微软Xbox进军互动美剧

    南希•特勒姆知道所有的秘密。特勒姆是微软（Microsoft）Xbox娱乐工作室总裁，这个部门负责为Xbox游戏机制作原创内容。流媒体内容供应商Netflix推出了原创电视剧《纸牌屋》，YouTube也有大量节目频道，微软现在打算仿效它们，向Xbox用户推出独家电视剧。而这一切都由特勒姆操刀。

    微软首部电视剧作品将围绕《光环》（Halo）系列游戏——这丝毫没什么可意外的，《光环》系列自2001年发布以来，销售额已突破30亿美元。（特勒姆也因此成为某些热心粉丝特别关注的对象。）特勒姆参加了7月23日在美国科罗拉多州阿斯彭召开的财富科技头脑风暴大会，谈到影视制作的未来时，她说：“我们下一步将推出一系列改编自《光环》游戏的剧集。”

    特勒姆的讲话并不新鲜。今年早些时候，我们在微软在下一代Xbox One游戏机发布会上就已经听到过类似的言论。不过当时的相关细节很少，特勒姆只是透露微软正和大导演史蒂芬•斯皮尔伯格合作。她今天又一再强调：“斯皮尔伯格是《光环》粉丝，而且还酷爱游戏。”

    特勒姆今天透露了更多细节，她表示微软将推出更多互动电视剧。特勒姆称：“以前我们是制作完一部电视剧，最后再加上互动元素。现在我们打算从一开始就融入互动元素。”不过她没有给出更具体的例子，只是强调：“我们不能为了互动而互动。”特勒姆还表示微软正在积极探索下一代影视制作，形式可能包括实时事件、新闻和完全无剧本的真人秀。

    特勒姆还是一位电视编剧，绝大部分时间在为哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）工作。她参与了多部热门电视剧的制作，例如《人人都爱雷蒙德》（Everybody Loves Raymond）、《犯罪现场调查》（CSI）和《急诊室的故事》（ER）等。特勒姆说：“我对高科技和传统影视制作的结合非常感兴趣。”她还补充道，Xbox的巨大装机量是吸引自己加盟微软的主要原因。迄今为止，Xbox销量已超过7,000万台，Xbox Live在线服务的注册用户数也有约4,800万。

    不过，特勒姆认为，传统电视短期内不会退出市场。她说：“电视机不会被淘汰。只是节目内容会变化，而消费者会有更多选择。”这时，讨论小组的另一位成员——数字媒体公司Guggenheim Digital Media首席执行官罗斯•莱文索恩插话道：“说实话，南希这样的人才都被吸引来做这件事，这本身就很能说明问题。”（财富中文网）

    译者：项航

    For some, Nancy Tellem knows all the best secrets. Tellem is the president of Microsoft's Xbox Entertainment Studios, the division responsible for creating original programming for the company's popular games console. Like Netflix with House of Cards and YouTube with its various channels, Microsoft is planning to begin pumping out exclusive shows to device owners. And Tellem is at the helm.

    The company's first project is a TV program based on the Halo series of games -- not surprising considering the franchise has generated over $3 billion in sales since its initial release in 2001. (This has also made her the object of intense focus by some, well, more avid fans.) "The next step was go deeper in narrative into the Halo mythology by creating a premium series," Tellem said today during a panel on the future of content at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo.

    Microsoft (MSFT) announced the strategy earlier this year during a press conference introducing its next-generation Xbox One game console. Details were sparse, but at the time Tellem revealed that the company was working on the program with director Steven Spielberg. "Spielberg is a huge Halo fan and a big gamer," she reiterated today.

    Tellem also added a few more details to the picture. She described more interactive shows coming out. "Unlike developing a show and adding interactivity after the fact," she said, "we are going to start from the beginning." Tellem did not give specific examples but said, "You can't have interactivity for interactivity's sake." Future programming, which she said the company is actively working on, could include live events, news and unscripted or reality shows.

    Tellem has had a storied career in TV, much of it at CBS (CBS). She was involved with the creation of hit shows including Everybody Loves Raymond, CSI, and ER. "I've always been interested in the intersection of content and tech," she said, adding that the installed base of Xboxes was a major factor in luring her to Microsoft. The company has sold over 70 million Xboxes and has some 48 million subscribers to its Xbox Live online service.

    But Tellem said she doesn't see traditional television disappearing anytime soon. "Television is not going anywhere," she said. "The package is going to change and you're going to see a la cart options." At that point one of her fellow panelists, CEO of Guggenheim Digital Media Ross Levinsohn, chimed in: "The truth is, the fact you can get people of Nancy's quality to do this is really validating."