Xbox Live video consumption greatly increased in 2011; entertainment apps in higher demand
Sure, there are lots of folks playing plain old video games on their Xbox 360s, but lots of folks are relying on their consoles to provide other forms of entertainment. The use of "entertainment apps" jumped dramatically with Xbox Live's introduction of several new programs late last year -- to the tune of 50 percent globally, Microsoft said in a recent release. And in the US that stat is much more dramatic, with "more than 60 percent" of Gold members employing the apps for up to an hour a day on average.
Video watching has also seen a marked increase, with global video consumption stats showing a 140 percent increase in 2011 over 2010. We suppose all of this could be little more than thinly veiled chest-pounding, but with 66 million Xbox 360s out there in the wild (as of earlier this month) and 35 million users on Xbox Live (as of August 2011), we'd call them a bit more telling than that.
Microsoft promises continued support of its entertainment app marketplace as 2012 continues, which we're hoping means the HBO Go app is arriving sooner, rather than later.
