Paramount Adds UK Support to Xbox Live Marketplace

Officials from Paramount Pictures have announced that that the company is extending its partnership with Microsoft to offer a catalog of current and classic movies in the UK, after emerging as one of the key launch partners for the service in the U.S. Existing support for the Xbox Live Video Marketplace in the UK has been largely restricted to Warner Bros. movies, but from February 19th new Paramount titles will begin to be offered, beginning with the blockbuster Transformers. As is standard with the service, many movies will be available in either standard or high definition versions, with the former priced at 250 Microsoft Points (£2/$3.90) and the latter at 380 Microsoft Points (£3.20/$6.24). Once downloaded, the movies are automatically deleted from the Xbox 360 hard drive after two weeks or twenty-four hours after the movie is watched for the first time. “We’re excited to be involved in the acceleration phase of the European launch of Xbox Live’s Video Store and look forward to watching this service grow. To deliver Paramount’s top films to people in their living room via a games console fits perfectly with our global digital distribution strategy,” said Alex Carloss, executive vice president and general manager of worldwide digital distribution for Paramount Digital Entertainment. Paramount and DreamWorks movies scheduled for this spring in the UK include the following: • Transformers (SD and HD) • Goodbye Bafana (SD and HD) • Intersection (SD only) • Primal Fear (SD only) • Clear and Present Danger (SD only) • Naked Gun 2 & 1/2: The Smell of Fear (SD only) • Naked Gun 33 & 1/3 (SD only) • Top Secret! (SD only) • Bug (SD only) • Hardball (SD only) • The Phantom (SD only) • Orange County (SD only) • 1408 (SD and HD) • Disturbia (SD and HD) • Hot Rod (SD and HD) • A Mighty Heart (SD and HD) • Heatbreak Kid (SD and HD) • Stardust (SD and HD) • In to the Wild (SD and HD) Additional movies from Warner Bros. also scheduled for this spring include: • The Assassination of Jesse James (SD and HD) • Beowulf (SD and HD) • License to Wed (SD and HD) • No Reservations (SD and HD) • The December Boys (SD and HD) • Nancy Drew (SD and HD)