The E3 Media and Business Summit kicked off on Monday this week in Los Angeles with a number of announcements from Microsoft.
Microsoft announced their plans to bring Netflix to the Xbox 360. With this new feature, Xbox Live Gold members who are also members of Netflix will be able to stream any of Netflix’s 10,000 TV shows and Movies directly to their Xbox 360 in those markets where Netflix is available.
They also announced the new “Xbox Experience”. With this update the dashboard will now have a more Media Center like interface while still keeping the current blade system accessible through the guide.
The New Xbox 360 Dashboard
The new features that are going to be available when the Xbox360 update is launched this Fall (Northern Hemisphere) are:
· The ability to copy games to your hard drive so that the loading times will be faster and the disc will not make any noise when spinning, however the disc must remain in the drive to verify that you own the game
· Access to the Xbox Live Marketplace from your computer will allow you to browse and purchase content online.
· The Live Party System which will allow a group of up to eight friends to join together and watch a photo slideshow, play a game or even watch a Netflix movie without leaving the party.
· Xbox Live Primetime. This is a new style of game show where the player can play against other Xbox Live members from around the world. Some of the games will have real hosts and the ability to win real world prizes.
· Avatars will allow you to give yourself a visual representation on Xbox Live. You will be able to change everything about them, form their hair to their shoes. They will be integrated into your friends list, Live Party System, Xbox Live Arcade games and even retail games
It is most likely that there will be smaller updates, potentially including new codec support that will be announced closer to the time.
Also announced was Microsoft’s “2008 Blockbusters” which included, amongst others: Guitar Hero World Tour, Gears of War 2, Fable II, Halo Wars, Too Human, Final Fantasy XIII, Rock Band 2, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and Portal: Still Alive, as well as Xbox exclusive Episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV.
All in all the first day was mostly Microsoft related and you can view videos of all of their keynotes, Sony and Nintendo’s Keynotes are on day two so you can expect to see their big announcements then – the E3 site has further details.
July 18th, 2008 at 7:02 am
“The ability to copy games to your hard drive so that the loading times will be faster and the disc will not make any noise when spinning, however the disc must remain in the drive to verify that you own the game.”
About damn time!
…will still be a noisy box, but less noisy