Long slave to the physical demands of picking up a phone, computer, smartphone, or tablet to place an order for food delivery, gamers can now create their own custom Pizza Hut pizzas — and order them — from their Xbox 360 console thanks to a unique partnership between Microsoft and the international chain.
The "Pizza Hut for Xbox" app, now available, is even compatible with Kinect's voice and motion-controlled input. Yes, users can simply speak to their console or wave their hands to create a custom pizza with personalized toppings.
Hungry gamers must first sync their Xbox Live account with a Pizza Hut account and select a nearby restaurant from which to place an order. The app also offers integration with Facebook, allowing users to post details about their order or just brag to their friends about how they just told an inanimate object to bring them dinner.
"We're always looking at ways to give our audience more of what they're interested in," Microsoft's director of programming for Xbox Live Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb told the gaming site Polygon.
"If you look at our audience, they love pizza. I mean, who doesn't? It has international appeal, and Pizza Hut is a recognized brand that matches up well with the Xbox brand."
The Pizza Hut app launched today in the U.S., and Pizza Hut is offering customers a 15 percent discount on their first purchase, provided they place the order before May 6.
Neither Microsoft nor Pizza Hut has given any details about a possible international launch of the Pizza Hut app in the future. Representatives from both companies were not immediately available for comment on this story, though the official Pizza Hut Twitter account did share the news.
Yannick LeJacq is a contributing writer for NBC News who has also covered games for Kill Screen, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. You can follow him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq and reach him by email at ylejacq@gmail.com.
