????如今，微軟（Microsoft）不僅要與索尼的任天堂游戲機在視頻游戲領域競爭，還得像其他任何一家娛樂公司一樣（當然視頻游戲也是如今主要的娛樂方式之一），和電視網絡、好萊塢電影以及奈飛（Netflix）、亞馬遜（Amazon）、Hulu等其它各種娛樂方式爭奪消費者有限的空閑時間。除了為自己開發了一系列專有游戲產品【如《光暈》（Halo）、《戰爭機器》（Gears of War ）、《神鬼寓言》（Fable）等】之外，微軟還專門為其Xbox 360和Xbox One游戲機開發了一系列原創視頻同容，其中一些內容正是根據這些專有游戲開發出來的。

????在去年6月的E3視頻游戲交易展上，史蒂芬?斯皮爾伯格宣布他將與微軟和開發者343 Entertainment公司合作，推出《光暈》的真人版劇集，他本人將親自掛帥擔任制片。Xbox娛樂工作室的總裁南茜?特勒姆和副總裁喬丹?列文現在正在紐約市，讓媒體采購者們搶先體驗一下微軟今年和明年將推出的部分原創視頻內容。

????已經有消息表示，微軟的原創劇集之一、六集紀錄片《噪聲信號》（Signal to Noise，暫定名）將由奧斯卡獲獎制片人西蒙?金【代表作《尋找小糖人》（Searching for Sugar Man）】和艾美獎獲獎制片人喬納森?琴恩【代表作《30天》（30 Days）】擔任制片。而微軟的第一部電影《雅達利：游戲結束》（ Atari: Game Over）將由《復仇者聯盟》（The Avengers）的編劇薩克?潘執導，講述的是挖掘新墨西州阿拉莫戈多一個垃圾填埋場的故事。雅達利游戲公司曾經在這里掩埋了數百萬份沒有銷售出去的Atari 2600游戲機的E.T.視頻游戲卡帶。薩克?潘不僅拍攝了本周成功挖掘的現場，還將進入探討雅達利游戲機的殞落對娛樂界的深入影響。特拉姆表示，這些劇集，包括一些探索MP3與絲綢之路的影響的電影，將于今年晚些時候面世。

????就像音樂已經以得完全數字化一樣，所謂的80后、90后們已經不再死忠于任何傳統網絡。特拉姆和列文認為，Xbox平臺憑借已經銷售到全球各地的8500萬臺游戲機，在吸引這些口味千變萬化、同時也是廣告業最青睞的年輕受眾上擁有特殊的優勢。

????特拉姆說：“我們面臨的挑戰仍然沒有變，那就是：如何產出能讓受眾產生共鳴的高質量的內容。我們的受眾非常精明，也非常挑剔。現在可供他們娛樂的視頻內容和游戲有很多，因此我們的任務特別具有挑戰性。但是我們的平臺上有4800萬訂閱用戶（即Xbox Live的黃金會員和白銀會員），他們已經知道如何與這些內容進行互動，因此我們在這方面具有獨特的優勢。制作優質內容和提供交互性都是我們走差異化道路的重要手段。”

????Xbox原創內容早期的一個重要的差異化手段就是它的交互性，因為玩家們已經習慣了同時開多個任務，并且與屏幕上的這些圖像進行交互。列文表示，每當有顯示方面的新點子出現的時候，交互團隊都要進行一番腦力風暴，尋找提高交互性體驗的機會，比如從“選擇你自己的攝像頭角度”到利用Xbox Kinect體感攝像頭等。

????特勒姆說：“我們在哥倫比亞廣播公司（CBS）的時候也想過一些很酷的交互性創意，但一般都是事后的點子，而不是一種整合式的體驗。有了Xbox技術，我們就可以創造一種無縫的整合式體驗。它既是有意義的，又是非強迫性的。如果你看看我們的平臺，就會發現有包括亞馬遜、Hulu、奈飛和eSports在內的很多選擇，也有像Twith、YouTube之類的游戲視頻應用以及各種游戲。”

????隨著亞馬遜、奈飛和Hulu等公司紛紛花費數十億美元用來搞原創內容，微軟則可以通過Xbox上的這些應用坐享其成。特拉姆表示，她的部門已經獲得了必要的預算，以便為Xbox的受眾開發原創編程內容。

????特拉姆指出：“Xbox有非常優質的受眾，現在我們想要留住這些受眾，還要讓他們參與內容。每一套Xbox One系統都有一個Kinect攝像頭。雖然它可能帶來一些內生的隱私問題，或是家長控制的問題，但是如果你擁有一臺Xbox游戲機，那么你就有了選怪性加入的機會。現在這種技術已經開發出來了，而且消費者已經可以利用這種技術。”

????Microsoft (MSFT) isn't just competing with Sony (SNE) and Nintendo in the videogame space these days. Like any entertainment company (and videogaming is one of the leading forms of entertainment today), it's fighting for the limited amount of free time consumers have to spend in today's digital world -- alongside television networks, Hollywood movie studios, and digital distribution services such as Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN), and Hulu. In addition to developing exclusive videogame franchises (Halo, Gears of War and Fable), Microsoft is also financing an entire slate of original video content for its Xbox 360 and Xbox One videogame consoles, some of which are based on these exclusive game franchises.

????Last June at the E3 videogame trade show, Steven Spielberg announced that he is executive producing a new live action Halo video series with Microsoft and developer 343 Entertainment. Now Xbox Entertainment Studios president Nancy Tellem and vice president Jordan Levin are in New York City giving media buyers a first taste of original programming for this year and next.

????News has already broken around one of Microsoft's original series, the six-part documentarySignal to Noise (working title) from Academy Award winning producer Simon Chinn (Searching for Sugar Man) and Emmy winning producer Jonathan Chinn (30 Days). The first film, Atari: Game Over, from director Zak Penn (screenwriter of The Avengers), will unearth the Alamogordo, N.M., landfill where Atari buried millions of unsold E.T. videogame cartridges from the Atari 2600. Penn, who filmed the successful excavation this weekend, will also dig into the impact the Atari console crash had on the world of entertainment. Tellem said the series, which will also include films exploring the impact of MP3s and Silk Road, will debut later this year.

????Just as music has gone completely digital, millennials and younger generations are now growing up without dedicated allegiance to traditional networks. Tellem and Levin believe the Xbox platform, which has over 85 million consoles installed around the globe, has an advantage in reaching this elusive, time-shifting, and advertising-coveted audience.

????"The challenge remains the same: to produce high quality content that resonates with our audience," said Tellem. "Our audience is smart and sophisticated, and the bar is quite high. They seek to be entertained through an array of video content and games, and that makes our tasks particularly challenging. However, we are in a unique position with 48 million subscribers on our platform (Xbox Live gold and silver members) who already understand how to interact with content. Both producing premium content and offering interactivity are our differentiators."

????One of the early differentiators for Xbox Originals will be interactivity, given that gamers are used to multitasking and interacting with the images on screen. Levin said that with each new show idea, the interactive team is brought on board to brainstorm on interactive opportunities ranging from "choose your own camera angle" to utilizing the Xbox Kinect camera.

????"At CBS, we'd think about cool interactive ideas, but it was always after the fact, not an integrated experience," said Tellem. "With our Xbox technology, we can create an integrated seamless experience that is meaningful and not forced. When you look at our platform, there are so many choices with apps like Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, as well as eSports, and videogame video apps like Twitch and YouTube, and gaming."

????As companies like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu spend billions on new original programming, Microsoft is in a position to reap those rewards through apps on the Xbox. Tellem said her division has been afforded the necessary budget to create original programming aimed at the Xbox audience.

????"At Xbox we have an amazing audience, and now we want to keep them there and engaged," said Tellem. "Every Xbox One system has a Kinect camera attached to it. There are of privacy issues and parental control things that can be built in, but if you own the console there's an opt-in opportunity to take advantage of. The technology is there and available for consumers that want to take advantage of it."

????Levin said that while there are more transmedia experiences out there in entertainment today, including acclaimed second-screen interactions like HBO's Game of Thrones and AMC's The Walking Dead, most of these require users to go to another screen.