14 DAY TRIAL // Xbox Live is one of the most important services to Microsoft these days, as it is a major feature for its Xbox 360 platform and generates a lot of profit, thanks to the subscribers that pay almost $50 a year in order to have a Gold membership and enjoy the privileges of playing multiplayer games and other things.
But it seems that changes will soon be made to the service, and not in a good way, like adding support for Twitter, Last.fm or Facebook, as the company has just announced that it has partnered with ad company Silverlight in order to bring advertising across all of the software corporation's platforms.
Rich ad campaigns will be able to span four screens, the desktop, television, mobile phone and Surface, which is Microsoft's recent endeavor in the technology of the future. In concept, it will make the job of creative companies that much easier, as they won't have to rethink a campaign for each and every medium.
However, upon hearing this news, a lot of Xbox Live users have started complaining, as they will be paying $50 for seeing ads that will ruin the whole experience of using the service. Not so, the Community Manager for the Xbox 360, Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, says, as he posts on his blog a few details about the new partnership.
“I’ve seen quite a bit of discussion today about how we’re bringing Silverlight ads to LIVE in the future. I need to let you know that you don’t need to worry about a huge influx of ads across the dashboard. One of our core principles is to enhance, not interfere with the gaming experience, and we work directly with our partners to only deliver experiences that are relevant to the LIVE community. Silverlight will help make those ads a more organic part of the dashboard, like we’ve done with some of the NXE slots in the past.”
Even though the ads might blend in with the whole service, are you still satisfied with the fact that you will be paying to see ads on Xbox Live? Or do you think that Microsoft is making a good move? Leave us your opinion through a comment.