Xbox 360 Allows Gamers To Follow Campaign Updates
Xbox 360 may serve as an information center for the 2012 Presidential Election. Xbox Live members will be able to access the Election 2012 hub, which will include NBC news coverage, information about candidates, live coverage of the presidential debates and daily polls and even allowed users to register to vote on their consoles according to Microsoft officials.
Some events, such as the debates, enable members to vote and participate in live polls via Xbox Live, said officials with Microsoft in a news release.
“Microsoft Corporation is happy to announce ‘Election 2012 on Xbox LIVE,’ a unique opportunity for Xbox 360 owners to watch and interact with live election coverage of the presidential debates, learn the facts about the candidates and issues from Face the Facts USA,” said Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer in a press release.
“Also, members were able to register to vote through Rock the Vote and participate in live daily polling from YouGov. NBCNews.com will deliver daily election programming to keep users up-to-date on the latest news and analysis about the election and the candidates,” said Ballmer. “All these experiences will be featured on a brand new Election 2012 Hub on Xbox LIVE.”
Microsoft has worked to incorporate the technology of the Xbox Live community with political affairs such as the 2012 Election.
“We want to provide our passionate Xbox Live community with a great way to experience the election process with TV that makes them participants – and not just viewers,” said Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, said in a statement.
Whitten called the new election hub a “great example of how our Xbox capabilities are making the promise of interactive television a reality.”
In an effort to engage youth in politics, Microsoft has partnered with The National Journal and The Atlantic to bring politics to our youth and stress the importance of young Americans involvement in political affairs, said Fred Humphries, vice president of government affairs at Microsoft.
“Technology has been a transformative force in politics during recent years,” Fred Humphries, vice president of government affairs at Microsoft, said in a statement. The launch of the Election 2012 Hub on Xbox Live, he said, marks an exciting moment of change, adding that the new platform provides greater access to valuable information for young potential voters.
Microsoft and Rock the Vote, who partnered in 2008 to enable voter registration for members, have renewed their partnership after success from their first platform.
“By bringing the elections directly into the home through this Xbox platform, we hope to encourage greater participation in the democratic process this fall,” Humphries said.
