Microsoft unveils Video Marketplace for Europe

Four EU countries and Canada set to receive the video-on-demand service from December 11; pricing starts at 250 Microsoft points.

Almost exactly a year after the Xbox Live Video Marketplace service launched in the United States, Microsoft has announced that the Video Marketplace will open for UK, Canadian, and some European consumers on December 11.

Xbox 360 owners in the UK, Ireland, France, and Germany will be able to rent full-length films through the download service in both standard and high definition. The US service lets users download a film and then gives them 14 days to watch it. Once the movie has been started, though, the video is watchable for only 24 hours.

Film-download prices start at 250 Microsoft points (approximately £2/$4) for standard-definition movies, or from 380 Microsoft points (approx. £3.20/$6.40) for films in high definition. No television content is mentioned in the Microsoft statement.

Microsoft's current list of launch titles, which it says is subject to change, includes the Matrix trilogy, Ocean's Eleven, Training Day, Swordfish, The Perfect Storm, and Demolition Man.

[Update] The service will also launch in Canada, bringing the total number of countries where Video Marketplace is available to six.

94 Comments

  • MasterChief725

    Posted Dec 6, 2007 3:23 pm GMT

    No one can say this is not frikin amazin!! (except those who already have it, lol)

  • Thorpe89 Site moderator

    Posted Dec 5, 2007 2:40 pm GMT

    Finally, it will be here.

  • LivingDeadNinja

    Posted Dec 5, 2007 1:51 pm GMT

    I hate renting titles. What interests me i buy on DVD. And if i want HD i'll buy a HD or Blu-Ray title, simply. And i won't be restricted to 24 hours.
    Having stacks of Anime series would be great though. Buying an episode is cheap and it would be a great way to sample a show and see if i find it worth buying...

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Dec 5, 2007 11:39 am GMT

    very nice

  • Zcrimson07

    Posted Dec 5, 2007 8:25 am GMT

    @ gandalf....not everyone owns 100s of dvds so maybe there are people who want to rent and dont want to drive/walk to the store

  • mattub

    Posted Dec 5, 2007 2:57 am GMT

    i made a us account while ago and its very good the us library has over 300 movies on it which i have been renting

  • Kezman118

    Posted Dec 5, 2007 2:29 am GMT

    If the EU countries are gettin vid marketplace, what about parts of Asia?

  • gandalf_storm

    Posted Dec 5, 2007 12:41 am GMT

    dont see the point to be honest, the films listed cost less then £2 to rent from a video shop, and for people like myself who own 100`s of DVD`s we have the films already.

  • mouldy133

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 11:50 pm GMT

    Top Gun needs to be on that list

  • jbisco25

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:46 pm GMT

    still seems better to go down to the shop and rent one, i wait till they have better movies out for it.

  • Sydwynder

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:10 pm GMT

    WOW!!!!!!!! That's a pretty craptacular list of movies available. Too bad I already own the good titles on DVD. Better improve that content list MS!!!!

  • OnlyTbone

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 7:32 pm GMT

    good job, good job. spread the goodness

  • ENDOT12123

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 7:16 pm GMT

    bout time i say. almost a year wat took them so long?

  • gulamh

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 5:48 pm GMT

    This doesn't really interest me, since I normally end up finding a way to watch movies anyway. Having to pay about £2, then downloading with my slow crappy dsl broadband just seems more of a pain then pleasure. I would like to see tv content and hopefully they put up some good classic movies.

  • slinker41

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 5:15 pm GMT

    OMG....FINALLY!!! But damn, ill probably have to get the bigger hard drive now...

  • kalazm_2000

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 5:10 pm GMT

    Nice!!!!!! Finally!

  • SuperBazza87

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 4:15 pm GMT

    Great now I can save myself Money without Subscribing to Sky HD now but why do we have to rent the Films? I know it will be more expensive but Why not? It saves myself 2 decide between HD DVD v Blu-Ray films. At least I don't have to get of my bed or chair now to rent a film from Blockbuster (all the way up there) But whats going to happen with TV Shows in HD on XBOX? Can't Sky and Virgin Media come to an agreement or what because I want to watch Prison Break, Simpsons, Family Guy and the new Futurama in HD

  • numbness

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 3:46 pm GMT

    cant wait its making the 360 outshine ps3 renting of hd movies is a brilliant idea

  • Takashi_Dragon

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 3:36 pm GMT

    Well thank god Canada got in on the action. I was starting to think they'd gt left out.

  • Ricksterlau

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 2:58 pm GMT

    I'm starting to love Microsoft & my Xbox 360 more and more as the days passes by. Quality games, quality updates and now quality downloads at quality prices. What more can the average gamer expect?

  • Agreb91

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 2:45 pm GMT

    Nice to see this come to other countries now.

  • shadystxxx

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 2:38 pm GMT

    Shtinky Sky isn't the only service which does this, Telewest/ Virgin has been doing it for a while as well, and they have a better on demand service. I believe for Sky on demand, you need to have Sky HD, Virgin's on demand service is available to everyone, though you can't view the HD recordings without the HD box of course. Also, most of the stuff on Virgin/ Sky HD isn't actually HD recordings, just standard def recording upscaled to higher resolutions, you can achieve the same effect by buying one of the latest DVD recorders, some which can do 1080p upscaling. We're seeing more and more media servers on the market, those things which let you stream media from your PC to TV, I saw a PC world advertisement for one recently; they offer an alternate way to stream actual HD recording stored on your PC and watch them on TV; PS3, I believe, also offers the PC streaming service as well and VOD is coming soon, but I don't know how those will work, seems irrelevent since the only reason I'd buy a PS3 was for Blu Ray and 1080p movies, so downloading them would seem kinda pointless.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Completly false, sorry but your wrong.

    Only a telewest customer would try and say telewest is better than shy+/sky HD.

    The telewest service couldnt scratch Sky's bellly button itch.

    You do not have to have sky hd for on demand.
    Even sky digital get's on demand movie's.
    Sky +/sky HD get anytime tv that has a list of show's like the latest episode's of 24/jorneyman, the latest movie premieres kid's stuff/ documentrys etc etc etc that can be watched at anytime without recording them .

    And all of sky HD's content is in high definition all sports are recorded with high def camera's, only the normal channels are upscaled all the hd channels like sky sports hd/sky movies hd are all in proper high def.

  • shadystxxx

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 2:29 pm GMT

    Very Nice i will definitly be downloading the matrix trilogy and training day in HD.

    It's a nice service the movies are a little cheaper than blockbuster and i have allot more time to watch them plus i save petrol(gas) money and time by driving back and fortrh from blockbuster video.

    People keep complaining about space on the hdd, stop complaining and by an xploder or something similar, it allows you to move content back and forth from your X360 to your PC hdd and it's quick and easy.

    And you can get the exploder and software for around £15($30) it slips under your hdd and looks cool as it has a blue neon trim.

    Sometime's i just think people like to complain, "oh i hate it that my console is offering me the option to purchase HD movie's/tv shows etc, i dont want extra feature's it's all a rip off microsoft forcing hd movies down our throats, sony forcing blu-ray on us gamer's".

    get a grip nobody is forcing anything everybody has an option either buy or dont buy.

    More option's feature's etc that are optional are a great thing in my books i like extra functionality from my ps3/360/pc/wii/ds/psp.

  • ianabe

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 1:54 pm GMT

    sweet. HD films for 1.20 cheaper than renting it at blockbuster

  • deviousdeviousd

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 1:42 pm GMT

    Well its about bluddy time, this service is the whole reason y i bought a 360 elite

  • sacatash

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 1:38 pm GMT

    Finally!!! I've been waiting for this service since last year in Canada!! I know that my country has some liberal policies with video/music copyrights, but c'mon! Since the films will have encryption anyway I just dont see why MSoft took this long. Anyway I am one happy Xbox 360 owner!

  • tryonis

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 1:09 pm GMT

    OMG Canada is only just right next to us they could easily gave it to us at launch

  • skirlnik

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 12:58 pm GMT

    This service is the only reason anyone should be paying for Xbox Live. Make online play free and you've got me.

  • AncientDozer

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 12:50 pm GMT

    I hope the list includes anime. They've actually done a good job of providing.

  • zaokamura

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 12:46 pm GMT

    WOOOOP!

  • sickside6

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 12:44 pm GMT

    Nice work microsoft

  • dlind70

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 12:29 pm GMT

    Win MS, Win };-)

  • hunter-killer5

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 12:22 pm GMT

    Demolition Man makes this an instant win.

  • K4ss3r

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 12:09 pm GMT

    Wow, at that price, I'd totally rent more movies, I bet. I really hope it's coming to Denmark soon!

  • Shtinky

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 11:55 am GMT

    Sky isn't the only service which does this, Telewest/ Virgin has been doing it for a while as well, and they have a better on demand service. I believe for Sky on demand, you need to have Sky HD, Virgin's on demand service is available to everyone, though you can't view the HD recordings without the HD box of course. Also, most of the stuff on Virgin/ Sky HD isn't actually HD recordings, just standard def recording upscaled to higher resolutions, you can achieve the same effect by buying one of the latest DVD recorders, some which can do 1080p upscaling. We're seeing more and more media servers on the market, those things which let you stream media from your PC to TV, I saw a PC world advertisement for one recently; they offer an alternate way to stream actual HD recording stored on your PC and watch them on TV; PS3, I believe, also offers the PC streaming service as well and VOD is coming soon, but I don't know how those will work, seems irrelevent since the only reason I'd buy a PS3 was for Blu Ray and 1080p movies, so downloading them would seem kinda pointless.

  • GrimBee

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 11:37 am GMT

    Thats amazing, people in the USA probably won't think so. But here in the UK, the only way to get movies is through SKY (its about £5.50 for standard def movies that have been on DVD for over a month already, for example, only NOW they are getting pirates otc at worlds end!!).

    To get HD, you need sky HD, and this costs you over £300 just for the box! Let alone the £40 odd per month subscription!

    And to rent movies over here, blockbuster is the only true way to do this, and its about £3.50 for a regular dvd for an overnight rental. Not forgetting any late fees. Or the REALLY annoying thing where the disc freezes and skips and you have to go all the way back to get another one! Or if you get them ordered through online, you get a bunch of them in one go - random - from your list of movies that you want.

    Sometimes they get lost in the post, so you end up having only one or two at any one time until they sort it out. And you can only claim two lost in post per couple of months!! So you end up paying £15 per month, for one movie which is probably last on your list. And you have to wait several days until you get another - which could be random from your list you have chosen online.

    A video-on-demand service is quite a rare thing over here, and with people already having a 360 with HD output into a HD set (or even SD movies) its a cheap and convenient way to get a movie.

    Plus, Demolition Man is one of my faves, so its good news all round

    Seriously though, this service will really be amazing in the UK because we are still in the dark ages when it comes to things like this. The 360 is pretty much the only thing which has VOD! Especially HD movies and at those great prices.
    People will surely pick up a HD rental of a movie than purchase a £25 movie on the HD disc format (blu-ray or hddvd) of a movie they have probably got on DVD.

    This is a great thing to be introduced into the UK.

  • Alterac_Barry

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 11:26 am GMT

    Well that took a while, besides, I thought all of North America get software at the same time. Well I've learnt soemthing new today...

  • CrazyAzza

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 11:18 am GMT

    It's quiete a good idea but why should we have to pay?
    We pay for xbox live so why should we have to pay for movies as well

  • runstalker

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 11:11 am GMT

    Kind of a blah selection of launch titles, but 6 bucks isn't bad for a high-def flick.

  • ibanezdropd

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 11:08 am GMT

    the movies don't autodelete.. they just become unplayable after the license expires... dependinding on the lenght of the movie, most standard definition movies are around 1 gig or less... sometimes more if it's a longer movie (more than 1.5 hr)

    i think i would use the service more, if it were less expensive. i have never purchased an episode of a show... and i've rented 2 movies on it in the last year. i dunno. i think it's a wee bit expensive, but hey... they aren't forcing me to rent/buy

  • Killer_101

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 11:05 am GMT

    Finally us canadians get it!!

  • jesus_markii

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:58 am GMT

    how much room will the SD movies take up 1gb? and will they auto delete after the 14 day period

  • StarFox-Elite

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:49 am GMT

    HD movies obviously cost more because its HD...

    And allot of people probably expect that if you're rich enough to afford a HD TV you can afford another £1.20/$2.40 per movie...

  • Colsworl

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:42 am GMT

    Wait, it costs more for hd content than sd? That sucks, what are they playing at?

  • davidwwone

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:38 am GMT

    awesome HD movies

  • HellraiserMC

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:32 am GMT

    We dont even have Xbox Live officially in Greece !!

  • APOLLOCJD

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:29 am GMT

    sandroDX so portugal (where i live), spain, and other european countries wont get this?... thanks Microsoft!...

    well maybe if spain had more sense and bought 360's as much as the UK does, then maybe they would. I live in canada so woho!

  • zgreenwell

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:27 am GMT

    I think it is good that they're bringing the service to some other places. Still, even though the service has been in the US for a year, I've only used it twice. Once was only because it was free. If it had a better selection I would probably use it more.

  • andrew_ribbons

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:19 am GMT

    This is completely awesome, i love the way MS is offering kickass services worldwide, while Sony only offer things in Japan, or Japan AND America if we're lucky... Sony hates Europe so we don't get jack all from them, we get the PS3 mega overpriced and the crummy 40Gb version, we get a bunch of crud games and the online service is awful. But that's ok, because MS won me over when i was about 6 with their games on Windows 95. Haven't regretted my alliance since XD

  • JustWiicredible

    Posted Dec 4, 2007 10:14 am GMT

    Now we have xbox originals and movies i reeeally need a bigger Hard drive. 20 gb isn't gonna cut it anymore.

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