Even though at E3 2014 Microsoft Even though at E3 2014 Microsoft
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Xbox Announces Original Film & Television Programming Commitments

By Daniel George

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Even though at E3 2014 Microsoft plans on focusing most of their efforts on games programming, that doesn’t mean that they’re backing down from their original programming when it comes to TV, digital features and documentaries. Microsoft has revealed through the Xbox Wire their commitments, as well as some interesting projects that are in development exclusively for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and other Microsoft devices.

So far, it looks like Xbox will see the following projects come to life:

  • Halo TV series (Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer)
  • “Every Street United”; An unscripted series where soccer stars Thierry Henry and Edgar Davids scour the world looking for the best, talented street players across 8 countries (United States, England, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, Ghana and South Korea), ending with a 4v4 match this July in the shadow of the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.
  • Bonnaroo; Showcasing the music of this year’s Bonnaroo live concert. Xbox will look to provide multiple stages, exclusive content and other features to make Bonnaroo more interactive.
  • “Signal To Noise” (working title); A six-part documentary series uncovering the stories behind gaming and technology’s lesser-known stories. The first feature, “Atari: Game Over” (working title) will focus on the mysterious landfill dumping of the E.T. video game back in 1983 (which totally exists), while also digging into the downfall of Atari.
  • “Humans”; An 8-episode, hour-long drama co-developed by Channel 4 in the UK. An adaptation based on Swedish series Real Humans, “Humans is set in a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a ‘Synth’ – a highly-developed robotic servant eerily similar to its live counterpart. In the hope of transforming the way they live, one strained suburban family purchases a refurbished synth only to discover that sharing life with a machine has far-reaching and chilling consequences.”
  • Halo Digital Feature (Ridley Scott as Executive Producer)

Additionally, the scripts and ideas being developed by Xbox are quite interesting, in themselves. A pilot commitment is given to a comedy/variety show half-hour founded by Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, Tim and Eric and Reggie Watts, which would feature up-and-coming comedic talent. There is also a script for a project called “Deadlands,” based on the tabletop roleplaying game set in an alternate Wild West full of sci-fi-based creations and monstrosities.

It’s unclear just how profitable this original programming venture by Microsoft will be, but to bring exciting projects exclusively to Xbox consoles and Microsoft devices will be an experiment worth looking into as time progresses.

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