Microsoft and 20th Century Fox have announced that starting September 2 the first two seasons of the popular show Family Guy will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Each episode will be available for purchase for 160 MS Points each ($2 USD) from Xbox Live Marketplace. Since XBL Marketplace is only available in the US, owners of Xbox 360 consoles outside our territory will not be able to enjoy the same 20th Century Fox offering, which, by the way, marks the first foray of the renowned Hollywood studio into the Xbox world.

"This is our first one," said Jamie McCabe, executive VP at 20th Century Fox. "We hope to have other content on there, but right now with the launch of 'Halo 3' and the launch of the new season of 'Family Guy' coming out, the timing really worked well for this one."

Last year, the Family Guy series has been rated as the first preference in a top of prime time shows for men aged 18-34, which also happens to be the main demographic for Xbox Live.

"It's about as perfect a demographic fit as we can get," McCabe added. He also said that Family Guy’s presence on Xbox Live Marketplace is the first time the series has been made available for download on any platform.

Xbox 360 owners will also be able to buy the straight-to-DVD film "Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story." Later on, on September 18, Fox is ready to release the "Family Guy Season Five" DVD, which might face some competition from the XBL digital download service. But McCabe is not worried:

"It's a different market and a different consumer," he said. "'Family' has been a phenomenon on DVD, and that audience will continue to buy it."

However, not everybody is happy with the pricing scheme and some fans have soundly voice their discontent about Microsoft's greed. Other services like iTunes offer season pass options, which Xbox Live Marketplace does not. To put in perspective, you can buy the Family Guy Volume 1 DVD collection from Amazon for $35. There are 29 episodes included here, which is the first 2 seasons. Those episodes, if purchased on the Video Marketplace, will run you $58.