In it’s continuing gambit to insert itself into the living room as the center of entertainment, Microsoft has brought Amazon’s instant video to its Xbox 360 video game console.  This is part of an ongoing trend of bringing the already nearly-ubiquitous video game console into the Internet-streaming market.

We’ve seen a lot of shifting going on when it comes to set-top-boxes, especially in the vein of looking at the cable market. While Xbox already has a great deal of downloadable content, they’ve also been wheeling and dealing with cable companies in order to give Xbox LIVE gold members better access to entertainment from both cable and Internet sources.

The addition of Amazon’s Instant Video to that stable will only bolster their already strong line of product propositions to customers and clients; and this is no bad deal for Amazon themselves who will be able to reach further into the streaming-entertainment market.

According to the brochure on Amazon’s website,

Amazon Instant Video is now playing on your Xbox 360. All videos you’ve purchased or have currently rented from Amazon are now available on your Xbox 360. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll also find the entire Prime Instant Video library waiting for you. You can start watching thousands movies and TV episodes today at no additional cost with your Amazon Prime Membership.

• Amazon Prime: Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers who are also Amazon Prime members get unlimited access to over 17,000 Prime Instant Videos at no additional cost. Learn about the benefits of an Amazon Prime Membership
• Your Video Library: Anything you buy from Amazon Instant Video will be available in Your Video Library on your Xbox 360. Just visit the Amazon Instant Video store online, and shop from a library of over 120,000 movies and TV episodes.
• Your Watchlist: From your Xbox or from the web, you can organize your viewing with Your Watchlist. Add any title to Your Watchlist, and enjoy when you’re ready.
• Xbox Kinect: With Kinect, you can also find and play your videos with the wave of your hand or the sound of your voice.

Amazon Prime already has moved into the streaming-video market and connecting that with subscriptions to Xbox LIVE gold will work to provide customers a lot more media to choose from. Especially looking at those 120,000 movies and TV episodes. The integration of Kinect should also prove extremely interesting as that particular interface choice has proven extremely lucrative for Microsoft and their Xbox platform.

The Internet-to-living-room stealth ploy that Microsoft has been working on since mid 2011, which is not so stealthy now, may be paying off with a partnership with Amazon.com. It’s interesting to note that they did not go with Netflix, who recently marked Amazon as their nemesis in the streaming entertainment and media department. With Hulu potentially becoming a has-been product, Netflix and Amazon may become the two likely sources of entertainment as set-top-boxes and Internet-enabled TVs continue to proliferate.

A partnership with Microsoft will give Amazon a leading-edge when it comes to the future of this marketplace.