Xbox Live More Popular than iTunes?
Microsoft announced this morning that they'd reached 10 Million downloads with the new Xbox Live service, a download rate even faster than the iTunes Music Store. From the Gamespot article: "The tech giant also revealed that more content for Xbox Live is on the way. The company confirmed that new achievements and automobiles will be available for Project Gotham Racing 3, new multiplayer maps are headed to Perfect Dark Zero, and an online cooperative mode for Kameo: Elements of Power will be ready soon. The company did not say whether said downloads would be free or, as is more likely, come at a price."
One thing cannot be compared to an unrelated thing. XBox Live is for gaming, while iTunes is for music (and video) downloads. The title should read:
Gaming More Popular than Music Downloads
Now I'll go read the summary.
Uhm, you're comparing how many downloads a big company gets when they offer new maps and stuff for free, to songs that you purchase for 99 cents a piece. It seems like you're comparing apples to oranges.
We're stealing headlines from random forum users now? For shame, guys. For shame. :)
Goo goo g'joob.
Actually, I get what they're saying just fine. I just don't think their statement has any real value. Even if we ignore the fact that comparing total downloads between XBL and iTunes isn't relevant, and we ignore the fact that XBL didn't hit 10m any faster, there's still the fact that these are two network services started approximately 4 years apart after a great deal of consumer training done on the part of apple and others. Hitting 10m at the 4 month mark simply doesn't have the same impact as it did 4 years ago.