It used to be that gaming consoles were for one thing, and one thing only – playing video games. If you were young in the '80s, your games came from your NES, your music from your stereo (or your MTV!) and your video entertainment from your television.

When news hit the tech blogs today that the Xbox 360 may be getting Microsoft's new streaming music service (originally designed for the Zune), it didn't really come as a huge surprise to a lot of people. After all, we'd already heard that Sony was planning to turn the PS3 into something of a Web hub, and some form of streaming video has been available on all consoles, from the basic (the Wii's broswer accessing YouTube) to the most sophisticated (Xbox's Netflix service).

Game consoles are moving well beyond their original purpose. Nintendo has already had a lot of success turning theirs into something of a home gymnasium, and we also got word today that the American Heart Association will be using the House That Mario Built's console for CPR training.

Handhelds are going even further in unconventional use. The "My [Whatever] Coach" line for the DS teaches about everything from cooking to foreign languages. In foreign countries, it's become an E-book. Sony has said they are specifically pursuing non-gaming software for the PSPGO.

So just as gaming is increasingly gaining in popularity on the PC, non-gaming is increasingly gaining in popularity on the consoles. All of them are a fertile platform for any kind of unconventional, out-of-the-box application – indeed, you may find greater success with a productivity app for consoles than you would with a standard shoot-em-up video game.

The time is probably not too far off when the family console becomes the hub of the entertainment center, delivering music, movies, and maybe even productivity apps. Designing software for gaming consoles (especially downloadable, also gaining in popularity) can help you get a jump on the competition, a way of getting there before everyone else does.
- Bonnie