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Microsoft plans big things for Xbox

by on11 January 2013



Hires SlingBox’s Blake Krikorian


Microsoft appears to have big plans for its Xbox after hiring of technology entrepreneur Blake Krikorian.

Krikorian will be corporate vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business, reporting to Marc Whitten, chief product officer for the division. The appointment follows Microsoft's recent acquisition of Krikorian's company, id8 Group R2 Studios, which had developed an application that allows users to control home heating and lighting systems from smartphones.

It would mean that Redmond is going to have a shot at transforming the  Xbox from a gaming device into a broader service that controls most aspects of home entertainment, including music, movies, TV and sports. Krikorian's Sling Media, which was sold to EchoStar Communications in 2007, made the Slingbox device for watching TV over the Internet.

Krikorian resigned from Amazon.com Inc's board in late December after about a year and a half as a director at the company, the Internet's largest retailer.

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