpachter, dude all elaborately explaining his positions even if you disagree with them. Just like the other topic, hats off dude.
All of the people in this topic who for the life of them cannot focus on what he is saying and keep going on about 'why is he an analyst' or whatever, all I can do is smh.