Busy Gamer News

After many teases, Microsoft has launched its new movie and TV show download service for the Xbox 360. Alas, only a handful of movies and shows are high-definition and movies can only be rented, not purchased. Movies are typically 1-2GB for standard def and 5-7GB for HD, while TV shows are 100-600MB standard and 1-2GB HD. Microsoft's advice? Download HD content the night before you want to watch it. Hardly video on demand.

TV shows can be purchased for $2-3 an episode, starting with these:

• The Adventures of Chico and Guapo (8 episodes)
• The Andy Milomakis Show (Seasons 1-2)
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Season 3)
• Avatar: The Last Airbender (Seasons 1-2)
• Beavis and Butt-Head (Seasons 1-3)
• Breaking Bonaduce (Season 1)
• Carpocalypse (Season 2)
• Chappelle’s Show (Seasons 1-2)
• CSI (HD available, Seasons 6-7)
• CSI: Miami (HD available, Seasons 4-5)
• CSI: New York (HD available, Seasons 2-3)
• Drawn Together (Seasons 1-3)
• Frisky Dingo (5 episodes)
• Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (13 episodes)
• Hogan Knows Best (7 episodes)
• Invader Zim (Seasons 1-2)
• Jackass (Seasons 1-3)
• Jericho (HD available; 8 episodes)
• Mind of Mencia (Seasons 1-2)
• Moral Orel (1 episode)
• Muscle Car (22 episodes)
• NCIS (HD available; Seasons 2-4)
• The Nine (6 episodes)
• Pimp My Ride (16 episodes)
• Punk’d (Seasons 1-8)
• Raising the Roofs (6 episodes)
• The Real World (25 episodes)
• Robot Chicken (20 episodes)
• Sealab 2021 (Seasons 3-4)
• Skyland (13 episodes)
• South Park (Seasons 1-4 and 10)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (Seasons 1-4)
• Star Trek (29 episodes)
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (9 episodes)
• Supernatural (8 episodes)
• Ultimate Fighting Championship fights (HD available; 4 episodes)
• The Venture Bros (13 episodes)
• Veronica Mars (7 episodes)
• Viva La Bam (Seasons 1 and 5)
• Wild Boyz (Seasons 1-4)
• Wonder Showzen (8 episodes)
• Xtreme 4x4 (12 episodes)

Movies can be rented for $4-6 for new releases or $3-4.50 for classics, with these titles available now:

• 9 1/2 Weeks
• Ask the Dust
• Analyze This
• Art of War
• ATL (HD available)
• Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
• Batman Forever
• Chariots of Fire
• Chinatown
• Clash of the Titans (HD available)
• Congo
• The Core
• Crade 2 the Grave
• The Dead Pool
• Deep Blue Sea
• Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
• Exorcist II: Heretic
• Failure to Launch
• Gallipoli
• The Hunger
• The Lake House
• Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
• Mad Max 2
• The Matrix
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• Patriot Games
• The Perfect Storm (HD available)
• Pootie Tang
• Poseidon (HD available)
• Rat Race
• Rebel Without a Cause
• Romeo Must Die
• Rosemary's Baby
• The Shining
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek VII: Generations
• Strange Brew
• The Sum of All Fears
• Superfly
• Tequila Sunrise
• Three Kings
• THX 1138
• Timeline
• Unforgiven (HD available)
• The Untouchables
• V for Vendetta (HD available)
• We Were Soldiers
• Zoolander

Only Paramount and Warner Bros have movie content at launch (that's fewer contributors than even the doomed UMD movie format on the PSP!). Also, unlike TV shows and other video content on Marketplace, movies expire in 14 days or 24 hours after you start watching them. Oh, and there's still no word on a bigger hard drive to support all of these weighty downloads.

In other news, Marketplace has been well stocked lately, perhaps to taunt next-gen newcomers PS3 and WII who are still revving up their online stores:

• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas multiplayer demo as well as demos for Cars, NCAA March Madness 07 and Superman Returns
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion expansion called Knights of the Nine, which adds a new faction that's been described as the opposite of The Dark Brotherhood ($10)
• Test Drive Unlimited auto-update improves motorcycle handling, closes exploits and improves clubs and e-trading. There are also two free car downloads (Corvette C1 1957 and Lexus IS 350), plus an additional six-car pack for $4.38
• Small Arms ($10) and Defender ($5) on Xbox Live Arcade
• Some Viva Pinata accessory packs ($1.13 each)