First shopping app for a games console

Ever had the munchies half-way through a Grand Theft Auto session, but couldn’t bear to tear yourself away from the action to get food? Now Xbox owners don’t have to. On 23 April 2013, Microsoft released Pizza Hut for Xbox, an app for the Xbox 360, that enables players to order anything from the Pizza Hut online menu, and have it delivered, without having to leave their games consoles (other than to open the front door, that is). It was the first shopping app for a game console to allow purchase and delivery of physical items. The app also supports Kinect, the Xbox’s motion-sensing controller system, allowing gamers to customise their perfect pizza with a few waves of the hand. It certainly proved to be a hit, generating US$1 million worth of orders in its first four months.

The earliest videogame pizza delivery system appeared in EverQuest ll. In February 2005, game developers added a pizza delivery system for its players. By typing /pizza, players would be linked directly to the Pizza Hut ordering site. This was the first time that an MMORPG could accept orders for real world items.