Rent Movies Via Consoles

Yesterday The Guardian reported that Microsoft brokered a content deal with NBC Universal that will offer a selection of the studio's movie portfolio for rental via the Internet to its Xbox 360 customers.

The deal, which is specific to UK and Ireland, adds considerable value to the Xbox 360's burgeoning video-on-demand service. Currently around 300 movies are available to UK users, with Paramount, Warner Bros and MGM already supplying content.

Customers pay around £2.50 to download a movie, which remains on their console's hard drive for 14 days – but once you start playback, you have 24 hours to watch the film before it expires. Many of the titles are available to rent in either standard or high definition formats.

Microsoft sees the provision of a movie service as a key element in expanding its market beyond the traditional gamer demographic.

"We're looking at how we can grow Xbox as a core entertainment hub," said Thompson "There's a phenomenon at the minute where more and more people are staying at home to consume their entertainment – we're really offering a convenient one-stop shop for them."

Consoles like the X-box and the Nintendo Wii are increasingly marketed as "entertainment hubs", which allow their customers to download content, and to interact with other players around the globe using broadband connectivity.

Writers Guild Awards 2008

Announced with little fanfare a couple of weeks ago while the WGA strike was ongoing, the list of winners of the Writers Guild Awards 2008 is worth reading through.

It honours dramatic writing across a comprehensive range of categories such as film, television, documentaries, radio, video games, and even promotional writing. It's voted upon by WGA members, and thus is a strong indication of the type of writing that writers admire.

Writing for Video Games

The Digital Media Forum is organising a workshop to examine the increasing importance of narrative for the success of computer and console games, and it will look at what skills are required for writing for games.

Guest speaker Guy Miller is an artist, writer and game designer. Credited with writing the storyline for the original Tomb Raider game (his minuscule footnote in gaming history is coming up with the name ‘Lara’), he has become renowned in the gaming industry. He also co-designed and directed the notorious ShadowMan games, and was Creative Director for EA’'s Harry Potter series.

The seminar will take place on Wednesday 28th November, at Filmbase on Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, from 6:30 - 8:30pm. Admission is free, but registration is required as space is limited. Please phone the Digital Media Forum on +353-1-4893604 to book your spot.

Game banned in Ireland

RTÉ reports that the Film Censor has banned a video game in Ireland for the first time. The offending title, Manhunt 2--which was also banned in the UK--was considered to contain " an unacceptable level of violence."

The Film Censor, John Kelleher, claims the game features gross levels of manipulation and torture.

Mr Kelleher said he recognises that in some films or video games strong graphic violence may be a justifiable element within the overall context of the work. However, he said that in the case of this game, there was no context and the brutality was unrelenting and gratuitous.