Save your MS points, download the cheerleader

by: Chuck - posted: 5/21/2007 6:58:00 PM

Just in time for the series finale tonight, the folks at Microsoft are offering a host of new content from the TV show Heroes.  From the sound of the press release it sounds like you can download the paintings that were drawn by Isaac (they guy who can see the future) as well as avatars based on characters from the show.  No word on cost in the release but I'm guessing they aren't free (unless you download the images from the website, put them on a PC that the Xbox can see and then set them as your background).

“Heroes” Phenomenon Hits Xbox Live Marketplace

Graphically Stunning Content From The Acclaimed Television Series
Available For Gamers To Download

 
Los Angeles – May 21, 2007 – Responding to the program’s fanatical following and viewers’ passionate identification with the show’s characters and storylines, the Universal Studios Consumer Products Group announced that content based on television’s #1 new series, “Heroes”, is now available for download on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.
 
For the first time, fans of the series can customize their Xbox 360 experience with images depicting key events and characters from the “Heroes” universe.  Taking a creative lead from the series, the graphically stunning images are rendered as paintings which foretell iconic events in the program’s mythology. The downloadable content includes both a “Theme Pack” and “Gamer Pictures” featuring popular characters from the show such as Hiro Nakamura, Claire Bennet, Peter Petrelli, and Niki Sanders.
 
“Heroes has broken new ground in episodic storytelling and has resonated with an astonishingly broad audience, and certainly with the gamer community,” said Bill Kispert, Vice President and General Manager, Interactive, Universal Studios Digital Platforms Group. “We are excited that Xbox LIVE members will now be able to personalize their gameplaying experiences with authentic images from the “Heroes” universe.”

About Heroes
`From creator/writer Tim Kring (NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”) comes “Heroes,” an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. “Heroes” has been honored recently with a People’s Choice Award, an AFI Award, a Multicultural Prism Award, and the show has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award, NAACP Image Award, WGA Award and Satellite Award.

As a total eclipse casts its shadow across the globe, a genetics professor (Sendhil Ramamurthy, “Blind Guy Driving”) in India is led by his father’s disappearance to uncover a secret theory -- there are people with super powers living among us. A young dreamer (Milo Ventimiglia, “Gilmore Girls”) tries to convince his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, “Judging Amy”) that he can fly. A high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, “Ice Princess”) learns that she is totally indestructible while trying to relate to her father (Jack Coleman, “Dynasty”) who has a keen interest in people with special abilities. A Las Vegas single mother (Ali Larter, “Final Destination”) struggles to make ends meet to support her young son (Noah Gray-Cabey, “My Wife & Kids”) and discovers that her mirror image has a secret. A fugitive from justice (Leonard Roberts, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) continues to baffle authorities who twice have been unable to contain him. A gifted artist (Santiago Cabrera, “Empire”), whose drug addiction is destroying his life and relationship with his girlfriend (Tawny Cypress, NBC’s “Third Watch”), can paint the future. A down-on-his-luck Los Angeles beat cop (Greg Grunberg, “Alias”) can hear people’s thoughts, which puts him on the trail of an elusive serial killer. In Japan, a young man (Golden Globe nominee Masi Oka, NBC's “Scrubs”) develops a way to stop time through sheer will power. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world…

Joining Kring as executive producer are Dennis Hammer (NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”) and Allan Arkush (NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”). The drama is produced by NBC Universal Television Studio in association with Tailwind Productions.
 
About Universal Studios Consumer Products Group
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group (USCPG) is responsible for global licensing and retail strategies as well as building brand recognition of the extensive catalogue of NBC Universal properties. Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is a unit of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.