Cable Companies Looking To Video Games As Differentiator

from the not-a-bad-move dept

As cable companies continue to look for ways to differentiate themselves from telcos and satellite TV providers, it looks like the next big area many are exploring is adding interactive video games to your television set. It's a fairly simple idea. They're not looking to compete with consoles, but are more focused on casual games like poker. This is probably a smart move. Obviously, the set top boxes that deliver these games don't have the processing power of dedicated gaming consoles, but those simple casual games are often the most addictive. At the same time, the cable companies are highlighting the fact that users can easily play against each other -- something that satellite providers would be hard pressed to mimic. While this seems like a small thing, there are a few things that are impressive about it: (1) The cable companies aren't charging for this. They realize that it doesn't really cost them anything, but could help reduce churn or entice new customers while providing yet another feature they can claim differentiates them from telcos (for now). (2) They're hoping to let it expand beyond just the television -- and want to work out ways where you could start a game on your television, but continue it later on your computer or your phone. In other words, they recognize that they can't just lock people into the TV, but have to provide a seamless way to pass the experience across multiple platforms.

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