Citizens of the Microsoft gaming world can now experience television and movies like never before. On its first year anniversary, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 is set to redefine entertainment as we know it.
Microsoft's efforts at convergence have certainly come a long way with the announcement that the Xbox Live Marketplace will now provide loyalists with the option to own full length TV shows and rent downloadable movies over broadband, from a consortium of industry leaders that includes Warner Bros Home Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), CBS, Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc., Paramount Pictures and MTV Networks. Plans to add new content for download every week are on the anvil.
The Xbox 360 has been breaking records since its launch last November. 6 million units of the platform were sold by the end of September 2006, granting the Xbox 360, the distinct honor of being the fastest console to reach 5 million units sold. The Xbox 360 is expected to be made available in 37 countries by the end of the year sales are expected to cross the 10 million threshold.
A library of almost 160 high definition games that features blockbuster like “Gears of War” and “Viva Piñata™” is also expected by year end, with a host of new accessories such as the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, Xbox 360 HD DVD Player and Xbox Live Vision camera being made available for retail.
The service is currently available only to console owners in the US through the Xbox Live Marketplace with a free Xbox Live Silver subscription or a paid Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Microsoft promises competitive pricing, based on the type and format of content accessed. Shows and movies are available for a specified number of Microsoft points. 240 points will buy a subscriber a single high definition TV show episode, or a standard definition Classic Feature film.
For the movie connoisseur, new release features in high definition are worth 480 points, while Classic Feature films of the same format will be 360 points. Standard definition TV show episodes are 160 Microsoft points each, while Standard definition new release movies may be downloaded for 320 points.
Microsoft Points are sold through retail or Xbox Live; $19.99 is the asking price of a 1,600 Microsoft point card and $12.50 of the 1,000 Microsoft point card.
Parents will find the Family Settings feature of the platform most practical for censoring explicit or unrated content for their children or themselves.
Television shows and movies for rent on the network from the 22nd of November include “Hogan Knows Best” from VH1, “CSI,” “CSI: New York”, “CSI: Miami”, “Star Trek” and “NCIS” from CBS, “Drawn Together”, “Chapelle's Show” and “South Park” from Comedy Central, “Punk'd” and “Pimp my Ride” of MTV fame, “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender” from Nickelodeon, “Patriot Games”, “Chinatown”, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”, “Star Trek VII: Generations”, “The Sum of All Fears”, “The Untouchables” and “We Were Soldiers” from Paramount Pictures, some of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's greatest fights, “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”, “Sealab 2021”, “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law” and “The Venture Bros.” from Turner Broadcasting, as well as box office hits like “Perfect Storm”, “Poseidon”, “The Shining”, “Three Kings”, “V for Vendetta” and shows like “The Nine”, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and “Veronica Mars” from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
Microsoft also plans to include major feature films like "Superman Returns," the “Mission Impossible” series and "The Matrix" in its line up for the holidays.
Interestingly, Microsoft Corp.'s gaming industry rival Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., also launched its own network with its PlayStation 3 console on November 17 and plans to improve on its current limited offering of short video clips of movies and video games for download.
