Seagate and Paramount Pictures have today announced a partnership that will see Seagate's 500GB FreeAgent Go portable hard drive bundled with twenty of Paramount's most popular movies.
Seagate is no stranger to bundling films with its drives, but its high-profile deal with Paramount could prove to be the most successful yet.
Hoping to increase the value of hard drive purchases, Seagate's specially-marked 500GB drive will come packed with a number of popular movies - of which 2009 blockbuster Star Trek will be available to view free of charge.
Up to 20 additional movies will also be stored on the drive, with customers able to unlock individual titles at a fee ranging from $9.99 to $14.99. Once unlocked, the movies can be played back on multiple computers, or through a television set via a FreeAgent Theater HD dock.
Although it remains unclear exactly how much of the drive's capacity will be occupied by the movies - or whether or not that capacity will be retrievable - Seagate believes pre-loaded movies will create "a new era in digital movie collecting".
“Seagate and Paramount Pictures are delivering major motion pictures to consumers in a unique and innovative solution," said Dave Mosley, Seagate's executive vice president of sales, marketing and product line management.
"For years Seagate hard drives have been powering the devices that allow consumers to enjoy their digital libraries. Today, we are simplifying content delivery by giving consumers the ultimate flexibility in how they enjoy their movies all in a convenient package".
The 20 additional Paramount titles include: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, GI Joe, Shooter, The Hunt for Red October, The Italian Job (2003), Ghost, Patriot Games, Beowulf, Enemy at the Gates, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Love Guru, Coach Carter, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Nacho Libre, Jackass 2.5, A Plumm Summer, Carriers, Dance Flick, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.