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Xbox Live update details announced Update: Coming Aug 11th

Queasy

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Update: G4TV has the news that the Dash update is coming August 11th.

Games on Demand will have Mass Effect, BioShock, Assassin's Creed, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, and Sonic the Hedgehog as launch titles.

Engadget has the details. Some new details on the Games on Demand, Netflix updates, and the Game Ratings plus really new news here under the Other Improvements and Account Management sections.

This starts rolling out Monday to the media and select people on Live so we're sure to here more about this.

What does this Xbox LIVE Update include?

Netflix Updates

Now you can watch movies with your friends no matter where they are and manage your queue from the comfort of your couch.

* Movie Parties ? Xbox LIVE Gold members can sit together in a virtual theater with up to seven friends no matter where they are while your Avatars watch a movie, flirt or even throw popcorn at each other.
* Manage Your Queue ? Browse the Netflix Instant Watch video catalogue, choose from the most popular movies and genres and add to your queue all from the comfort of your couch ? no computer required.
* Enhanced Playback Experience ? Enjoy a smooth viewing experience when your internet bandwidth fluctuates.
* Friends Info ? Richer information is now displayed in the Friends channel and in the Guide showing what you and your friends are doing.

Avatar Marketplace

Express yourself! Deck your Avatar out with the latest clothing and props from the top brands and game franchises. Please note that only limited content is currently available in the preview.

Clothing

Download premium items, including branded apparel from your favorite fashion labels and Xbox 360 games such as "Halo."

* Props ? You can now equip your avatar with animated items they can carry around and interact with.
* Awardables ? The ability to earn Avatar clothing and props as rewards within games has been added. Please stay tuned for an update on supporting titles.

Games on Demand -- Please note that Games on Demand will be available in the preview beginning early August.

Enjoy 24 x 7 access to a growing online library of popular full game titles on Xbox LIVE whenever you want them, in the comfort of your living room.

* Purchase Options ? Browse and download a great selection of full Xbox 360 games using Microsoft Points, direct debit, or credit card.
* Game Manuals ? Game manuals for Games on Demand titles can be viewed, downloaded or printed on Xbox.com.
* It's Yours Forever! ? As with other Xbox LIVE content, Games on Demand titles are linked to your Xbox LIVE account, so you can delete and re-download anything you have already purchased to the same console or another console.

User Ratings

User ratings help you find games that other people think are awesome!

* Rate it ? You can now rate every game on the Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace using a 5-star system.
* Sort and Find it ? Now you can easily find the games that everyone's been raving about by visiting the Top Rated games in the Browse All category of Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace.

Xbox LIVE Parties

Everyone loves to Party! Check out the new and improved Xbox LIVE Party features.

* Party Reconnections ? If you are accidently disconnected from your party, Xbox LIVE will automatically reconnect you.
* Streamlined Party Invites ? Invites are now just one click away! No need to click through multiple screens to get all your friends together.

Video Display Options

We've made it easier for you to see your entertainment in the highest resolution possible on your TV using an HDMI connection.

* Display Discovery ? Make sure you can see and hear your entertainment in the highest resolution and sound quality possible with the option to override and select audio and video formats independent of the information your television sends to your Xbox 360 console.

Other Improvements

We're always listening to you for feedback, and this Xbox LIVE update will include numerous dashboard updates.

* Gold Member Veterans ? Xbox LIVE Gold members get to show it off with a stamp on your Gamer Card that tells people how long you've been a Gold member.
* Indie Games ? Xbox LIVE Community Games has been renamed Xbox LIVE Indie Games. We feel this new name better represents the independent spirit of these titles.
* Achievement Browser ? We've revamped the Achievements browser so it's now easier to read through all the achievements while playing a game. You can now also launch a game directly from the browser.
* Achievements Tracking ? A new view inside the profile panel which includes a summary of Achievements earned across all the games played, and shows of all your completed games.
* Streamlined Navigation - Streamlined navigation, including new entry points in the dashboard for Active Downloads, redeeming codes, recovering Gamertags and more.
* Voice Messages ? No more blank voice messages! When recording a voice message, a warning will pop up if no audio is detected.
* Friends List Sorting ? It's now easier to find your friends! Find and sort your friends by activity, Gamertag or online status by pressing the Y button while viewing the friends list in the Guide.
* Memory ? Time stamps now appear in the memory area, which particular handy when managing saved games.

Account Management

We've made some changes to make your life easier.

* Subscription Notification ? If your Xbox LIVE subscription is about to run out, you will now be notified when you sign into Xbox LIVE.
* Updates for Invalid Windows Live IDs ? If the Windows Live ID you provided has expired, you will now be prompted to update it the next time you sign into Xbox LIVE.
* Account recovery ? We've enhanced the account recovery process to make it faster and more reliable.

What does this Xbox LIVE Update not include?

The following features will be coming in future Xbox LIVE updates, which we'll be sure to let you know about.

* Facebook
* Twitter
* Zune video and 1080p Instant On
* Last.fm
Click to expand...
 
So all their "big" additions aren't coming in this update basically. Not that I care, just pointing it out. I'm all for the improvements, seems like a nice list. I wonder if 1 vs 100 will come out of beta with the release of this update.
 
Originally posted by: peritusONE
So all their "big" additions aren't coming in this update basically. Not that I care, just pointing it out. I'm all for the improvements, seems like a nice list. I wonder if 1 vs 100 will come out of beta with the release of this update.
Click to expand...

No, they are apparently doing it in waves. This will be the first wave. Honestly, I think they've added quite a bit just with this. The Netflix updates, User Ratings, and Games on Demand were what I was most interested in. The Live parties enhancements and other improvements really make for a nice topping.

I think I remember reading somewhere that 1 vs 100 will start for real sometime in September.
 
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Just me or is this whole "watch movies with your friends online" one of the dumbest features ever?
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't see how that would be fun because you'll probably end up talking over the whole movie or not at all, so you might as well just not do it. It seems perfect for watching a sporting event together, though, like they showed for the European SkyTV integration. I think that makes a lot more sense.
 
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Just me or is this whole "watch movies with your friends online" one of the dumbest features ever?
Click to expand...

Ill never use it but I can see it being useful for alot of people....

And I think this is an awesome list of new features.... even though I wont use it yet the games on demand thing is a big deal for the future, ratings will be a welcome upgrade esp for the indie games, netflix is gonna be awesome (smooth streaming enhanced netflix).
 
Yeah, I won't ever use the Netflix parties either but being able to browse and add movies to your queue from the 360 is a huge plus along with whatever playback enhancements they are talking about.
 
Netflix queue management is going to be excellent.

I think the rating system is a hidden gem - I'll bet some developers are going to see an uptick in sales from it. I know I'm going to go back and rate some of my favorite older XBLA games.

Also, it appears that Microsoft is FINALLY taking time to fix their HDMI bugs, which really warms my heart. If you turned on your receiver and 360 in the wrong order, you'd get two-channel sound even if your 360 was set to DD-5.1 By letting us over-ride, it seems that's going to get fixed. Yay!
 
Originally posted by: arod
Nobody knows for sure until it actually hits but I (and almost everybody else) sees it as smooth streaming coming to netflix..... the smooth streaming tech is actually very cool.

http://www.iis.net/media/experiencesmoothstreaming (the stream doesnt need to rebuffer if your internet connection slows)
Click to expand...

That could be cool, I have a few connections that Netflix always seems to overestimate and need to downgrade a few times. I'm pretty sure the media player that is (was?) used by abc.com did the same thing... Move Media I believe it was called.
 
Originally posted by: R Nilla
Phase 2: reduce ridiculous hard drive prices...
Click to expand...

Yep. If they would release a 500GB drive for <$200, I'd be pretty happy. And even at $200 most people would be complaining, but $200 would be fine with me.
 
I think they will keep the prices artificially high until that 360 slim comes out next year with natal (also includes a 500 gig or larger internal drive)
 
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Just me or is this whole "watch movies with your friends online" one of the dumbest features ever?
Click to expand...


It would be cool if I had a bunch of non-local friends in xbox live. I do this already in second life with a group of friends... my friend will rent a movie and stream it to her virtual theater in second life and a bunch of us get together and hang out and watch the movie... it's actually fun. As for people talking over the whole movie, it's no different than if you have friends over at your house and everybody is chatting while you watch the movie.
 
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Just me or is this whole "watch movies with your friends online" one of the dumbest features ever?
Click to expand...

If I'm looking at dumb features on that list, the "Avatar Marketplace" is the one that jumps out at me.
 
Update: G4TV has the news that the Dash update is coming August 11th.

Games on Demand will have Mass Effect, BioShock, Assassin's Creed, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, and Sonic the Hedgehog as launch titles.
 
is that a real screenshot (at g4)? If so it looks like some other things will be changing from this as well (the font is a bit different, better orginization in the sections.... games, videos, the captions on the friends channel, etc). I always hated that your games library was in a different place that the games channel.
 
Apparently Twitter, Facebook, etc. will be coming in another update later this Fall:

Link

...With more updates coming later this fall like Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and instant on 1080p HD streaming video through Zune, Xbox LIVE is revolutionizing the face of entertainment by offering more ways to connect and play together.
Click to expand...

Maybe this isn't news but I was under the impression this would be coming much later (as in next year).
 
I just want a fucking gaming console. All these additions irritate me at best.

Next system is the PS4 unless Sony starts pulling the MSFT bullshit game.
 
Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
I just want a fucking gaming console. All these additions irritate me at best.

Next system is the PS4 unless Sony starts pulling the MSFT bullshit game.
Click to expand...

Failing to see why you're upset about additional features added to a console via free software updates.
 
I just want to be able to sort my Netflix movies, going to netflix's website and doing it their way (which is painfully slow) sucks. Why isn't there a simple "sort alphabetically" feature?
 
Originally posted by: Jack Flash
Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
I just want a fucking gaming console. All these additions irritate me at best.

Next system is the PS4 unless Sony starts pulling the MSFT bullshit game.
Click to expand...

Failing to see why you're upset about additional features added to a console via free software updates.
Click to expand...

Well hating your job since 2004 will create a lot of negative feelings that have to come out somehow... 😉
 
Originally posted by: Kev
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Just me or is this whole "watch movies with your friends online" one of the dumbest features ever?
Click to expand...

If I'm looking at dumb features on that list, the "Avatar Marketplace" is the one that jumps out at me.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? You don't want to dress your doll...er...avatar up like Barbie?
 
Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
I just want a fucking gaming console. All these additions irritate me at best.

Next system is the PS4 unless Sony starts pulling the MSFT bullshit game.
Click to expand...

Why are you so upset? Wouldn't someone like you have to disc autoplay activated?
 
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