In a step that indicates that Microsoft is gearing towards competing with iTunes, Microsoft will begin to offer movie downloads through the Xbox Live Marketplace starting on November 22, 2006. Xbox 360 turns one-year-old that day and will become the first gaming system that provides HD/standard-definition TV shows and movies available for download through the console.
So what networks is Microsoft partnering with? CBS, UFC, Adult Swim, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, Nick Toons, Nickelodeon, VH1, Warner Bros., and Paramount.
This move that Microsoft is making may also have deterred YouTube users from watching available TV shows and clips such as The Colbert Report and The Daily Show on Comedy Central from their website and instead download it and watch it on TV. Skeptics of XBox Live list that one of the limitations is that there is not much capacity to store movies and TV shows on XBox hard drives, but Microsoft responded by saying that after a user pays for a TV show, then they would be able to delete it from their hard drives and re-download it again for free. The list of TV shows to be added is located on the XBox Live homepage. I’m a huge fan of Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken and I think it is a great addition to have the show available for download.
In response to this new offering, the New York Times reports, “This is a razors and blades business. I’ve taken the hit on the razor. And the ability of Microsoft to offer more blades gives consumers more choice and drives more revenue.”
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