HBO GO has been in the news lately, especially when the HBO network announced that it will be discontinuing its paid cable/satellite service restriction and turn it into a stand-alone service. It's also now making inroads into the living room -- perhaps in preparation for that big move next year. To that end, the network is moving into the Xbox One ecosystem.
Larry Hryb, better known to most folks as Major Nelson, announces the release -- "HBO GO is arriving on Xbox One in the US, bringing along every episode from every season of your favorite HBO shows. With HBO GO, subscribers can watch the latest episodes from shows like 'True Detective', 'Game of Thrones' and 'Girls', along with your favorite hits like 'Entourage' and 'The Sopranos', HBO GO on Xbox One features Kinect voice and gesture control so you can easily search the entire catalog via gestures or voice commands".
The Kinect integration seems to be a key feature, as it will allow for easy control and work with the rest of the new Xbox One controls. That makes entertainment almost a home automation thing.
For now, customers will still have to verify a TV subscription, as that won't change until 2015. But it's one more selling point that Microsoft has added to an already large entertainment field. The console has certainly become as much about that as it is about gaming. We'll see where it heads next.