Machinima is jumping into the next-gen of video with its new Machinima app exclusively for the Xbox One, launching on November 22 alongside the Xbox One. According to Machinima, the app will offer “rich, custom-created, and exclusive videos that accompany and complement the next-gen gameplay of a select group of Xbox One launch titles.” Machinima also plans to offer exclusive entertainment experiences through the app, with tent-pole series, weekly shows and other fan-focused content.
“The first Xbox Live app we launched was the fastest downloaded Xbox app in the prior 12 months, and we’re excited to deliver yet another breakthrough experience for our fans,” said Machinima’s co-founder and CEO Allen DeBevoise. “This is another step toward making sure we’re wherever our fans are, and delivering them unique experiences that no other network can provide. We can’t wait to unveil all the intricacies and abilities of the new app.’
‘We’re thrilled to welcome Machinima as one of the first global partners of Xbox One bringing its highly integrated experience exclusively to the platform when we launch on Nov. 22,” said Kathy Styponias, general manager for Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Machinima is one of the first partners to take advantage of the capabilities of our platform architecture and technology that will result in a cutting-edge, innovative app experience for all users.”
The [a]list daily spoke with Sanjay Sharma, executive vice president of strategy and business development for Machinima, about the app and its features. “The thing we’ve always been focused on here at Machinima, and it’s the core of the company, is the thesis that the experience of video gaming has been transformed dramatically by the rise of online video and the social movement,” said Sharma. “This app will accompany your game experience in a seamless way. While you’re playing a game you can say ‘Xbox, Snap Machinima’ and the Snap app will open along side your game, whatever game you’re playing. We’ll know what game you’re playing and we can immediately start serving up content exclusively created to accompany that gaming experience.”
The app will eventually be even more sophisticated by using data from the game to pinpoint precisely where you are and serving up content related to that. “Launch games will be enhanced with a feature we call Machinima Wingman,” said Sharma. “Suddenly you’ll have a buddy alongside you that can give you tips, tricks, tutorials. As it evolves over time we’ll have access to robust data and real-time game telemetry. Over the course of the year we’ll be releasing more and more enhancements to the application as we get feedback. We’ll know you’ve gotten stuck on a particular level for a certain period of time, and we can offer up video experiences that help you pass that level, win a fight or complete a lap in record time, things like that.”
In the next few weeks Machinima will provide a list of the initial titles that will be part of the program, and over time Machinima will increase the number of games covered. While initially the content won’t be related to your specific place in the game, “real-time game telemetry will be rolling out over the next several months,” said Sharma. “We’ll know where you are and can serve up contextually relevant content.” It’s also useful for non-gaming situations, too, letting you bring up Machinima content of all types while watching a football game or a movie – a common desire among multi-tasking oriented Millennials.
You won’t be limited to putting up video alongside your game on the big screen, as the app will allow you to push that content to your smartphone or tablet via Xbox SmartGlass. “The integration with SmartGlass is part of this strategy,” said Sharma. “The launch will be just the tip of the spear. You’ll be able to decide how you want to experience the video content — you can have the video populating your tablet sitting next to you so it’s not interfering with your gameplay experience.”
Creating all of this content does require spending, and Machinima is ready with monetization plans to make this a profitable enterprise. “At the launch it will be ad-free,” said Sharma. “Our Xbox 360 app is advertising enabled and monetized through advertising. At only a few months old, it’s the fastest downloaded app on the Xbox 360 over the last 12 months. The Xbox One app will have all of the same elements as our Xbox 360 app. The curated libraries that accompany games are a new feature on the Xbox One, but all of the Xbox 360 content we create will be available on the Xbox One app, and all of that content will be advertising supported.”
Microsoft is planning original video content for the Xbox One, with a Halo series already announced, and Machinima is also planning for that. “The Xbox One app is part of our larger, direct-to-consumer multiplatform strategy,” said Sharma. “Those experiences are about delivering original content, and that content ranges from amazing partner content from our partner network, to the day-to-day content we make in our studios, all the way to our premium episodic series. We’re developing things right now that would be windowed first on the Xbox, or released on the Xbox as part of a larger distribution strategy. The app will be an entertainment experience, and gaming is just one element of that.”
