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This week Microsoft will allow a lucky selection of Xbox Live members to preview it's new dashboard features which the rest of us not so fortunate gamers won't see until November.
A huge list of new features has been revealed. Some of them are minor, some of them will make a huge difference to our XBOX experiences and look very interesting indeed.
The lucky few who I think had to sell their souls, grandmothers and first born puppies will get to preview these new features will have the opportunity to test the Avatar marketplace, Xbox Live Parties and much more.
There are a few of Microsoft's planned features not included during this preview and they include the much talked about Last.fm application, Facebook and Twitter integration and Zune HD instant-on videos, but the Games on Demand service will be previewed next month.
Check after the break to see what you're to expect when the services all launch for real in November of this year.
First up are the Netflix Updates You can expect the following features for watching movies on Netflix in the US and presumably the Sky player in the UK
1) Movie Parties - Xbox Live Gold members can sit together in a virtual theatre with up to seven friends no matter where they are while your Avatars watch a movie, flirt or even throw popcorn at each other. This will also cross over to watching live football on Sky in the UK as well
2) 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 all from your XBOX too, no PC needed.
3) Enhanced Playback Experience - Enjoy a smooth viewing experience when your internet bandwidth fluctuates, which basically means less buffering.
4) Friends Info - Richer information is now displayed in the Friends channel and in the Guide showing what you and your friends are doing and who they're doing it with
Next is the addition of the Avatar Marketplace, where you can buy and earn cool stuff for your NXE avatar. Some items will be game specific so you'll be able to earn more than just those achievement points we all crave. Others will be branded apparently allowing you to wear the latest in digital fashions. Other additions will be interactive props for your avatar to play with. No details on which games, brands and even what props will be added but they have been promised for November's launch.
Games on Demand
A new games on demand service will be available which will allow digital purchases and downloads of full XBOX 360 titles from your living room. For this there will be
1) New purchase options allowing the use of MS points credit and now, debit cards.
2) Game Manuals - Game manuals for Games on Demand titles can be viewed, downloaded or printed on Xbox.com.
3) Sort and Find it - Now you can easily find the top games that everyone’s loving and playing by visiting a dedicated Top Rated games section in the Browse All category of XBOX Live Games Marketplace.
And to top it all, it's not a rental it's a buy and keep service and just like Arcade games you can download it as many times as you need to as long as it's on the same account.
Also included in this will be user ratings allowing you all to see what's, hot, not or should be shot and also allowing some form of customer feedback via a 5 star rating system.
And it doesn't end there there will be additions to XBOX Live parties. These will include
1) Party Reconnections - If you are accidentally disconnected from your party, XBOX Live will automatically reconnect you. No more annoying manual reconnecting.
2) Streamlined Party Invites – Apparently inviting friends to games will be easier with easier navigated menus instead of trawling loads of different screens.
XBOX gamers will also be getting video display options including Display Discovery which will allow for the highest HDMI resolutions that your TV is capable of. This will also allow the option to override and select audio and video formats independent of the information your television sends to your Xbox 360 console.
Microsoft have also listed a whole bunch of other improvements too and have showed that they listen to customer feedback (or at least have said that they do) and have also promised the following features.
1) 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. No word yet as to whether or not there will be CoH-like awards for this, but a stamp is a good start.
2) Indie Games - Xbox Live Community Games will be renamed Xbox Live Indie Games.
3) Achievement Browser – A new Achievements browser will be coming which will allow gamers to look at a games achievements whilst playing a game and also enable you to launch a game directly from the browser.
4) 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.
5) Streamlined Navigation - Streamlined navigation, including new entry points in the dashboard for Active Downloads, redeeming codes, recovering Gamertags and and apparently more.
6) Voice Messages - When recording a voice message, a warning will pop up if no audio is detected meaning no more of those blank messages that plague inboxes everywhere.
7) Friends List Sorting – You'll be able to find friends easier by gamertag, activity, online status at the press of a button.
8) Memory - Time stamps will appear in the memory area,making it much easier and user friendly to manage your saved games.
Account Management is getting an overhaul too with with reminders when your XBOX Live subscription is about to expire, updates for invalid Windows Live ID's and a faster recovery process for when you take your account away from your XBOX and play elsewhere.
So it seems we have a lot to look forward to in November, and just in time for that busy Christmas period. Expect a review on it all when it all comes out for real.
