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Microsoft took another step in its quest for living room domination today, launching HBO GO, MLB.TV, and Xfinity TV apps for gaming’s most popular console, the Xbox 360. Pair these latest additions with the 360’s existing slate of Verizon FiOS, Netflix, ESPN, Hulu, and video marketplace content and there’s a decent chance that you’ll never need to switch your plasma’s input again.

The Xfinity app is a nice addition for those of us who are tied to Comcast’s service and are tired of enduring the cable box’s horrid UI and remote input delays (“Hit play.” “I did hit play.” “Hit it again!”). Now, after just a few arm waves and some shouting at your Kinect sensor, you could be watching that episode of Fringe you missed last Friday while trying to finish up Mass Effect 3 in an attempt to understand why the internet was completely losing its mind over the Bioware trilogy’s finale (which is another story entirely). In an interesting twist, Comcast’s app doesn’t necessarily play by its own rules as the content streamed from the app won’t count against a customer’s 250GB monthly data limit – a concession that may push heavy users towards the Xfinity app at the expense of Xbox’s other video offerings.

And while I’m excited to have the opportunity to watch my Tribe lose games this season while wrapped in a more interactive display (or at least in split-screen while I keep up with my adopted hometown Giants), it’s the 360’s addition of that’s really got me glued to my couch in anticipation. Up to this point, I’ve been catching up on all my HBO series favorites while plugged into my iPad, staring at its 10” screen for an hour at a time before bed (to the utter dismay of the soon-to-be wife). But with such amazing GO-only content so readily available, who has time for pillow talk? Obviously, I’m kidding; I would much rather hear about your day, Dear

Sure, while I’m stuck in an airport or hotel, or at an unquestionably boring industry conference session, I’ll still tune into that solitary, mini-screen experience. But when I’m looking to relax on the couch after saving the galaxy from another Reaper genocide, I can just flail my arms and instantly watch Tony Soprano (one of many HBO characters whom you can’t find on Xfinity’s onDemand) whack his cousin with a shotgun blast to the face on my 50” plasma with my fiancé by my side…playing Draw Something….Um, yeah…Where are my headphones?

Excitement-killing update: Looks like I’ll be needing those headphones for a while longer. While Comcast and HBO have a deal in place for Comcast subscribers to access HBO GO on mobile devices, a consensus has not yet been reached regarding TV access. Definitely an unexpected turn of events considering the HBO GO/Xbox launch announcement came last month at a San Francisco event; you would have thought they’d have their local bases covered. Until then I’ll just be watching MLB.TV’s select Spring Training games…Fifty of them, in fact, and not a single one featuring the Indians.