For those of you that have been waiting on the new social networking features of the Xbox 360 to arrive, you’ll want to check out the hands-on overview of the new apps over at News.com. The new features are due to arrive on the Xbox 360 at some point in November and will feature integrations with Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm. Expect the Xbox Live Video Marketplace to also receive a slight overhaul as it will be called the Zune Marketplace. According to News.com, this follows Microsoft’s desire to make “Zune” their music and video brand.

Of the three social-networking features due to arrive on the Xbox 360, I have to say that the Last.fm one is the app with most functional appeal. Have a social function to hold at home or need some music playing in the background? Seems that Last.fm would be the perfect solution for those needs – simply start it up and let the music stream through to your Xbox 360 from the Net.

Don’t get me wrong of course – the Twitter and Facebook integrations are certainly interesting.. but if I want to check on my friend’s status, I’m more likely to do so on my iPhone or PC than on the Xbox 360. And yes.. Twitter/FB folks – expect many more useless status updates to hit the web once the Xbox 360 integration rolls out because clearly we all need to know that so-and-so is playing Call of Duty 4 right now on some particular map.

Joy..

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Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Social Networking, News.com

Project Natal:

Yes this wasn’t exactly a surprise to most folks on the Internet. There had been rumors for months on end now that Microsoft was working on a new motion-based controller a la the Nintendo Wii. However, today was in fact the first time Microsoft publicly acknowledged the existence of the project as well as providing images and video clips of how it all worked.

So what is Natal (pronounced “nuh-tall”)? It’s an entirely new way of interacting with the game console – extending the motion-based controller concept first introduced by Nintendo to a “controller-free” paradigm. Using a device combining an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone, and a custom processor running proprietary software, Natal is capable of tracking full body-movement in 3D and responding to commands, directions, and shifts in emotion in your voice. Remember the movie “Minority Report” and how Tom Cruise interacted with that slick user interface with a glove? Picture that – minus the glove.

With Natal, Microsoft elevates immersive entertainment to a whole new level. Kick a soccer ball across the field simply by imitating the kick. Swipe a menu tile across the screen simply by mimicking the swiping motion. Yes.. I can see it now – a whole new slew of accidents in the home including slippers flying across the room, twisted ankles, bruised shins and feet.. you name it.

Other interesting tidbits about Natal – it’s not light-dependent and it’ll work on every single Xbox 360 out there. It’ll recognize your face when you walk into its field of vision. It’s also not dependent upon keywords – the system will try and understand what you’re saying.  You can find out more about Project Natal here at the Xbox.com website (as well as see video clips etc). No word on when it’ll come out nor the pricing for the system.

More of the Internet comes to the Xbox 360:

Moving on now, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 console was getting into the social groove with the introduction of Xbox LIVE Party for movies, Facebook, and Last.fm.

Xbox LIVE Party for movies allows Xbox LIVE subscribers to share a movie experience with friends – whether they’re with you or on a couch someplace else around the world. Think of it as a virtual movie theater where you can gather together with other Xbox LIVE subscribers. Users will see and  interact with friends using avatars and voice chat.

Continuing the social integration front, Xbox LIVE subscribers will soon be able to directly  interact with their Facebook account via the Xbox 360 console. The social aspects of Facebook meet the snazzy user interface of the Xbox 360 console. You’ll be able to perform status updates, read news feeds, share pictures, as well as share snapshots of supported games directly onto your Facebook profile.

Finally, Last.fm brings millions of songs directly the Xbox 360 platform. Xbox LIVE subscribers will be able to create their own free personalized radio stations and listen to them with friends in the same room or across the country via the Internet. Strangely enough – there’s no integration with the Zune Music marketplace.

1080p HD direct to you instantly:

Microsoft also announced today that they would be the first platform to deliver true instant-on 1080p movies and TV shows with 5.1 surround sound directly to the Xbox 360 console (assuming of course you had a 1080p compatible HDTV set). The new movies and TV shows will appear in a new Zune branded video section of the Xbox 360 user interface starting this fall. The best premise? The content will be available nearly instantly at the click of a button (assuming of course you had the necessary bandwidth connection).

Microsoft also announced that it will more than double the number of markets where Xbox LIVE will offer TV shows and movies – from the current 8 to 18 markets. The company will add Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland into the supported country list.

And finally, Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace in the U.S., U.K. and Ireland will have:

• Netflix enhancements including the ability to browse and add selections to your instant queue as well as share movies with others on the Xbox LIVE Party platform.

• Live TV with BSkyB Ltd. – for the first time, watch live or on-demand TV from Sky on the Xbox 360 console.

More and more games…

Because the Xbox 360 console is after all, still a gaming console, Microsoft announced the new titles due out for platform including:

• 1 vs 100
• Alan Wake
• Crackdown 2
• Forza Motosport 3
• Gears of War 2: Dark Corners
• Halo 3: ODST
• Joy Ride
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Shadow Complex
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
• Final Fantasy XIII
• Metal Gear Solid: Rising
• Modern Warfare 2
• The Beatles: Rock Band
• Tony Hawk: RIDE

You can get additional details about the games over at this Microsoft press release here.

And.. that’s a wrap for the Xbox 360 console!

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Project Natal, Facebook, Last.fm, Zune video marketplace, 1080p HD videos

Yes, the Zune HD is in fact very real. Microsoft confirmed yesterday the existence of the Zune HD as well as several enhancements coming to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace related to the Zune. First off, let’s briefly talk about the new Zune media player.

The Zune HD is a touch-screen enabled portable media player device capable of outputting 720p HD videos to an external display (HD monitor or HDTV display). The player itself will downscale any HD movies to fit its 480 x 272 resolution display. Speaking of the display, the unit features a 3.3 inch OLED screen with a 16:9 widescreen format.

On the musical front, the Zune HD is the first player to come with a built-in HD Radio tuner. Users will be able to tune into their favorite local HD Radio channels (assuming they can get any) and also receive additional meta information transmitted within the HD Radio signal.

On the app front, the Zune HD features a built-in web browser optimized for multi-touch functionality. It’s not clear if this is basically just another version of Internet Explorer but I’m sure we’ll find out shortly (at E3 probably).

Other niceties include a touch-screen based QWERTY keyboard and a built-in accelerometer.

One the service front, Microsoft announced that the Zune “brand experience would be extended to the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace.” Does this mean the Zune will replace the Video Marketplace ? It’s not entirely clear.. or is this simply another network within the Video Marketplace – except one targeted to Zune users? We hope Microsoft has finally decided to unify the video portion of the marketplace but again – details won’t be revealed until E3 rolls around the corner.

No word on pricing but expect the Zune HD sometime this fall.. Anyone actually excited about this player??

[Check it out via ZuneSphere]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Zune HD

If you’re not familiar with the service, here’s what you need to get going.

1. Xbox 360 console along with an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription

2. Subscription to Netflix

3. Broadband Internet connection

Once you have those three components, all you’ll need to do is fire up the console, connect to Xbox LIVE, download the Netflix application, register the console with Netflix (you’ll need an Internet connected PC for that), and then start queuing up movies for the Watch Instantly service.

I’m a huge fan of the service – especially since it’s letting me catch up on old episodes of 30 Rock (yeah, I was a bit late to the show).

About the only complaint with the service is the fact that only 12,000 titles are currently available via Netflix’s watch instantly service. Hopefully studios will realize the popularity of the service and will make their content available.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, Netflix Streaming

With the new Xbox 360 Experience update a few weeks away, it appears Microsoft is gearing up an upgrade for those of you with an Xbox 360 console with no hard drive or a 20GB hard drive. Shops like GameStop have begun advertising a new Xbox 360 60GB LIVE Starter Pack for an MSRP of $99.99. Shipping on November 4th, the starter pack comes with a 60GB hard drive, headset, 3 month LIVE Gold Subscription, and an Ethernet cable.

[Check it out via ExtremeTech]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 60GB LIVE Starter Pack, 60GB Hard Drive

Finally, the other big announcement for this past week involved the upcoming New Xbox Experience. Finally, we’ve got ourselves a launch date as Microsoft announced that the new Experience would be made available to all Xbox 360 owners worldwide on Wednesday November 19th. Just a little reminder, here are some of the features of the new Experience (quoted from the Xbox 360 press release)

“

• LIVE Parties: Xbox 360 is the only device that allows you to create a virtual party on your TV with up to seven friends. With LIVE Party, voice chat while you play games, share photos real-time, and entertain friends all over the world.
• Personality plus: Create a customized, animated Avatar and literally jump into the world of Xbox LIVE. Your Avatar is your game-face throughout the New Xbox Experience and represents your personality—whether you’re a LIVE Party host or chatting with a friend. With custom Avatars created by the more than 14 million members worldwide, Xbox LIVE will have as many Avatars as Tokyo has residents.
• On-demand entertainment: Xbox 360 is home to the best TV and movie entertainment, including more than 12,000 exclusive films and TV episodes from Netflix, and the world’s largest online library of on-demand high-definition TV shows, plus hit movies from partners like Warner Bros., Starz, NBC, CBS, Constantin, MGM, and Disney.
• Games for the community, by the community: For the first time in the history of console gaming, thousands of games developed by the creative community will be available to the public. The Community Games channel on Xbox LIVE will include games made by students, hobbyists, and average Joes all around the world and will be exclusive to Xbox LIVE.

“

Several sites have already published their first hand experiences with the New Xbox Experience. Here’s a sample listing:

• News.com – “Microsoft unveils new Xbox Live ‘experience’
• 1UP News – “Hands-on With the New Xbox Live Experience”

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Holiday Bundle, New Xbox Experience, Nov. 19th, 2008

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Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Rock the Vote

The short film pilots coming this fall include:

• “Doggie Heaven (Woof!)” — The creative team behind the smash hit “Saw” films, James Wan (“Saw,” “Death Sentence”) and Leigh Whannell, tell the story of a young man who is having a dog of a day. He’s just been shot dead, but his real problems are only just beginning because of a clerical error that has sent him to the wrong heaven.
• “Humanzee!” — James Gunn (“Slither,” “Dawn of the Dead”) directs and stars in a sitcom about his human-chimp hybrid son, the Humanzee (played by Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn, from “Gilmore Girls”). It’s a delightful mix of “South Park,” “Wonder Showzen” and “Small Wonder.”
• “MEATDOG: What’s Fer’ Dinner” — Director David Slade (“30 Days of Night,” “Hard Candy”) presents MEATDOG, an animated mutt made up of cold cuts. MEATDOG is pitted against a church of evil occult pigs while being pursued by a carnivorous rabbit and a slobbering hound. It’s dogicide when everyone wants MEATDOG on their menu.
• “Blue Like You” —From director Lucky McKee (“May,” “The Woods”), “Blue Like You” follows the antics of old friends Patrick and Cyndy as they get to know their mysterious and extraordinary new friend Blue, a beautiful young woman who doesn’t seem to understand how the simplest of things work.
• “The Miracle of Phil” — From director Andrew Douglas (“The Amityville Horror”), “The Miracle of Phil” shows that the best relationships are full of screaming, shouting and cursing, but when Phil gets knocked up, Chris is the one who feels screwed.
• “Adrenaline Slam” — Director Marcus Nispel (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Friday the 13th”) brings “ADRENALINE SLAM,” a high-octane hybrid of hidden camera reality and Hollywood fantasy that exposes ordinary people to extraordinary events.
• “Assorted Nightmares: The Janitor” — From online director John Clisham and starring Jenna Dewan (“Step Up”), somewhere in the darkness just beyond “Tales From the Crypt” and a little south of “The Twilight Zone,” is “Assorted Nightmares,” a modern-day horror anthology show. The first episode pays homage to the 1980s horror-slasher genre, as things at school for Jennifer don’t turn out as expected.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Comedy, Horror, Comic-Con

First let’s talk about the new Xbox Experience. The folks at Kotaku have an excellent write-up as to what the new experience will comprise of/look like. Here are some of the major tidbits for you to consider. First – why even update the Xbox Dashboard interface? Well the original interface was designed for dealing with hundreds of different pieces of content. However, the Xbox 360 has turned into a device that drives not hundreds but potentially thousands of pieces of multimedia content and thus this necessitated a new user interface.

Secondly, this update is not an optional upgrade or feature of the console. It will effectively replace the Blade user interface we’ve come to love (or hate). The user interface features an Apple iPod/iTunes like Cover-Flow user interface (or similar to the Flip 3D UI from Vista). Kotaku reports that the new Xbox Guide and user interface will be faster than the current interface. Also – more importantly, all of your old content will indeed work with the new user interface.

Other new features being introduced with the Xbox experience include:

• LIVE Party – Share your experiences with friends all over the world
• Personalize your Xbox with Avatars
• Enjoy new content from places such as Netflix, NBC Universal, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, SCI FI Channel, USA Network, Constantin, and MGM.

The new experience also includes a new lineup of games, movies, and TV shows including the following:

• New Xbox LIVE Primetime – a collection of virtual game shows that allows thousands of gamers to become contestants from their own living rooms. One such game will be 1 vs. 100
• New console games such as Final Fantasy XIII, Gears of War 2, Resident Evil 5,Fable II, and exclusive GTA IV episodes
• Music content such as Lips, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World TourandDanceDanceRevolution® UNIVERSE3.
• Family titles such as Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts,Scene It? Box Office Smash and Viva Piñata®: Trouble in Paradise.

Ok.. now onto the Netflix/Microsoft partnership. You will now be able to view your Netflix Instant Queue list directly on your Xbox 360 console.  This new addition will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers. Movies can be enjoyed within 30 seconds of selecting the title with controls consisting of fast forward, pause, and rewind.

AND finally, there are two new colors available for the Xbox 360 wireless controller – a red model and a green model. The red model will sell for $64.99 while the green model will go for $44.99.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox experience, Netflix

Is there something big brewing for the Xbox 360? The folks at Kotaku are reporting that the next Xbox 360 Update could feature a radically new Dashboard user interface – replacing the Blade interface with a motion controlled interface that would be similar in operation to the interface seen in the movie Minority Report. Lending some credence to this rumor is the fact that design agency Schematic is supposedly working on the project. Why is this important? One, Schematic has worked on game interfaces before and two, the Chief Creative Officer, Dale Herigstad, previously helped design the interfaces seen within Minority Report. NICE..  Oh yeah – if this is indeed true, you’ll probably see a new motion controller be released by Microsoft to utilize this UI.

What else could be in this next update? Kotaku has a huge list of possible new features here. Make sure to check it out if you’re interested in what might be in store for the 360 down the road this year. NOTE: Picture above is from Kotaku.

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Technorati Tags: Xbox 360 Update, Motion Controlled user interface, Dale Herigstad, Schematic, Microsoft

• More than $250 million have been spent on Xbox Live Marketplace since it’s inception
• Around 30 million downloads per month on Xbox Live Marketplace
• Microsoft will begin to focus on quality over quantity with Xbox Live Arcade Games: XBLA game size limits will be increased from 150 MB to 350 MB. More flexible price points will be allowed for game publishers including a new price point of 1600 Microsoft Points.
• Microsoft will be delisting XBLA titles that underperform
• There will be NO Spring Dashboard Update this year
• There will be a new Digital Rights Management (DRM) tool that allows you to better consolidate your licensed content on a single Xbox console

Read more of the interview at Next Generation.

[Check it out via CrunchGear]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox 360

“History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry.”

Of course it’s still far too early to call Microsoft the overall winner in the next generation console wars, but it does have a sizable lead over the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii.

One other interesting stat – Microsoft now has over 12 million Xbox LIVE subscribers around the world – making it easily the leader in this department. The 360 also has 16 platinum game titles that have sold more than 1 million units – two times the number of platinum titles for the Wii and 16:2 over the PS3.

Microsoft did have a year head start over it’s competition with the Xbox 360 but then again, let’s not forget that the PS2 had a fairly significant head start over the original Xbox console too (no one seems to recall that fact these days!). Congrats to Microsoft on this achievement.

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Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, 10 million units

I went ahead with the update, rebooted and went about my business but was left wondering what this update was all about. Well Major Nelson just posted a blog entry on his website stating that the mandatory update was to “prepare for future growth of the service.” There were no new features introduced with this update. Hm… I wonder what kind of code changes they needed to make to allow for growth. Optimized code perhaps? I wonder.. oh well.. the next time you turn on your Xbox 360, you’ll see the request for update.

Good night!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Update, Major Nelson

Warning: this is a major gripe posting directed towards Microsoft and the Xbox Live service. I, like many other Xbox 360 owners, sat down in front of the console this past holiday weekend hoping for hours of online enjoyment with Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare (COD4). However, instead of fragging others with an MP4, a frag grenade, or a knife stab, most of us spent countless minutes if not hours dealing with all sorts of Xbox Live network issues. Everything from network timeouts to server outages to waiting for the 360 to connect for minutes on end. Don’t believe me? Check out this thread over at the Xbox 360 support forums.

At first I thought the problem was on my end. I started up the Xbox 360 console on Friday night hoping to further my online experience with COD4.. yet my Xbox Live profile would not connect with the Live service at all. After numerous attempts, I would finally connect only to lose connections 50 percent of the time while playing a game in COD4. Was it my router or my cable connection? Restarted the router and cable modem but that certainly didn’t help matters at all.

That’s when I logged onto Xbox.com to see what others were experiencing and sure enough, this was a widespread problem.

What made things particularly bad was the near non-acknowledgment from Microsoft about any sort of problem. If it was just me or perhaps a few individuals I could understand.. but folks – just look at this thread. It was ridiculous. If you’re running a 24/7 gaming network, you need to staff it appropriately and more importantly – you need to keep your members updated because someone somewhere is up around the world.

Oh yes.. there was indeed a status page within the Xbox Live support section but that status page kept saying Live was up and running. Err Microsoft – that would be a no? Who exactly is monitoring the data centers here? Geez!

Ironically, if Microsoft kept their users posted about the network status, I’m sure people would have been far more forgiving. However, the lack of responses from Microsoft and the fact that this occurred throughout the holiday break was absolutely ridiculous.

Consider Microsoft – how many new Xbox 360 console owners were there this Christmas/New Years? I bet there were a fair amount – especially since it was hard to find a Nintendo Wii and the PS3 is still somewhat worthless without solid content. You had your chance to really make an awesome impression but what do you do? You have a screwed up Xbox Live network experience – especially for everyone playing COD4 – perhaps the best game of 2007.

Ah yes.. things appear to be normal again but guess what? Most of us are back at work now too. Why wasn’t this addressed when most of the world was on break? Why oh why Microsoft? A little acknowledgement please? some credit to all the Xbox Live subscribers out there? Come on!!

Ok.. gripe fest is over..

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Call of Duty 4

There are two ways you can get the update. You can either insert an original Xbox game into the 360 console OR you can download the update from Microsoft and burn it to a disc. Check out this page for additional information on the latter procedure.

One final note – remember that you’ll be able to purchase and download several Xbox original games via the Xbox LIVE Marketplace starting on December 4th. Games available via the Xbox Originals program include:

• Burnout 3: Takedown
• Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex
• Crimson Skies
• Fable
• Fuzion Frenzy
• Halo
• Psychonauts

[Check it out via CrunchGear]

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Microsoft, Backwards Compatibility Update,

Once the update rolls out on December 4th, the new default setting on Xbox LIVE will be active, allowing members to see friends lists of other LIVE members. You can always opt out of this feature by going to www.xbox.com/fof . In fact, you can change your settings today by selecting one of three options available for your Xbox LIVE gamertag:

• Everyone (only available to members 18 and older)
• Friends only (available to members 13 and older)
• Blocked (available to all members, and automatic for anyone under the age of 13)

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Xbox, Xbox LIVE, Friends of Friends, Fall Dashboard Update, December 4th, 2007

Xbox Live’s Major Nelson had the opportunity to interview J Allard today over at the Major Nelson blog here. It’s a great interview and gives you some insight into the early days of Xbox Live. It’s actually pretty neat to hear how Allard pushed to have Ethernet support built into the original Xbox console (as opposed to a modem port like some people wanted). You’ll also hear the kind of low expectations the company expected out of Xbox Live.. and how they were all pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Finally, hear some of the stuff coming down the pipe for Microsoft Zune and the Zune Marketplace as well as J Allard’s thoughts on DRM.

{Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Major Nelson, J Allard, Xbox Live, Microsoft Xbox

We’d like to wish Microsoft’s Xbox Live service a very happy 5th birthday! The online gaming service began five years ago on November 15th, 2002. Now five years later, Xbox Live has more than 8 million members actively engaged in some sort of activity – whether it’s downloading multimedia content or playing other gamers on the Internet. If you have an Xbox console, head on over to Xbox Live and join in on the celebration. Check out Xbox.com for more information as Microsoft will be celebrating the anniversary with all sorts of events.

Fans of some of the original classic Xbox games will be happy to hear that these games will now be available for purchase over Xbox Live. The current set of original Xbox games include:

• Burnout 3: Takedown
• Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex
• Crimson Skies
• Fable
• Fuzion Frenzy
• Halo
• Psychonauts

If I didn’t already own Halo, I’d actually consider purchasing the game via the Live network!

Now in other news, starting today and for the next day or so, you can download the game Carcassonne for free over Xbox Live. Connect your Xbox 360 console and begin the download!

Microsoft will also be giving away free themes starting today. Themes include Live is 5ive Theme, Return to Castle Wolfenstein LIVE is 5ive theme, Gears of War Live is 5ive theme, Ghost Recon 2 Live is 5ive theme, Halo 2 Live is 5ive theme, and MechAssault Live is 5ive theme.

Finally, every Xbox LIVE member that has been with the service for all five years will be getting a gift of 500 MS points as well as other exclusive content.

Check out Xbox.com for more details!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox Live, Live is 5ive