Journal 3, May 31

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090529/tc_pcworld/livetvcomingtothexbox360

Once again mass media is changing its path to get into homes. Microsoft's Xbox 360 has recently announced a contract deal that will allow live TV to be streamed through the console via broadband internet. This will be a first for any gaming console. Though other companies allow streams up to a week old to be viewed, this is the first of its kind broadcasting live. Sky, a broadcasting group in Britain, has agreed to provide live sports, news, and movies to its British and Irish Xbox 360 users. The different service plans available have not yet been released. Though talks of this service entering the US have not surfaced, it cannot be very far off. With the competitive gaming market, US marketers are looking to grab an edge on others; and perhaps this is just it. I think combining such large markets as television and video gaming, is going to be very common in the near future. I think that the three most popular things in today's household are TV, internet, and video games. What is being done in Britain is essentially combining all of these in one bundle. In other articles it was said that watching these live events via the Xbox 360, will also create a virtual room of friends. What exactly does this mean? So a buddy cannot come over tonight to watch the game, well all that has to be done is connect together on the Xbox 360 and talk to each other as if you were together. You and friends will be sitting in virtual rooms watching things together. I think this amazing combination of technologies is just another way to build on what we already have. It seems to me that this will become quite attractive to the gaming audience, hence making its way to the United States in the near future. One of the only problems I wonder about is the ability of broadband internet speeds to stream the live television or movies. I am sure as technology progresses this will not be an issue, and perhaps we are already past this, but will it compare to cable or satellite? I guess time can only tell.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/29/live-sky-tv-coming-to-xbox-360-in-uk-and-ireland-hooligan-avata/

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/0,39029441,49302400,00.htm