Microsoft is launching its Zune entertainment distribution brand today in the UK and Europe, its first launch outside of the US.
The European versions of Microsoft’s Xbox Live will feature the Zune brand as the rebadged movie service . The Xbox will also feature the arrival of Twitter, Facebook and Last fm on the consoles’ latest dashboard update.
Originally announced in May, the Zune store will facilitate VOD streaming of movies on the Xbox 360 .
The Zune on-demand movie streaming service for the Xbox 360, to be branded as Zune, and will extend that service into 18 international markets, including Australia, France, Germany and the UK. The Zune entertainment brand includes film distribution for MGM, Paramount and Universal.
Last month in the UK the Sky Player launched its service over the Xbox, which caused connectivity issues due to the scale of users trying to access the service.
"We're focused on getting quality applications or services onto the platform before we look at integration into things like games," said the head of Xbox UK Neil Thompson