Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox One has been marketed as an entertainment monster, with gaming, TV and movies all set to be incorportated in the All-in-One device, but the company had remained hush hush on which apps would be launching alongside the console on November 22. We had expected to see quite a few of the Xbox 360’s favourite make their way to Microsoft’s latest and greatest but quite a few have failed to take the leap of faith, including Sky Go and YouTube.
Whilst YouTube’s absence can easily be rectified by using the Xbox One’s dedicated browser, Sky Go’s absence is a relatively large hole — with UK subscribers forced to keep their Xbox 360s around a little longer if they want to access the vast catalog of Sky’s Live and On-Demand TV and Movies.
NOW TV, which is a venture from Sky is making the leap, but if you’re an existing Sky subscriber you won’t be able to use that service, as it requires another subscription of varying amounts, with some live TV setting you back £4.99, whereas the movie catalog will be a higher-than-Netflix £9.99.
Netflix will be available on the Xbox One in all the markets that the service is currently available in, with the US, UK, Mexico, Ireland, Canada and Brazil all getting tha app. Other big names include Amazon’s LOVEFiLM service in the UK as well as Amazon Instant Video in the US.
BBC iPlayer will not be available in the UK from launch, which is a notable ommission from Microsoft’s UK lineup, given the service arrived late on Xbox 360.
Apps launching on a global scale include video game streaming service Twitch and TED. Other apps include:
Australia
Crackle
Machinima
MUZU TV
Network Ten’s tenplay
Quickflix
SBS On Demand
TED
Twitch
Austria
Eurosport
Machinima
MUZU TV
TED
Twitch
Brazil
Crackle
Machinima
Muu
Netflix
Saraiva Player
Sky Online
SporTV
TED
Telecine
Twitch
Vivo Play
Canada
CinemaNow
Crackle
Machinima
MUZU TV
Netflix
Rogers Anyplace TV
Sportsnet
TED
The NFL on Xbox One
Twitch
France
6Play
Canal+/CanalSat
France 2,3,4,5
La TV d’Orange
Machinima
MUZU TV
MyTF1
MYTF1VOD
SFR TV
TED
Twitch
Germany
Amazon\LOVEFiLM
Eurosport
Machinima
MUZU TV
TED
Twitch
Watchever
Zattoo
Ireland
Eurosport
Machinima
MUZU TV
Netflix
TED
Twitch
Italy
Eurosport
Machinima
MUZU TV
Premium Play
TED
Twitch
Mexico
Clarovideo
Crackle
Machinima
Netflix
TED
Televisa
The NFL on Xbox One
TV Azteca
Twitch
Veo
New Zealand
Machinima
MUZU TV
Quickflix
TED
Twitch
Spain
Eurosport
Gol Televisión
Machinima
MUZU TV
RTVE
TED
Twitch
Wuaki.tv
Zattoo
United Kingdom
4oD
Amazon\LOVEFiLM
blinkbox
Crackle
Demand 5
Eurosport
Machinima
MUZU TV
Netflix
NOW TV
TED
Twitch
Wuaki.tv
United States
Amazon Instant Video
Crackle
CWTV
ESPN
FOX NOW
FXNOW
HBO GO (coming soon)
Hulu Plus
Machinima
MUZU TV
Netflix
Redbox Instant by Verizon
Target Ticket
TED
The NFL on Xbox One
Twitch
Univision Deportes
Verizon FiOS TV
VUDU
Of course this is just the first wave of apps that will be available on the Xbox One, with more set to arrive after launch, and you’ll still get a wealth of entertainment available thanks to the inclusion of HDMI-In.
There will also be other apps in the non-entertainment category, such as Internet Explorer, Skype, SkyDrive Xbox Fitness and Upload, as well as the standard Xbox Video and Xbox Music services.
As with the Xbox 360, the majority of apps on the Xbox One will require an Xbox Live subscription to use — so bear that in mind when choosing between the two consoles later this month.