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(Via InsideMicrosoft) John Mello Jr. reports at TechNewsWorld that Microsoft Tests Rent-a-Game Market
Renting entertainment could be the wave of the future, and Microsoft isn’t about to miss it.
The company that brought us “Janus,” the digital rights management (DRM) scheme that allows subscription music services like Napster On The Go to exist, has announced a deal with Exent, of Bethesda, Md., a provider of “games on demand” technology.
Under the agreement, Microsoft will allow six of its most popular personal computer games to be delivered to online gamers through Exent’s on-demand technology, which is used by broadband providers such as Comcast , Yahoo , Bell Canada, Turner Broadcasting and RCN.
Licensed to the on-demand service — which costs from US$4.95 to $14.95 a month for access to anywhere from 50 to 300 titles — are Microsoft’s “Age of Empire,” “Age of Mythology,” “Dungeon Siege,” “Mechwarrior,” “Rise of Nations” and “Zoo Tycoon” product lines.
More details and analysis by following the link, but the key question is whether or not this is a hit on retail sale of PC games. Opinions vary.
According to a note from Doug Girard at the BPID Customer Response Team’s Blog, you can apply for the open beta program to try it out. You may recall that BizTalk Server 2006 is scheduled for launch on Nov. 7.
From the Press Release:
Fans of Mark Burnett Productions’ “Rock Star: INXS” have made the new reality television show’s official Web site on MSN a go-to destination, with significant growth in visitors’ activities throughout the interactive site at http://rockstar.msn.com. To date, MSN® Video has streamed 7.1 million clips of the rockers competing for the chance to become the new lead singer of INXS.
Every remaining contestant on Rock Star: INXS has appeared in the top 100 most downloaded tracks on MSN Music, and the contestant performances, along with unaired and behind the scenes footage from the show, are some of the top streamed videos on MSN Video.
The number of people voting for their favorite contestants through rockstar.msn.com is growing rapidly. Voting on MSN continued its consistent week-over-week growth as the show completed its sixth week. In addition, fans are flocking to MSN Spaces, where each rocker has a personal Web log (blog), to get the latest updates from the contestants themselves. Visits to the contestants’ Spaces have more than doubled since the show’s premiere, which may be because the rockers aren’t keeping very many secrets when it comes to talking about their lives inside the mansion.
Beginning this week, fans who visit http://rockstar.msn.com will also have the chance to vote on the songs they’d like the contestants to sing on an upcoming encore performance show.
…
“It was just a few years ago that the only feedback producers would get would be from critics and ratings,” said Mark Burnett. “Now, thanks to the Internet and specifically our relationship with MSN, very detailed feedback comes across through voting, message boards and blogs, and from the large number of video clips watched and songs downloaded. The music downloads specifically are an incredibly valuable measure of customer feedback, as there is nothing more reliable than when people vote with their pocketbooks.”“Rock Star: INXS,” airing on the CBS Television Network and VH1, debuted in July with a cast of 15 rockers competing to become the new lead singer for multiplatinum band INXS. Votes cast online by visitors to http://rockstar.msn.com help determine which contestant gets dropped from the show each week. This is the first time that Mark Burnett Productions, the company behind such landmark reality TV series as “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” has used online voting to influence the outcome of a show on a weekly basis.
The Web site also gives fans unique opportunities to chat, play games and view show-themed content in real time through MSN Messenger, watch exclusive “Rock Star: INXS” content on MSN Video, purchase contestant performances on MSN Music, buy INXS merchandise through MSN Shopping, learn about the contestants’ personal lives through their MSN Spaces, and more.
Another MSN content play. I quoted so voluminously in order that all the MSN and non-MSN pieces got mentioned.
A Microsoft Corp. product is headed to the big screen for the first time — but don’t worry, moviegoers won’t be asked to suffer through two hours of Clippy.
The company’s “Halo” video-game franchise and its hero, Master Chief, will provide the basis for a major movie under a deal between Microsoft and movie studios Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox.
Microsoft confirmed the agreement Wednesday after months of speculation in Hollywood and the video-game world. The company declined to disclose the financial terms, but Daily Variety reported that Microsoft will receive 10 percent of the box-office receipts, including a guaranteed $5 million in advance.
More details by following the link and also at Bungie and the Telegraph (UK).
