14 DAY TRIAL // In June, the development team in charge of the Xbox One home console at Microsoft plans to start rolling out original programming for the device and the leader of the team says that the focus will be on delivering a quality experience for all subscribers.
Nancy Tellem, who leads the Entertainment Studios and has previous experience in the television world, says that she aims to create substantial content that will be designed to appeal to gamers who are looking for some new experience.
She tells AListDaily that, “Microsoft has 85 million consoles sold globally. With connected devices like cable and satellite boxes in homes, the challenge is how do you get people to connect. With 48 million subscribers through Xbox Live, Microsoft has a bigger audience than DirecTV.”
The executive says that many executives in Hollywood and the television business do not understand how important gaming as a hobby has started to be and tend to treat players in negative ways.
She adds, “We’re very sensitive to make sure whatever we deliver won’t be a distraction and is respectful of subscribers. Either it’s only on Xbox or best on Xbox. We’re talking to studios and production companies about windowing. To limit access to great content and great creators is a disservice.”
The most expected original programming for the Xbox One are the two series linked to the Halo game world, which are being created by legendary directors Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott.
Details have not been offered about any of them, but at least one should be out before the end of the year.
Microsoft might deliver more information about the future of the Halo series and the new video game in the franchise during the coming E3 2014 event.
Nancy Tellem has also once again suggested that Xbox Original programming might be delivered to the public using more traditional means, in order to appeal to an audience that does not own the next-gen console.
The series that Microsoft is working on with various partners include a football talent show called Every Street United, a six-part doc called Signal to Noise, the drama Humans, Deadlands, Extraordinary Believers, Fearless, Gun Machine and a series of comedy shows.
The Xbox One has been trailing behind the PlayStation 4 from Sony in terms of sales and rumors suggest that a Kinect-free version will arrive before the end of the year with a lower price.