MS, News Corp unveil Xbox apps

B&C writes.

Microsoft's Xbox gaming platform has been adding extensive content in recent months, and this agreement will significantly expand those offerings. The apps will incorporate content - as well as voice- and motion-activated controls using Kinect for Xbox 360 - from Fox, Fox News Channel, IGN Entertainment and The Wall Street Journal.

The Fox application will give users on-demand access to various popular shows, including (but not limited to) Glee, House, New Girl, Bones, Fringe, The Simpsons, and Family Guy, Game Rant notes. The Fox News Channel application will let users access clips from the network and “interact” with anchors and personalities, including Shepard Smith and Bill O'Reilly.

WSJ Live, from The Wall Street Journal, will offer up to four hours' of live video programming each business day from the Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Barron's, Market Watch, SmartMoney and AllThingsD.com. The IGN app will eschew the political realm of its siblings and offer users video previews, reviews, gameplay videos, live streams and walkthroughs of current video games.

News Corporation intends to launch the apps on Microsoft's Xbox Live platform for users who sign up for its Gold subscription package, which costs £39.99 a year, The Guardian reports.