Comments on: BBC iPlayer on Xbox 360 delayed!

By: Seb

Seb — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:41:35 +0000

I think it’s the BBC who are being stubborn here. From what I read, MS are not insisting that the iPlayer is a paid for premium service, simply that it is only available to Gold subscribers. If you consider the iPlayer to be the content and xBox Live to be the delivery platform, then you are not asking consumers to pay for the BBC content, you are asking them to pay for the delivery platform, which, IMHO is perfectly fair.
I don’t get Freeview reception where I live, its a quirk of the landscape apparently and won’t be solved for some time when the digital signals can be boosted after the analog switch off. So I am forced to pay Virgin Media for a delivery mechanism (cable TV) to be able to watch the non analog BBC services (inc. iPlayer which is only available to active subscribers). I don’t see the BBC jumping up and down insisting that Virgin give me a free cable service because they are not allowed to charge for their programmes.

So, in summary, just launch the bloody service! Then I can ditch the PC hooked up to my TV for good.

By: Phil

Phil — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:11:08 +0000

The Facebook, Last FM, ZUNE and Twitter applications were added as perks for those who are already gold members. As for XBL being a peer-to-peer service you really need to do your homework before making such accusations towards the service. I would also like to ask how you consider the Sony service better “in many ways” – The UI is clunky, the group or party chat is non-existent, PS Home is a joke, the arcade games rarely offer demo’s.

And how you can reffer to the millions of XBL Gold members as ‘clueless’ for paying a tiny sum of £3.30 a month I will never know.

By: Paul Lamkin

Paul Lamkin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:16:39 +0000

Anyone know why the PS3 version of the iPlayer doesn’t have the HD option yet?

By: Stewart

Stewart — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:55:07 +0000

No surprise there then. Microsoft seem happy to charge gamers for services that everyone else offers for free (Facebook, Last-FM, Twitter are all free on PC and PS3), Xbox live is a Peer-Peer gaming network, there are are no servers to maintain or bandwidth costs (aside from the initial logon/authentication servers), yet still they charge £40 a year, when Sony offer the same, and in many ways better (as most PS3 exclusives use much faster dedicated servers), service for free.

Seems there are alot of clueless Xbox fanboys, happy to pay £40 a year (the price of a game), for a service that Microsoft says is better…

By: James Holland

James Holland — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:13:14 +0000

Does seem odd that they wouldn’t bundle it as part of Silver… once you realise how good the Xbox is at dragging content down from the net (movies etc) it’s enough to tempt you into online gaming too. I’m sure that’s the way it’ll go eventually, but only when MS has little-to-no other choice.

By: Ben Sillis

Ben Sillis — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:06:01 +0000

I asked Microsoft’s UK Xbox Live marketing manager this very question a few weeks ago: I said that I didn’t believe for one second that MS hadn’t been talking to the BBC, but unsurprisingly all I got was the official Redmond stance about commitment to offer TV access through the Xbox 360 via Sky Player. Frankly this doesn’t surprise me seeing as Microsoft feels it can essentially charge for Twitter and Facebook access too, which are free on every single other platform on the planet. Wake up! People will still pay for Gold if you keep online multiplayer for it.