Xbox Live makes box office bombs profitable
by Justin Murray 
{ Jan 2nd 2007 at 5:25PM }
The primary reason a major movie production house makes a movie is to make a profit. Sure, some of those indie guys do it for the art, but they're not normally rolling in the big bucks. Now, Hollywood has a new way to boost an otherwise losing film into a winner.
Xbox Live's downloadable HD service is doing a stand-up job in delivering the goods. Movies like Poseidon, which failed to make back the $160 million budget in the US (apparently Hollywood doesn't count international ticket sales), are getting some great support from Live. The reasoning behind the support is the HD version.
Where other services like Amazon's Unbox not faring too well, Microsoft hit pay dirt with their HD downloads. When movies start pulling in profits on Xbox Live, Hollywood is certainly going to put more up on the service and possibly as soon as the regular versions hit the store shelves. With the confusion most consumers are having in the HD-DVD vs Blu-ray war, it would appear Xbox Live is going to be the big winner in the HD content war.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Virtua Fanboy @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:35PM
The service is pretty cool. I tried it with V for Vendetta (HD version) and it took bout 1 or 2 days of normal Xbox play to download. (And I don't mean 2 days straight you PS fanboys) I think I'd rather stick w/PPV or just going to the video store for now.
Liqwid @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:37PM
This service is indeed awesome. I've been downloading movies like crazy. A Clockwork Orange, THX1138, Jackass: The Movie, and The Ant Bully are just three of many movies that I've dl'd. They even have Joe's Apartment, which I'm downloading tonight.
cubbiechris @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:37PM
BIGGER HARDRIVE MS! Why in the world are they waiting so long to offer bigger HD's?
Liqwid @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:38PM
Correction, four.
And the download speeds have seemed to have picked up for me. A 7Gb HD movie takes about 3 or so hours to dl, which isn't all too bad.
Sanchinos @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:40PM
I downloaded and watched "The Ant Bully" in HD yesterday. It was 4GB and took about 2 hours to download - I wouldn't have rented or watched this movie if it weren't so convenient, either. I just checked the marketplace to see if anything new was up, found "The Ant Bully" (and the fact that it was HD) and figured I'd give it a try. It was actually a pretty good movie! Hollywood would do good by putting more movies on this service. I'd rent them.
redpill @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:43PM
does anyone know when this service is going to be in use the the uk???
ross @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:47PM
The reason Live is winning out is because HD-DVD vs Blu-ray is a battle conceived by the media giants, MS and Sony. Consumers are really the ones who drive the market, not companies or marketing. There has a been a shift to digital content that is created, shared and stored on the web and HDs. The so-called battle was over long ago. Really its turning to be about who can create more accessibility to content.
otakucode @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:01PM
Anyone who offers non-HD video in this day and age is just being stingy and/or stupid. I include blogs and sites that post trailers, tutorial videos and such in that group as well. Video can be downsampled easily and with little quality loss for those without the requisite pixels to see the true quality recordings, but it does not work the other way around.
It has already been shown in several instances that people will watch HD even if it is not a program they are interested in. People with HD sets are starved for HD content and will watch it anyway that they can. Well, except for really stupid ways like $50 blu-ray or hd-dvd movies, that's just ludicrous.
Virtua Fanboy @ Jan 7th 2007 8:30PM
I don't think they should bring out a bigger hard drive. I mean that is just a kick in the face to 6, 8, 10 million or whatever Xbox 360 owners. The solution is to just allow storage on an external hard drive. And let me use a usb hub so I can use my Vision Camera, External HD, Wireless keyboard, HD DVD drive and whatever else on the BACK usb. I hate having to put anything but controllers in the front usb except controllers, a little knit picky I know but I chose MS this round so they better give me (us) what I (we) want. lol As for pirating control there is already that XSAT thing to transfer files from 369 hd to pc, so they should just allow it in the next update.
ill trooper @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:52PM
"With the confusion most consumers are having in the HD-DVD vs Blu-ray war, it would appear Xbox Live is going to be the big winner in the HD content war."
Well, yes and NO. These are movie RENTALS you're talking about. The movies only stay watchable for 3 days once you start it... Very acceptable for many movies, but not really for favorites, which even if you were buying it for keeps, would be occupying 1/3 of your 360's hard drive (available) space. It's pretty obvious that Microsoft will be offering a larger hard drive soon. I predict a 60gig drive for $129, and a death knell to the current 20gig.
On a mildly related note, my friend offered the sage advice of waiting until your entire xbox LIVE movie is downloaded BEFORE you start watching it, as he started watching 'Nacho Libre' when suddenly his internet went out, unable to be fixed for a few days - the 'viewing' had been started, but the download was incomplete, and he lost his rental - only a few dollars, but an avoidable little hiccup nonetheless.
hegemonyhog @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:03PM
HD technology today is where MP3s were in the mid to late 90s - just beyond the reach of current hard drive space and bandwidth to make them a truly viable convenience. (The 2-3 movies you can store on your 360 are a testament to that.)
I can't wait for 2009/10, when we've managed to make 250GB+ of space a sub-$100 solution and digital movies no longer require several-hour waits.
Regula Oblique @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:10PM
I can't really say I stay far away from this service, by the time a movie is downloaded I prolly won't want to watch it anymore that night, just me downloading game demos (not arcade games) takes long enough, so I stick with buying blu-rays to watch on my PS3, atleast I can watch them as many times I want and I own them, but whatever floats your boat.
hegemonyhog @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:11PM
Ugh, I meant 750, not 250.
AndrewNeo @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:40PM
Regula Oblique: Fanboy much? You can buy HD-DVDs and watch them on your Xbox as many times as you want...
tack @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:57PM
HD-DVD's are a much better investment over downloading a HD movie or buying a bluray movie.
The convenience of the xbox live movie service is great as long as you plan ahead of time. Most movies take a bit to download before you watch them, but you dont have to download the whole thing before you start the movie.
I still dont get why people use itunes to buy music when allofmp3.com is 90% cheaper and there are even cheaper options than that out there. But you're the type to rent a movie just to see the movie, there is no better service.
SuicideNinja @ Jan 2nd 2007 7:24PM
Maybe the secret is: "Now I don't have to be embarrassed by being seen renting this."
;)
Phil @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:03PM
I bought Superman in HD last Saturday night - the 30th. I have a 7 Mb DSL connection that routinely provides me with > 800K downloads. I knew the service would be busy...
It took 36 HOURS to download! WTF? To top it off, it won't even play because of a "license issue."
I called Xbox Live support, asking for a refund, and they told me to go f*ck myself.
Get it right MS. Why the f*ck are you not using BitTorrent to distribute these movies!!!!????
Regula Oblique @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:46PM
@Andrew
How am I a fanboy I said to each his own, shows who the real fanboy and were all looking at you, fanboy im not I picked blu-ray for its benefits and as i said I own both a 360 and ps3, I dont feel like hooking up an attachment to a system like the hd-dvd player so I decided to use the blu-rays because its built in, I could still easily purschase one but I choose not too, so sorry if you expect everyone on joystiq.com to be a 360 fanboy. hater
Jeff @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:25AM
I must be missing where it cites any source in either the article or the post here about movies like Poseidon becoming "profitable" due to Xbox Live. The closest quote I can find in the article comes from a Microsoft rep that claims that these films are doing "better than you would expect."
Now, call me crazy, but that doesn't sound like a very bold claim to me, especially coming from Microsoft themselves. It also doesn't say anything about profitability.
My company deals with all of the major download services and not one of them is doing jack right now in terms of selling video (not even iTunes). MS obviously had quite low expectations from these films, and Hollywood probably did as well. What have they got to lose putting crap like Poseidon up there? They figure it'll get a few thousand downloads, maybe. So it doubles that, and now it's doing "better than you would expect". But that's not even a drop in the bucket of what it would take to make that film (which lost nearly $100 million at the BO) profitable.
Carl @ Jan 3rd 2007 2:41AM
Movies? No, I have, however, downloaded a LOT of old T.V. shows that aren't on DVD. I mean, do any of you remember MTV's old show "The state"? The one Showalter, Black, Keri Kinney and Thomas Lennon were on 10 years before Reno 911 was even conceived? I ALWAYS wanted that show on DVD but MTV REFUSED to release it....but Xbox live did, and now they are on my system! Yeah, laugh at me, but at least there isn't a time limit and I can watch them anytime I want.
Movies? No. Old TV shows not on DVD? YES!!!!
Dr Doom @ Jan 3rd 2007 5:48AM
Yeah i'd also like to know when it's launching in the uk. Any ideas folks?
PhrawzT @ Jan 3rd 2007 1:12PM
At first I thought the idea of offering TV shows on Xbox Live was pointless. However after seeing that they had posted The State, MS has changed my mind. I haven't bothered to rent any movies off Xbox Live. I think I'd rather wait for the release of the HDDVD.
Kamus @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:59PM
"Regula Oblique: Fanboy much? You can buy HD-DVDs and watch them on your Xbox as many times as you want..."
Yeah, cause we all know the xbox 360 core/premium ship with the HD-DVD included...
Fanboys these days are fucking annoying.
Look, we get it:
YOU DON'T WANT A PS3. AND NO, WE DON'T GIVE A FUCK.
As far as the 360 service goes, it's definity something nice, i just wish MS supported USB hardrives at least (and network HD's if possible), that and that studios allowed you to keep the movies, not just rent them for nearly 6 bucks, that's just too expensive to lose the movie right away.
With that said, i think sony should have a comparable service sooner rather than later, i mean. It's nice that it plays blu-rays and all, but i'm just too much of an "on-demand" guy these days to keep going to check out releases to the store.
Hard drives shouldn't be an issue on the PS3. (you can add a bigger HD yourself, or you can just connect an extremley huge USB HD)
The only movie i've rented so far on live is V for Vendetta, just wish i still had it.. cause i just sold my projector that had very poor contrast and bought a new one that has very good ANSI CR, the movie is very dark and would look a lot better on this new one i just got... if only WB would've let me own it, i would've paid a full 20 bux.
on a side not, can you belive you can buy a 720p DLP for 900 bucks these days? amazing shit.
So, while this is a nice feature. i REALLY hope that movie studios sell movies and not just rent them.
Brandon Paddock @ Jan 3rd 2007 7:21PM
I haven't tried the movie service yet but I don't think we're quite there yet. It's a good start, though.
The TV downloads, however, are just plain awesome. Buying a season costs about the same as buying a season of most shows on DVD. And the quality is superb. For most (SD) shows it only has to download for about 3-4 minutes before I can start playing them.
I downloaded all the current episodes of Studio 60 after getting hooked by the pilot. And I actually started watching South Park again because of it being on there. It was also great when a friend of mine brought up Robot Chicken and I wanted to show him a specific episode. Instead of watching it in a tiny YouTube player on a PC screen like I might have before - we didn't even have to leave his living room. I just signed in on my Live account, downloaded the episode (which I'd already bought), and 2 minutes later watch it in DVD quality on his plasma screen.