Microsoft may be behind in a lot of ways but they are fast on the heels of iTunes (sort of) in terms of downloading.
In a story from Variety, apparently Microsoft’s Xbox Live is having better luck than most in penetrating this new ancillary avenue.
Due to “Xbox 360’s direct connection to a TV and the console’s focus on HD content, Microsoft can deliver both. Though exact sales figures aren’t available from any Web site or studio, insiders agree that it’s the most, and maybe only, positive story in digital movie downloads this year.”
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According to the the numbers “there are fewer than 3.5 million 360s in the U.S. by last count, movies available from Warner and Paramount, as well as content from CBS and MTV on the TV side, are doing at least as well and, in some cases, better than on competing Web sites, which are available to anyone with a PC and high-speed Internet connection.”
Some credit this to Xbox 360 owners being a “tech-savvy and media-hungry bunch… but the relatively strong start for video downloads on the console show that there is a market when watching a download is as easy as pushing a few buttons.”
In addition to this, “HD has proved particularly popular with Xbox 360 owners, many of whom already use the console to play vidgames in high-def.”
According to Warner Bros. “consumers are consistently downloading more copies of a pic in high-def than in standard def when both are offered, even though it takes several extra hours to get the HD version.”
So it seems that in addition to the format war on the home video front, Microsoft and Apple are starting to compete in what can best be called, the downloading war.
