Pizza Hut launching Xbox 360 app that lets console owners order pizza from Xbox Live
Microsoft and Pizza Hut have partnered up to launch a pioneer app for Xbox Live that will allow users to order from the chain's menu directly through their Xbox 360. — The Pizza Hut for Xbox app makes …
Context & Ripple Effects
Xbox Live had already moved beyond games by adding Comcast, HBO and MLB.TV streaming apps in 2012. Pizza Hut extends that app model from media consumption to a retail transaction, giving the service a consumer-brand use beyond entertainment.
The partnership arrives as Microsoft is seeking ways to cushion a PC-sales decline; it makes Xbox Live a more broadly useful connected-device surface for a national chain, not only a gaming network.
First-order effects
- Pizza Hut gains a direct ordering channel on Xbox 360, while Xbox Live users can place Pizza Hut orders without leaving the console interface.
- Microsoft adds a transaction-oriented brand app to an Xbox Live catalog already populated by television and sports services.
Second-order effects
- Other restaurant chains and consumer brands face a clearer incentive to evaluate Xbox Live as a distribution channel where their customers already spend time.
- Xbox Live’s value to partners shifts toward its ability to carry both content apps and commercial services, increasing the importance of app discovery and a smooth ordering experience.
Third-order effects
- If consumer brands adopt comparable apps, the console’s role broadens from a dedicated game machine into a living-room software platform that intermediates purchases as well as media.
- The move is part of a platform race in which connected-device operators seek recurring relevance through third-party services rather than relying solely on hardware sales and game releases.
The trend: Connected entertainment platforms are expanding their app catalogs from video services into branded commerce, making the living-room screen a retail access point.