More Than Fun and Games

Variety has a feature about how Microsoft and Sony are using their consoles as a new means of distributing video entertainment.  The gaming aspect of the 360 and the upcoming PS3 serve as a foot in the door to get inside living rooms around the world.

People may buy the consoles to play -- or let their kids play -- the newest "Halo" sequel, but owners will find they have much broader capabilities. The PS3 and Xbox 360 play discs big enough to hold a movie, a game and more; have hard drives capable of holding dozens of movies or thousands of songs; create graphics almost as good as a CG animated movie; and feature an always-on Internet connection to a private network controlled by Microsoft (and, likely Sony as well).

In other words, the gaming capabilities of both consoles are, in large part, Trojan horses to get Microsoft and Sony devices into as many homes as possible.

Sony has been hoping to achieve an all-in-one entertainment center since the PS2 was announced to have a DVD player included.  They even launched an ill-fated PS2 with TiVo-like capabilities in Japan.  The Xbox touted its hard-drive as not only an innovation in console gaming but also a way to store video and music.  This generation, technology is going to let these two companies get their wish.  But will games suffer if the focus shifts from what the console can play to what the console can do?