Finally, technology has made it possible to use the content-aggregation website Reddit while simultaneously playing a game on your Xbox One. Now, if only we could meet the one person who was asking for this.
Microsoft introduced ReddX for the Xbox One today in the United States and Canada. This app enables gamers to browse Reddit content right from their television. You can even sign into your account to quickly peruse your favorite Reddit communities. This is a proprietary app built specifically for the Xbox One, and — after trying it for a few minutes — it actually works pretty well with a controller. Microsoft made the effort to ensure the Reddit experience makes some sense on a television.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1531280,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,media,","session":"C"}']“Using ReddX [enables] you to upvote or downvote a thread with just the touch of a button, as well as easily add your comments using your Xbox One controller, media remote, or Xbox SmartGlass on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop,” Xbox evangelist Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb said.
Hyrb did not mention why someone with a laptop would use it to enter text on the Xbox One app rather than just using to surf over to the native version of Reddit.
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As with other Xbox One apps, you can pin ReddX to the side of your screen while you play games or watch TV. This may come in handy if you’re looking up some tips on a game-specific Reddit channel, but it’s difficult to imagine who this would serve beyond that limited use case.
Unfortunately, Microsoft isn’t making ReddX available for Xbox One owners outside of the U.S. and Canada. Why? Because of advertising.
“Unfortunately, our ad provider only serves ads in [the U.S. and Canada] at this time,” reads a frequently asked questions post on the ReddX subforum. “We would very much love to bring ReddX worldwide, and are exploring options to do so while still being able to pay the bills and keep the lights on.”
In addition to keeping the ReddX app out of Europe, Australia, and elsewhere, this means that the app will have its own advertisements.
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