Xbox Live updated with HBO GO, XFINITY TV, and MLB.TV

Xbox Live Gold members now have even fewer reasons to leave the couch this spring. Today, Microsoft's Major Nelson announced the arrival of three new entertainment apps for its Xbox 360 online service: HBO GO, Comcast Xfinity, and MLB.TV.

The apps, available now, offer a steady stream of television shows, movies, and sports content to Xbox Live Gold members who are already signed up with the individual services. The Xfinity TV and HBO GO apps bring a wealth of on-demand shows, while MLB.TV allows sports fans to stream baseball games from across the league.

This week, Comcast announced that using Xfinity TV over Xbox 360 would count toward its member's 250GB data cap, prompting some to accuse it of skirting net neutrality laws. In a follow-up post, Comcast's J.T Ramsay said this was not the case, explaining, “Your Xbox 360 essentially acts as an additional cable box for your existing cable service. As a result, our data usage threshold does not apply.”

Much like Xbox Live's other entertainment apps, Xfinity TV, MLB.TV, and HBO GO can be manipulated using Kinect's motion and voice controls. A word of warning, though, rumor has it shouting “halfman!” during an episode of HBO's Game of Thrones may cause immediate RROD.