Video gamers gain chat
Owners of the Xbox 360 video game console will soon be able to send instant messages while gunning down aliens or scoring touchdowns.
Microsoft Corp. said it would add Windows Live Messenger to the console’s online capabilities in early May so players could chat with anyone who had an instant messenger account.
“Xbox owners can expand their network beyond gamers,” said Aaron Greenberg, product manager for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, the console’s online service.
“I could see how this is consistent with Microsoft’s strategy to tie the computer to Xbox Live,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles.
“You can have Messenger on your phone and on your PC, and now you can have it on your TV,” he added.
Parents can also use the service to summon their teenagers, who would see a transparent message float onto the screen while they play games.
“Mom can now be part of your social network,” Greenberg said.
Microsoft plans to introduce a keyboard for the console later this summer. Until then, any computer keyboard with a USB plug will work.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft already handles 2 million messages a day among its 6 million Xbox Live users.
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