Microsoft finally started to focus on games after giving a hard push to the Xbox One's TV integration. Now Microsoft's latest console has moved into academia with the launch of the Khan Academy app on the Xbox One.
The Khan Academy is free resource that offers more than 5,000 educational videos, all of which are now available via the nonprofit's Xbox One app, and also are available on YouTube. The region-free resource also offers course materials that can be used by students or educators to reinforce the site's video lectures.
"We cover a massive number of topics, including K-12 math, science topics -- such as biology, chemistry and physics -- and even the humanities with playlists on art, history, civics and finance," stated a post from Microsoft's Xbox team.
As Sony and Microsoft continue to exchange blows in the latest console war, the Khan Academy app could make the Xbox One more appealing to some parents. It's still too early to tell how well the Khan Academy app is being received, but there has been a demand for it on consoles, a Khan Academy spokesperson told VentureBeat.
"We've heard from many students who want to watch Khan Academy videos in a lean-back experience on their big screen and are excited by the ease of use in Xbox One apps," the spokesperson stated. "Microsoft has been a great partner in bringing a free, world-class education to students around the globe."
The Khan Academy app could help move a few Xbox One consoles, tilting the decision in Microsoft's favor when purchase is tied to a parent's purse straps. But Microsoft's recent price cut to the Xbox One appears to have given the second-place console the push it needs to keep pace with Sony and the PlayStation 4.
The holiday rush and the Xbox One's price cut to $350, which shaved $50 off, helped the console edge out the PlayStation 4 in November. Mike Nichols, Xbox marketing's corporate vice president, said November was a historic month for the Xbox series, with an unprecedented number of consumers logging into Xbox Live during the month.
"Response to the holiday lineup of games on Xbox One was incredible, with Xbox One fans buying more games in November in the U.S. than any other gen-eight platform and enjoying over 357 million hours of gameplay globally," stated Nichols.
Xbox One's big November helped the console reach the 10 million mark in units shipped, though it's still well behind Sony's 13.5 million in PlayStation 4 shipments.
