Speaking at the official launch event in central London today, UK Head of Xbox Neil Thompson announced a vision for the console giant that will give customers a 360 degree entertainment experience that never ends, thanks to an ongoing commitment to providing cutting edge new downloadable content to Xbox LIVE®. It will give entertainment fans an even broader choice of fun - enabling them to play extra elements of their favourite games, watch major Hollywood blockbuster films or chat and connect with friends anywhere in the world all from the comfort of their living room.
Film fans will be the first to benefit as it is today announced an agreement with NBC Universal International Television Distribution, making films from Universal Pictures the latest content from a major Hollywood studio to join the Xbox Live roster. NBC Universal will offer some of its biggest and best movie titles in high definition to Xbox LIVE, giving customers the chance to rent the latest movies of their choice at the touch of a button.
The Universal Pictures content, which joins that of Warner Bros and Paramount Pictures amongst others, is available now with over 30 titles already on the service. The range of titles available immediately from will span a range of genres catering for all tastes and offer everything from Hollywood action blockbusters including The Fast and The Furious, Wanted and Incredible Hulk (2008) through to cinema classics such as Child’s Play 3 and Scarface.
Comedy fans are well catered for with laugh-out-loud hits including National Lampoon’s Animal House, Cheech And Chong’s Next Movie and Simon Pegg’s cult Brit hit, Shaun Of The Dead. Further titles will be added to the service on a rolling basis.
Gamers are also set to benefit thanks to a new wave of extra content being made available for all their favourite titles. As if the games themselves weren’t enough, fans will be treated to hundreds of hours of extra gameplay to extend their experience even further. Extra content on offer covers all the major blockbuster titles including Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Tomb Raider and Fable 2 right through to new tracks for fun social games like Lips (including three new tracks from Coldplay) Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour and Scene It. And despite some of these titles also being available on other platforms – the extra content is completely exclusive to Xbox Live and is available to download now.
In addition to offering great new gaming content, Xbox also today revealed a look at the eagerly-awaited ‘1 vs. 100’ – a completely exclusive, completely interactive television quiz show game giving gamers the chance to compete against each other and win real prizes.
Commenting on the news, UK & Ireland Head of Xbox, Neil Thompson said: “We are delighted to announce what are perhaps our most exciting content developments to date. Having an agreement with NBC Universal not only gives our customers even more choice when they use Xbox LIVE but really seals our position as a major player in the mainstream home entertainment space. Of course, we always want to ensure our core audience have the best possible gaming experiences too, and with the range of new extra content now available they can enjoy some of the biggest blockbuster and social games for longer than ever before. This also applies to ‘1 vs. 100’, which, whilst still in its infancy, signals the next chapter in the Xbox story which is set to take home entertainment to a whole new level by putting the consumer in the driving seat of their own TV show. Watch this space.”
Films are available for rent from 250 Microsoft Points (£2.08) and are available for viewing for up to 14 days from rental and 24 hours after beginning playback.
Full list of NBC Universal film titles to be initially available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace Video Store:
- Baby Mama
- Billy Madison
- The Blues Brothers
- The Bourne Supremacy
- Carlito's Way
- Cheech and Chong's Next Movie
- Child's Play 2
- Child's Play 3
- The Chronicles of Riddick
- The Fast and the Furious
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- The Frighteners
- The Game
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army
- How High
- Incredible Hulk ('08)
- The Jerk
- The Mummy Returns
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
- National Lampoon's Animal House
- Out of Sight ('98)
- Red Dragon
- Scarface ('83)
- The Scorpion King
- The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior
- Shaun of the Dead
- Village of the Damned
- Wanted
- Waterworld
- Weird Science
Pricing
- UK
- New Release SD: 3.00 pounds (360 MS Points)
- New Release HD: 4.50 pounds (540 MS Points)
- Library SD: 2.08 (250 MS Points)
- Library HD: 3.17 (380 MS Points)
- Ireland
- New Release SD: 4.29 euro (360 MS Points)
- New Release HD: 6.43 euro (540 MS Points)
- Library SD: 2.98 (250 MS Points)
- Library HD: 4.53 (380 MS Points)
FULL LIST OF GAMES WITH NEW CONTENT AVAILABLE
Full List of Games with New Content Available:
- Grand Theft Auto IV
- Gears of War 2
- Fable 2
- Fallout 3
- Lips
- Scene It
- Rock Band
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- Tomb Raider Underworld