"Now, after talking up and praying for speedy adoption of broadband seemingly for ages and getting no response, Microsoft (MSFT ) is trying a more direct approach. It's offering its MSN.com content to providers of high-speed Internet access to spice up their offerings. The Colossus of Redmond is also building out Xbox Live, an online gaming network with supercool graphics and interactivity, to lure gamers into going broadband. Finally, it's striking more deals with Internet service providers, perhaps in an attempt to help them financially -- essentially subsidizing broadband access for consumers. "

I've been wondering why I haven't been seeing ads on TV for online gaming. Its about time. This article is very critical, but I think this is exactly the sort of move thats needed. Online gaming has taken off in Korea because of the lack of alternative social outlets for young people, but it has staggered in the U.S. because of the high end PCs required and because of the time investment required by most online games. If online games had a simpler, more arcade like quality, lots of tie-in with real world social groups, and low cost of entry, this could be exactly the juice that the telecom world needs.

BW Online | July 24, 2002 | Microsoft's Booster Shots for Broadband