Brit comic-book-guy-vs-gangsters film goes straight to Xbox Live

'All our audience like that sort of film' - Microsoft man

An independent Brit movie has become the first to be debuted exclusively on Microsoft's Xbox games console.

Xbox Live subscribers will get the first chance to see Pulp, a comedy about a comic book company owner who ends up working with the police to stop "a gang of Geordie criminals", from today.

The film's creator Adam Hamdy told the BBC that the ability to release new movies on a games console gives low budget flicks another chance to be seen.

"At the top end of the indie film business the UK is still pretty healthy, but it's the middle tier and the lower budget tier that's struggling," he said.

"Where they would have been released straight to DVD, the opportunities for doing that have really declined. Retailers have gone out of business because of the threat of piracy and because of legitimate digital downloading."

Microsoft has said that it's interested in getting more films out this way in the future.

"It's a great fit," Xbox Live product manager Pav Bhardwaj said. "The film is really well aligned with our audience.

"All our audience like that sort and types of film and it's great to support British talent." ®