MS: Primetime will miss NXE launch

By Robert Purchese Published 21 October, 2008

Other features "coming soon", too.

Microsoft has told Eurogamer that Primetime will not be a part of the New Xbox Experience on 19th November. Other features may also be absent, although there's no word on which ones they might be.

"The New Xbox Experience is a long-term initiative, and what we are rolling out on November 19th is only the beginning," a spokesperson told us.

"With the New Xbox Experience we will have the flexibility to roll out features and updates dynamically, unlike in the past where we were on a more biannual schedule. So, there are a lot more exciting features, including Primetime, that will be coming soon."

Early estimates put the exciting Primetime feature as a spring 2009 release, according to Forbes.

Xbox Live Primetime was unveiled back at E3, and aims to provide a meeting ground between gaming and TV.

Microsoft, initially, will use quiz games to achieve this; Endemol's 1 vs 100 telly show will be adapted into a massively-multiplayer online event for the Xbox Live community.

Players dressed as Xbox 360 avatars will assume the role of host, contestant and audience, and join regular, scheduled main events on the service - as if sitting down to watch a quiz show on telly each evening.

The potential is enormous, and John Schappert has promised this will be a European venture, too.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • indafunkyhouse #1 3 years ago

    No doubt us Europeans will have to wait well after the Americans get the primetime feature, along with the netflix service they are getting which we are not :-(

  • Eraysor #2 3 years ago

    Argh, everything is getting delayed nowadays. At least Fable is coming soon :)

    I was looking forward to Primetime as well, the quiz thing sounds fun.

  • HolyJebus #3 3 years ago

    I also think the 1vs100 idea has potential to be massive. Prob not really my cup of snakes but sounds more fun then watching Deal or No Weakest Millionaire on the box.

  • mcmonkeyplc #4 3 years ago

    Oh well, I guess I will have to stick to 55 million games that are coming out in the mean time!

  • BlueDot #5 3 years ago

    @indafunkyhouse, Netflix streaming is dependent on having a Netflix account. We don't have anything like Netflix in Europe, as far as I know.

  • homerramone #6 3 years ago

    The potential is enormous, and John Schappert has promised this will be a European venture, too.
    It will just be 8 months after the US.. What with europe bieng such an important market and all...
    :-)

  • neil_likes_bums #7 3 years ago

    Whenever I read somebody who has typed "LOL" in capitals, I just imagine a drooling idiot on the end of the keyboard for some reason. No offence, I just notice that quite a lot.

    Oh poo, fanboy tosspot deleted the post.

    Wait, now he's down two posts below. *wave*
    Edited by 2 at 21/10/08 @ 14:30

  • indafunkyhouse #8 3 years ago

    Am aware we don't have anything like that but its something more as usual they get that we don't. MS should at least look to trying to get some kind of partnership with a company which can do the same thing

  • Darren #9 3 years ago

    Erm... why not... hmmm... launch NXE when *all* the features are ready, Microsoft? Have you forgotten already about the mess you made of the Xbox 360 launch because you pushed that out before it and the games were ready? ;) LOL

    Seriously though, if NXE isn't completely ready then why not delay it until it is? It's only a user interface after all and a free one... what's to be gained by releasing it with missing features? It galls me that Microsoft announced the NXE over four months ago (or was it longer?) and yet it is still a month away. Why didn't they just keep quiet about it and announce it a month, week or even a day before it would definitely launch (i.e. when all the features were finished *and* tested) like how Sony do with their firmware updates? I mean doesn't anyone have half a brain at Microsoft? ;) LOL

  • oceanmotion #10 3 years ago

    I doubt we would of got it anyway much like the Netflix thing which we really should have since Netflix own Lovefilm. They should start doing the streaming thing in Europe as well. Annoy more ISPs with our BBC iplayer and Lovefilm streaming.

  • yellowParrot #11 3 years ago

    I'm still waiting for further news on th BT Vision tie-in.....

  • Darren #12 3 years ago

    @neil_likes_bums - With a name like yours, I'm guessing from your comment that you're the kind of person who drools when you "laugh out loud" but I certainly don't. I'm sure most other people don't either! :p

    Oh and for your information I'm not a "fanboy tosspot" at all, I *own* an Xbox 360 as well as a PS3 and Wii and have no bias to any platform.
    Edited by 1 at 21/10/08 @ 14:32

  • Steroyd #13 3 years ago

    Because NXE is MS's version of Home, and we all know how much MS wants to beat Sony at everything.

  • Widge #14 3 years ago

    Yeah Darren, you're such a big fanboy!

  • neil_likes_bums #15 3 years ago

    I merely salivate at the possibility of luring more idiot fanboys into a thread.

  • Darren #16 3 years ago

    Well that's a good point, Steroyd, I mean Sony announced Home two years ago didn't they and it still isn't out except in beta form! I guess it makes the wait for NXE seem insignificant.

    P.S. *whisper*Home really isn't all that great either*whisper*

  • Darren #17 3 years ago

    @neil_likes_bums - No, you're "trolling" since I don't see you making any meaningful comments at all. :p

  • rumrum4444 #18 3 years ago



    This is gonna be off da hook !!!



    Microsoft and the 1 vs 100 are gonna be awesome, mates !


    I hope we can win some $$$ with it by winning the grand prize !


    .

  • penhalion #19 3 years ago

    On the bright side they will probably just recycle the questions for europe too. So we can win without trying at all.

  • dr_faulk #20 3 years ago

    I thought they were talking about the weekly Irish news review programme. But I think it works out better this way.

  • Garulon #21 3 years ago

    "Seriously though, if NXE isn't completely ready then why not delay it until it is? It's only a user interface after all and a free one... what's to be gained by releasing it with missing features?"

    As an update there's absolutely tons of new backend stuff games that are currently undergoing certification rely on. Are they supposed to punt all those games until absolutely everything's ready? Plus they want to get off there current cycle of a massive update that's got to be tested end-to-end for months and into a stage where they can just ship new bits when they like. We only know this is a "missing feature" because they told us about it before launch.

  • kestral #22 3 years ago

    @ Darren, that's not how Microsoft works, it announces a product when it most strategically beneficial, for example if sony would say Home is ready, etc. That there is nothing to show yet doesn't really matteras the public will hold off until the Microsoft product is ready as well. You can usually tell where Microsoft thinks the opposition is by these fake launches.

    They were in the press 4 months ago, they're again now, and they will be again when Primetime is ready (probably just before something big from Nintendo or Sony). 3x the exposure. Clever but predictable.

  • JonFE #23 3 years ago

    There's no point in delaying this further just for the sake of PrimeTime, especially since the NXE seems to be much more than just PrimeTime... Delaying it will also draw Home comparisons :)

  • CreepinJesus #24 3 years ago

    @ neil

    LOL is supposed to be in capitals, as " lol " is actually a man with his arms in the air.

    See here

  • Fab4 #25 3 years ago

    Don't know about anyone else, but I bought my consoles to avoid quiz shows.

  • BastoJ #26 3 years ago

    Darren, your argument would hold more weight if you avoided the "LOL's"

    Anyway, a pity it'll miss launch, still, I guess it's better if they're released when ready.

  • Garulon #27 3 years ago

    "but I bought my consoles to avoid quiz shows."

    I hide behind my sofa until they've gone away. Go away Noel Edmonds! EVERYBODY HATES YOU!

  • JonFE #28 3 years ago

    hedbog, didn't you say you were leaving EG for good? Why break your promise?

  • ronuds #29 3 years ago

    I didn't realize they were supposed to release at the same time anyway.

    Ignorance is bliss! ;)

  • lazygamer #30 3 years ago

    @WooHoo!:

    Netflix does not own LoveFilm, unfortunately. Lovefilm do have a VOD service on their website, but you have to pay to watch the VOD on top of your subscription (unlike Netflix which offers film streaming in their packages).

    It's be great to see MS sign up with Lovefilm for a European version (since Lovefilm operates in 6 countries) but I wouldn't hold out for much.

    Same goes for the iPlayer, it'd be fantastic to see that on the 360.

  • Arwin #31 3 years ago

    Wow, is rumrum the new apologie? I take pride in keeping my ignore poster list empty but ... LOL.*drools* ;)
    Edited by 1 at 21/10/08 @ 16:14

  • Garulon #32 3 years ago

    I dunno. Is "off the hook" good or bad?

  • bushwod #33 3 years ago

    Meanwhile the wii sits smug in the corner, safe in the knowledge it got it's user interface right from day one.

    'Now if only daddy Iwata had given me more internal memory instead of half a shitty gig'

  • Ryze #34 3 years ago

    Yeah, right Darren. Like PS Home?

    Or like the twin HDMI PS3 with full back compat?

    Or like GT4 having online multiplayer?

  • RedSparrows #35 3 years ago

    'Meanwhile the wii sits smug in the corner, safe in the knowledge it got it's user interface right from day one. '

    Shame it's absolutely hideous :(

  • gruntboy #36 3 years ago

    I hope one of the missing features isn't the ability to copy games to the hard drive. I've been looking forward to no longer having the equivalent of a jet turbine sitting under my tv...

  • CARL05 #37 3 years ago

    No Primetime! Atleast we still have the Miis, eh?
    oh and Netflix!

    Oh yeah; Netflix is for Yankies only and the Miis suck!!!!

    Atleast we still have the new dash! :D

  • Darren #38 3 years ago

    @Ryze - I was talking purely about firmware updates here nothing else which is what NXE is. Sony don't dangle a carrot in front of you, teasing you for months on end like Microsoft do, they announce the firmware features then they appear usually within a week, often within a day. I'm not suggesting Sony are perfect, far from it, just saying that I much prefer their approach to these updates. :p

  • YobRenoops #39 3 years ago

    Death to Smilies and LOL!