A lack of a console might not mean a lack of gaming for some consumers following Microsoft's announcement that the Xbox app will be coming to Samsung smart TVs. Scott Porter, the media and entertainment consulting leader at Ernst & Young, joined Cheddar news to talk about this long-anticipated shift in the video games space. "This move is really about continuing this untethering of gamers from having to be in front of a PC or a console, and it allows them to really experience it from a multitude of devices," he said. "And so I think this is, just again, the initial step of this and it ties into our latest EY gaming survey where when we were talking to executives, 83 percent of the executives that responded said that the companies are going to have to continue to innovate as they're looking to expand their content and the way that they're reaching and engaging with consumers now."

Closing Bell

Xbox 'Untethering' Gamers With Samsung Smart TV Collab Amid Console Shortage

Welcome back to closing bell here on Cheddar news. Now it's time for Cheddar connected and the game is on for Xbox and Samsung starting today, the Xbox app is available on Samsung's 2022 smart TVs, which allows gamers in 27 countries to play hundreds of games through the cloud, right on their tv without needing a console. Joining me now to discuss is scott porter media and entertainment consulting services leader at ERnst and Young. And I got to ask, this move seems to show Microsoft wants to increase revenue in ways other than console sales. So what are your thoughts on this new offering? You know, ken it's an exciting announcement today? Um it's something that I think a lot of us have been anticipating that we're going to continue to see more of these things and this is really Xbox or Microsoft's goal of extending out its services, its content that it's offering to over the three billion gamers that exist around the world. And this is this movie is really about continuing this untethered ring of gamers from having to be in front of a Pc or a console and it allows them to really experience it from a multitude of devices. And so I think this is just again, the initial step of this and it ties into Our latest ey gaming survey where when we were talking to executives, 83% of the executives that responded said that the companies are going to have to continue to innovate as they're looking to expand, their their content, and the way that they're reaching and engaging with consumers now, I have to ask because as you know, the ongoing chip shortage has made it super difficult to find gaming consoles in general. And Xbox says the Rollout today aims to make it easier to play games on a device that people already own ie their TVs. Do you think the strategy will help? I I think I think it will and I think we're going to see more of this, I think there's other companies out there that are gonna look at this and they're going to recognize the opportunity to not only avoid some of these chips shortages that the companies have been facing, but it also just think about the number of now devices that exist out there around the world and will continue to expand and you won't need those consoles, you won't need the pcs, you'll be able to use it with a device that's used for multiple purposes within the homes. And I I do believe that we're going to see the evolution of, you're going to have the ability to interact with, have recommendation engines, that when players are jumping into this space, they're going to be able to connect with other consumers, other players, other fans and similar to what we're seeing in other areas of media entertainment, you're going to be able to have recommendations on things that you might like, your preferences and so this is going to help bypass this shortage, There's already a lot of TVs out there that's continuing to expand and I think this is only going to help the gaming sector really just explode into the next few years now. Playstation offers cloud gaming stadia, google google stadia that offers cloud gaming to an Xbox is as well, so do you think gaming streaming through the cloud is going to be the future of gaming? I my my personal view and from the the study and the surveys that we have done, I do believe that most in the sector are looking at streaming as an opportunity again to kind of democratize gaming, you're gonna be able to offer it to a broader range of individuals and consumers that are not going to have to make significant investments in the hardware. So this is really a play where it's not going to be about hardware, it's going to be about content, it's gonna be about how do we get that content out to as many people as possible. So I I think we're, this is just the beginning, I think we're going to see more of this to come now, having it only on Samsung is pretty narrow but Xbox has it plans to explore other tv partnerships in the future, so what other tv brands do you think would benefit from working with Xbox? Well, I think, you know, it's it's less about the actual device, I think it's more about the software that uh in the TVs themselves and so as any smart tv has the capabilities of introducing new apps to its platform. I think it's really limitless. I think, I don't see where this is going to be just restricted to one or two brands or manufacturers. I think that this is something that all of the tv manufacturers out there will take notice of and say if we want to be competitive in the market, we're going to have to offer these types of services to the consumers out there. So I again, I think that this is something that is just The start of kind of a revolution, if you will, in the view of what, what TVs are really meant to do and the types of services, type of content that they will make available to consumers now, as you know, gaming had a huge jump in popularity during the pandemic from 2019 to 2020, but the growth has since slowed down a bit as pandemic restrictions have eased. So, do you think the gaming industry still has a bright. future when it comes to growth? I do, and and again, when, when we went out and we we've talked to companies on the content creation side, the distribution side, um what their, what they recognize is that anybody can potentially be a game, and it doesn't have to be just the hardcore gamers that are um you know, have had a history of being on consoles, being on pcs you're starting to see now, is how do we introduce this content and draw in more casual gamers? And and and that actually changes. Also, the demographics you are starting to see an upsurge in women and young women that are on these gaming platforms and participating in these communities. Um it's it's not a secret that a lot of the mobile games that are out there are, let's say, you know, individuals that are a bit older and and and it's just more that, you know, how do you create the content that is compelling and it's interesting to different people at different stages in their life? So I do think that there's a lot of upside potential here for gaining as they continue to expand the types of content and the services that they're offering.