Microsoft wants you to consider your Xbox 360 to be the one entertainment device to rule them all. It should be… precious to you. At least until the next Xbox is released, probably later this year. But that’s another story. In the meantime, the Xbox Live service continues to grow in Microsoft’s pursuit of total world entertainment domination.
In the pursuit of this, the majority of recent additions to the Xbox 360 haven’t actually had anything to do with gaming. Instead, the console is being put forward as an entertainment device that, oh by the way, also happens to also play video games. Joining services like Netflix and Hulu Plus are video rental apps like Crackle and Amazon Instant Video. ESPN continues to grow its XBL content, and music services like Last.fm are going to soon be joined by services like Skype. But this is only the start.
As Microsoft slowly begins to transition to its next generation of console, it’s also bolstering its original content offerings. Rumors of a Microsoft channel on the Xbox are already common, and more content that will be available exclusively on the Xbox 360 is planned – including feature films.
Today, the indie British comedy, Pulp, debuted exclusively on Xbox Live. For $15 dollars (or the MS points equivalent) you can purchase the SD version. For $18, you can watch the British version of dick and fart jokes told with a classy accent in HD.
The news of the release was originally announced last month, and it marks yet another step in Microsoft’s plan to evolve the Xbox Live service. Pulp’s success or failure will be an interesting test case for Microsoft. Even if the film bombs it won’t come close to slowing the strategy, but it may affect how the movies are presented and marketed. This is a brave new world of film and content distribution, and the only established model is the one that yields results.
As for the film itself, Pulp is the story of a nice guy that owns a comic book store and has dreams of launching his own superhero title called The Sodomizer. Perhaps in England that word means something different, like boot means trunk, or traditional English breakfast means attempted murder. Those plans are derailed when the police require his help in bringing down a gang of criminals that are using a rival comic shop to launder money. In theory, hilarity shall ensue.
You can check out Pulp today on XBL, and thus help further Microsoft’s plans for world entertainment domination.
