For over a year, the Xbox Live Video Marketplace offers Xbox
360 owners nearly immediate access to a wide variety of television shows and
movies, some of which in high-definition, making for an accessible and
convenient video download service – unless of course you live outside the U.S.
Xbox 360 users in Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, France,
and Germany will finally get to check out what their American counterparts have
been spending their Microsoft Points on since launch
in November 2006.
According to GamesIndustry, films available at
launch include 300, Clash of the Titans, Demolition
Man, Mars Attacks!, The Matrix Trilogy and more. The rental charge for
standard definition films is 250 MS Points, while the high-definition version
commands 380 MS Points. Interestingly, the prices are lower than the 320/480 MS
Points level for the U.S. Xbox Live Video Marketplace, though Joystiq proposes that the difference
in pricing reflects the current strength of the Euro.
Pricing for Canadian Xbox 360 users will be 310 MS Points
for older films, 440 MS points for newer releases, with HD versions going for
460 points and 660 points, respectively, according to Canoe.ca’s Load
This blog.
Sadly, the Xbox Live Video Marketplace for Canada and Europe
will pale in comparison to the breadth of content available to U.S. customers.
While the U.S. has access to hundreds of TV series and movies, the Marketplace
available in the new territories will be made up of only about 35 films.
Those outside the U.S. will just have to be content with the
small selection of movies, at least for now. “We don’t have any answers right
now, but as with the movies we’re always evaluating every opportunity,” Scott
Nocas, global marketing manager for Xbox Live Marketplace, said to Canoe.ca. “We thought, ‘Let’s focus on
the best experience with a really popular offering, and then we can roll out
other content as we go along.’”