Los Angeles - In a bid to boost sales of its Xbox 360 video game console beyond the traditional gamer demographic and grab some of the new market share being created by the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) has announced an initiative to bring more TV shows, movies and family-friendly games to the platform.

"We're entering a new age in entertainment, and Xbox 360 is uniquely positioned to become the heart of the living room," said Don Mattrick, SVP for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.

"The new Xbox experience offers more content than you can find from any device that connects to the television. That convergence of entertainment and gaming will bring new people and more families to the category, driving a record year for the games industry."

The company announced a social media feature where users will be able to create avatars for themselves -- similar to the "Mii" characters on Nintendo's Wii, and a feature called LIVE Party that will let gamers watch the same entertainment content on their TVs through their game consoles at the same time.

Meanwhile, "Xbox LIVE Primetime" will bring a collection of virtual game shows like "1 vs. 100" to the console.

Microsoft also announced a deal to make a range of TV shows and movies from NBC Universal and its various studios and networks available for purchase and download via the Xbox Live online service, which the company said now counts 12 million members.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/2z5be