That success promises to give fresh momentum to Microsoft's years-long effort to break into the living room, as the company turns the console into a showcase for its ideas about merging gaming, on-demand video and online communities.

FORBES: Microsoft Versus Your TV

The syndication model is common among entertainment-news sites such as E Online and gaming companies like Total Entertainment Network, which partner with portals, communities and other highly trafficked sites that repackage their goods for mass consumption.

CNN: Short films: Now showing on a monitor near you