A tremendously huge deal was announced today in the tech world, when Microsoft revealed that it had purchased internet communication service Skype for $8.5 billion. Microsoft plans to bring Skype to the 360, saying that Skype will support devices like Xbox and Kinect. When this is implemented, it will allow Xbox Live users to connect with Lync, Outlook and other communities. No time frame has been announced for the eventual rollout of the Skype services for the 360.
“Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in a statement “Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world.”
How a Skype connected Xbox with Kinect will work, what it will do exactly and how it will look remains to be seen, but it will certainly make for an interesting E3 press event for Microsoft. We promise we'll tell you all about it, the second it happened, with tons of live coverage of the Microsoft presser, as well as the rest of the divine madness of E3 2011! Keep your browser tuned to G4 for E3, June 7-9.
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superdookieness
So does this mean no more Skype on the PSP?
jediapprentice
What a waste now i'm going to have to pay seventy dollars for xbox live gold!
cptpain
Im interested to see what MS does with this......
I dont agree with it tho..... It would seem a lot better if MS just implemented simple video additions like, video chat, video messages through firmware updates, and instead they spend a few billion for the rights to simply put Skype on their list....
I dont use skype simply because i would rather talk to people in person or a simple phone call to meet up some place.... not call someone while they are playing a game just to say "hey whats up"
Should've left Skype alone, but no.... they have money hungry investors to keep overpaid
zobocho
@liquid swords
at least xbox has online services and they're worth the 3.50 a month that i pay.
jaybustah
I hope this is a reason we actually have to play on Xbox Live.
InnerRise
Microsoft has just been giving me multiple orgasms lately. Thank gawd for them.
What would the gaming community do without them given the state of other companies like *COUGH* -ny.
InnerRise
Microsoft has just been giving me multiple orgasms lately. Thank gawd for them.
What would the gaming community do without them given the state of other companies like *COUGH* -ny.
MaxiMagus
HUH........ I thought Google and Facebook were in a bidding war for Skype. Microsoft wins. Im confused lolol
KilledFirst
Either Skype is going to now come with a price tag for use, or Microsoft is looking to improve their voice chat and implement video chatting over XBOX Live while keeping Skype free to use. Who knows? Hopefully the later proposal.
Liquid Swords
$50(Xbox online play payment) X 25,000,000(XBL Gold memberships)=$1,250,000,000 every year.
lucidity
Awesome, can't wait to see this implemented.
$8,500,000,000, who was that kind of $$$? A very successful company.
BethesdaBaby
Could actually be cool. If they work it right.... I'd love to skype with my connect. I just hope they don't limit it to Gold members. We can't all afford that every month. Just saying.
TurnBackThePendulum
Wow its a nice change an article about Microsoft , so all the Sony fanboys get to look like retards. I just love how you all bag on each other when you do the same thing. You fanboys are all retarded. You have no room to talk about each other on this site.
You know what both Microsoft and Sony have in common that make them probability the worst two company's in the game industry, its the fan boys. Ever comment I read from either side is retarded and has no thought behind it. You a holes are not gamers you are just losers that can not accept variety.
Oh and before I get called a fanboy I own 2 Microsoft system, 2 Sony system, 1 handheld, 5 Nintendo consoles, 2 handhelds, 2 Sega Consoles, and 1 handheld.
I must say all the real gamers on g4 are not fan boys because we enjoy are hobby, sure we have a preferred system but not like you retarded idiots that only thing k the industry should be one company.
To be honest the only time fanboy wars worked in this industry was when it involved Sega, Nintendo, Atari, celco and mattel. All of them hated there competition as such and tried to be the better one. You saw it in there adds, marketing and games.
Today with this joke of a nonexistence fanboy war of micerosft vs sony, I must say where does it come from its not the marketing, its not the games, it nothing. Both company just accept each other and thats it there is no hate.
I do not know back in the 80s and early 90s it made sense to have fanboy wars, but now there is nothing special about these two systems, There top games are multiplatform, and there marketing is the same. Sure there are differences but its not rally about the games themselves when people say which one is better. And to be honest if people are only going to talk about firtst party titles I would rather have a Nintendo console, because those franchise have been around since the 80s and have the same quality.
My point is why is there idiots on here creating a war are you children or do you want to recreate the early days of gaming back when those wars were fun. Either way it does not work.ANd to be honest when most people think sony or microsoft they think of an electronic company or windows. Where as sega, nintendo and atari they think of video games still.
Alot has changed in the 30+ years of gaming and people adapted but as of right now it seems like there will be a bigger change coming up because 2d- 3d was the last and with graphics now how much further can it go before something changes. What will happen realism be the goal or virtual reality.
I think most people right now have a hard time adapting to change where ,80s and 90s gamers accepted change with open arms. People still hate motion controls but back in the 80s those kind of accessories like the light gun were thought as being cool and futuristic. Its just sad to see how people act in this industry right now all about FPS and realism. Video games use to be creative and be an escape from reality, why is it that most people want to be in war in the real?
Oh well I got way of topic there any way I have skype and I sue t on my psp, and ipod, It wil be nice to use it on my xbox now.
pwnography
Microsoft will ruin this for everyone. They will either charge for it, or the Kinect will only work for it. I'm not hating on the Kinect or anything. It just sucks big time when it comes to video chatting. I really don't understand how the xbox live vision camera is better when it comes to video chatting.
JustTheBeginning
Seriously, why did this turn into a PSN vs XBL conversation? Let Liquid Swords, Lucidity, and all the fanboys alone, they are merely trolls looking for a fight.
marinecorec4
Should be cool
BobitoZ
Seems like Microsoft is just buying out the competition.
Personally, I'm not going to put all my eggs in one basket (Microsoft).
ImpurestCrowd
Now I have to go home and UNINSTALL it from my PC do to the fact MS sux.
lowkevmic
Being a fanboy is one thing. But defending a service that has been less then up to par is another thing.
If you own a PS3 and is happy with your decision then good for you. I own both, and I can tell you as an overall experience, sorry gentlemen, but I am more then happy to pay a one time yearly fee for my Live service. You would be an idiot to think that you won't be charged for service. Of course PS3 has free service because they use an unprotected web browser just like the internet. You guys are really trying hard to make a yearly fee something really worth screaming about. If you can't afford it, I get it. But to really try and make an argument as if people are going bankrupt trying to maintain their Live accounts is ridiculous and a sorry attempt to take a jab at a comapany that is doing better then the competition as of lately.
All three consoles have major flaws. Microsoft has pretty bad overall customer service. Sony has no idea what their doing when it comes to web protection, Nintendo is behind the ball on competitive hardware for core gamers. But all three are also better then each other in their own way as well. So this fanboy back and forth is pointless. I will go back to my Xbox Live, and PS3 fanboys can go back to their error message. But hey, at least you guys can play God of War 3 or watch Shrek on bluray until the network is up and running...That's still pretty cool right??
RabidFace
Will be interesting to see where Skype goes from here. Though, was never a big Skype user anyway, so this doesn't affect me in the least. I just wonder if Microsoft is going to keep the same "model" as the developers originally intended, being an open application, and a REALLY cheap way for phone calls. But seeing as it's on pretty much every platform already, I don't see this as a problem.
@lowkevmic
I really don't want to start anything, but you must be a little jaded/ignorant to think we have none of the services you talked about. The PS3 has pretty much a full web browser (outdated Flash, but most websites work just fine), something the 360 will never have. I will agree that the 360 is a lot smoother experience and all multiplatform games look better, $60/year for Live is a drop-in-the-barrel, but I like the openness of the PS3, why I bought it in the first place (among other things) 4 years ago. PC gamer at heart though, and always will be.
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