Xbox 360 Web Browser, Not Anytime Soon

By | April 13, 2010 | 12 Comments

Xbox 360 Web Browser, Not Anytime SoonEven though Xbox 360 rivals, such as PlayStation 3 and Wii, offer some kind of web browsing experience, Microsoft has no plans to introduce the very same for its console, anytime soon.

Aaron Greenberg, the Xbox director of product management said: “We really believe that the web browsing experience on TV is a poor one, and the real magic is to take those web experiences and optimize them for the living room. That’s what we did with Netflix. So, sure, you can go on the PS3 and go to Facebook and and try to navigate, but it’s an absolute nightmare.”

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About (Author Profile)


Vygantas is a former web designer whose projects are used by companies such as AMD, NVIDIA and departed Westood Studios. Being passionate about software, Vygantas began his journalism carrier back in 2007 when he founded FavBrowser.com. Having said that, he is also an adrenaline junkie who enjoys good books, fitness activities and Forex trading.

  • web

    actually i used ps3 web browser the other day and worked great, i was able to easily check usgs.gov and some news websites. Saved me from having to go all the way to another floor , and power up the pc in the middle of the night.

    no nightmare a all.. it was a pleasant dream :)

  • site

    I agree with Web. No nightmare. Not sure about the Wii browser (haven’t used it), but the PS3 one works great. I have no computer at the moment, but wanted a console and was looking at a 360 and PS3; both had numerous games that appealed to me, but I went with the PS3 simply because it offered a browser. And I love it.

  • http://my.opera.com/rafaelluik Rafael

    Actually heavy websites must be a nightmare, that’s what Aaron meant, and I think he’s right in that point.
    But a web browser that can access YouTube on a TV is a killer! Netflix can’t be compared to the God YouTube (at least here in Brazil).

  • slim

    I personally think its a cop out for Microsoft. The Xbox 360 has a number of glaring issues like RRoD, and lack of browser support that they refuse to fix. We the people want it, why are you deciding for us that we wouldn’t enjoy it. I have never heard a PS3 user complain(not to mention their net service is free)nuff said.

  • kevin

    i have a 360 no problems yet knock on wood. and a web browser would make it much better considering i dont have a computer a browser would make this the mighty xbox its suposed to be

  • kevin

    also you can go on facebook on the xbox

  • jman

    i am also an xbox uxer who has no computer and i know that if xbox put out a new system with a browser on it i would upgrade TOMORROW but ou all are right not only do WE XBOX LOYAL USERS not have a brwoser BUT THEY ALSO CHARGE US to use there services you would think with all the extra revenue that they pull in by charging 12 YEAR OLDS aswell as adults to use there game servers they would atleast repay US WITH A BROWSER

  • http://www.facebook.com/crashedata Jason Chappell

    Honestly, I don’t think the 360 needs a browser. And sure you have to pay for Live Gold, but it is so much better than the PlayStation Network IMO. I own all three consoles, and the 360 is the one I play the most. The browser on the Wii is just horrid. Because it only does SD, the text is all blurred and online vids look horrible. The PlayStation 3 has a better browser, but it still sucks (not the system, the browser). I would much rather just turn on my laptop and use the Internet than use either system’s browser.

  • microshaft

    HD TV is like having a huge computer monitor…websites look great on them….
    people with 640×480 resolution…maybe they decide they don’t want to browse the web cause it doesn’t look so good. The point is that the option should be available….I’d even spend MS Points on a web browser. MS is out of talent.

  • mathew

    Thats exactly why Xbox will never have a browser, so microsoft can still seLL you a PC

  • Todd Potter

    Why no browser? Being an app developer, I hate saying this – because I support the stuff Microsoft does outside of the mainstream (Business intelligence, predictive modeling analysis, enterprise administration)

    100% of the reason viruses get around are because of ignorance. Virus scanning companies would make no money if people didn’t click on every little thing that came up without thinking.

    The adaptability of the Xbox 360, offering a very open architecture for DirectX game development, comes with a price. In order to offer you this platform, the box obviously runs a flavor of embedded Windows XP. The operating system that all UNIX fanboy virus writers love to write for.

    Again, I don’t blame Microsoft for this, I blame folks who have a false sense of entitlement; folks whose technical education is based on assumptions. These are the people who think that lack of a browser is a break/fix scenario, and that Microsoft isn’t doing “enough” to offer it. As usual, no one wants the long answer.

    So here’s the shorter one: You can’t have it because:
    1. It would be Internet Explorer, which requires the usual backend of HTML standard and plugin handlers;
    2. Because of game performance QOS (Quality of Service standard for DirectX). The premise of the high-end Xbox system is to run only the classes and APIs that are needed to play great games, and keep CPU overhead to a minimum.

    Hello, random freezes, while the file system is scanned for the latest viruses you downloaded.

  • curtis

    the problem i run into is i work all over the USA. when staying in hotels you have to go through the hotels security without have a web browser to accept the user agreement i cannot get online at some hotels without calling the wireless provider which is a real nightmare.

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