The notion that a console would only play games is a thing of the past, Xbox director of product planning Albert Penello said this week during a CES 2014 panel in Las Vegas.
“From a console perspective, the idea that a console is a single-purpose device is the past,” Penello said (via Xbox Wire). “The future is a multi-tasking customer–a device that does more than just gaming at home.”
Of course, Penello is in the business of selling the Xbox One, which Microsoft describes as an “all-in-one” device that not only plays games but affords users a multitude of non-gaming entertainment options.
The 3 million Xbox One owners have taken to such non-gaming services quickly, as Microsoft reported this week that users have already spent “millions” of hours watching live TV through the console and spent “millions” more hours using various apps.
This is hardly surprising, as Microsoft announced in March 2012 that Xbox 360 owners in the United States spend more time with Xbox Live entertainment applications than they do playing multiplayer games over the service.
