Hulu confirmed for PS3 and Xbox 360

June 30th, 2010, 17:17 Posted By: wraggster

US-only video on demand company Hulu has confirmed that its services will be appearing on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, following months of speculation on both formats.

Sony's console will be the first to debut the service, with rumours last week of a $9.99 subscription service being borne out.

The new Hulu Plus service will launch as early as next month, with more content available than on the free browser-based website. A maximum resolution display of 720p will be supported, compared to just 480p on the website.

The option to watch entire seasons of television shows, ranging from Family Guy to Glee and The Office to House, will also be offered for the first time, with the entire run of some older shows now being supported.

No additional information is currently available for the PlayStation 3 launch, although website Kotaku suggests that access to Hulu Plus may also require users to join the new PlayStation Plus subscription service.

Hulu is currently focusing on the launch of Hulu Plus on the iPhone and iPad. The service will also be available on Internet-enable televisions and Blu-ray players from Samsung, Sony and Vizio.

No mention of support for the Xbox 360 has been made by Hulu themselves, but Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hryb (aka Major Nelson) has indicated that Hulu Plus will be available in "early 2011". Hryb also promised that "it will not be a port, but rather a custom experience that leverages the Xbox Live community features".

Currently revenues for the web-based service come solely through advertising, with Hulu Plus marking a major change in business plan for the company - although it will still feature some advertising content.

Hulu is unavailable outside of the US and attempts to create a similar service in the UK have so far been frustrated by a lack of licensing deals.

"Hulu Plus is not a replacement for Hulu.com. Hulu Plus is a new, revolutionary ad-supported subscription product that is incremental and complementary to the existing Hulu service", said CEO Jason Kilar on the Hulu blog.

"Is our work done? Not even close. There are more shows to license, more countries to expand into, and more product features to build. And we will," he added.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...or-ps3-and-360

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