Back in November 2007, The New York Times interviewed Microsoft's J Allard, an important figure behind the Xbox who moved over to work on the Zune and a few other secret product efforts. Among the many things discussed during the lengthy interview, J Allard touched upon the Xbox Live Video Marketplace and the Zune Marketplace.
J Allard was quoted as saying: "Even though the Zune and Xbox product brands are separate, they are ultimately meant to connect to the same central network. The online services for Xbox, Zune and future products will merge. Video will be a key part of this service." The unification of MSN, Xbox and Zune online stores has been talked about since June 2007. However, if sources close to Microsoft are to be believed, Microsoft has decided two marketplaces are better than one.
|