Box-office flop 'Poseidon'
finds new life on Xbox

Though there are only about 3.5 million Microsoft Xbox 360s in the U.S., people are buying more movies via Xbox's Live service than via websites like Amazon's Unbox digital download service, according to Variety.

That a gaming system is outselling the world's biggest e-tailer makes some sense. First, the Xbox is already directly connected to a television, whereas only the most savvy can take a movie downloaded onto a computer and then watch it on their TVs.

Furthermore, Microsoft is offering high-definition versions of movies, from studios such as Warner and Paramount, for a just a dollar extra. Though such offerings take several hours to download, many are taking the time in order to enjoy the higher quality.

Solutions, though, are coming for the web. Apple will start selling a device to watch iTunes video content on a TV this winter, and Amazon says its efforts thus fare are just the beginning. "It is day one for digital video, and Amazon will continue to invest in the Unbox customer experience," said Amazon VP of digital Bill Carr.