Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console is among the living room devices that will be able to serve up content from online television service Hulu's new $9.99-per-month "Hulu Plus" subscription service, announced today. But the service isn't expected to be available until the first quarter of 2011 on the Microsoft service.

In contrast, Hulu said devices including the iPad and iPhone will be supported at launch. More notably for the video-game console market, the service will be "coming soon" to the PlayStation 3, presumably much sooner than to the rival Microsoft console. So why the wait on the Xbox 360? Here's what Microsoft said in a statement, in response to that question.

Hulu Plus will come to Xbox 360 in early 2011. We are taking the time to ensure the Hulu Plus experience for Xbox 360 is the best on the TV. Like our other entertainment experiences, Hulu Plus will not simply be ported onto Xbox 360 – it will be tailored to take advantage of the social connectivity possible with our 25 million member Xbox LIVE community and the magic of Kinect for Xbox 360. Hulu Plus on Xbox 360 will include signature features like controller-free navigation with Kinect and Xbox LIVE Parties so you can watch with friends no matter where they are.

As explained in this Hulu blog post, the Hulu Plus service won't replace the existing, free Hulu service, but it will provide a larger library of archived shows, and allow them to be played on a variety of devices.