14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is announcing that the new Xbox Live Experience, which will be launched on November 19, will not include Xbox Live Primetime, which is now scheduled to be released sometime in spring. There's no clear reason for the delay other that the company is focusing on getting the new Live Experience out as quickly and as clearly as possible.
When announced at a pre E3 press conference, Xbox Live Primetime was described as a chance for gamers to enjoy all the experience of a TV quiz show via the Xbox 360. The idea was that at scheduled times, anyone could log on into an Xbox Live account in order to take part in a quiz show. Real world prizes were supposed to be on offer and live moderation was to be introduced.
Shane Kim, vice president of strategy and business development for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment business, declared that “We believe this is the natural extension of games on the 360”. The company says it is still committed to introducing Primetime as soon as it is sure that the experience is complete and attracts players for all the right reasons.
Xbox Live Primetime is not the first element of the new Xbox Live Experience that has been cut. Microsoft already said that it would not offer a feature supposed to allow members in different locations to simultaneously watch a Netflix movie via their consoles.
The bad news about the delay is that it will take some of the family friendly appeal that Microsoft has been working for off the Xbox 360. The recently introduced Avatars will be useless if there is not a clear venue where to apply them and game shows seemed like the perfect offer for those uninterested in playing videogames on the Microsoft made console.