Microsoft has served up a nice, plump account of all the features set to be rolled out in the Summer Update, which is due to hit on August 11th.
The features, as described by Microsoft, look like this:
Movie night on Xbox LIVE
Browse, select and jump right into your favourite movies from the top genres: comedy, action, horror…even a tear-jerking chick flick. There are hundreds to choose from, with many in HD.
Avatars are people too!
Now thanks to Avatar Marketplace the options for customising your avatar are endless. With an ever-expanding selection of stores, full of premium outfits and accessories from your favourite games and fashion brands, you can express yourself through your Avatar like never before. Your Avatar’s one-stop-shop will launch with a growing collection from the top names in fashion and gaming including:
· Top Brands: Adidas, Quiksilver, Roxy, Tokidoki
· Unique Fashions: Steampunk, Recessionista
· Your Favourite Games: BioShock 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Gears of War 2, Fable II, The Secret of Monkey Island SE, Splinter: Cell Conviction, Star Wars Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
You can also earn special Avatar clothes and items just by playing your favourite games, starting with a hot logo t-shirt from Splosion Man, the hit Xbox LIVE Arcade title that kicked-off off the 2nd annual Summer of Arcade. And to keep your Avatars from getting bored, we’re giving them fun new props to play with; everything from a basketball to pompoms, even a mobile phone…just try to stick with nights and weekends.
Full Xbox 360 games at the push of a button
Xbox 360 games: Games on Demand. Launching with a library of 21 great titles, Games on Demand marks the introduction of digitally distributed full Xbox 360 games: the titles you want, when you want them, straight to your Xbox 360 at the push of a button. You’ll also have the option to easily purchase Games on Demand titles directly via credit card.
From award-winning hits like Mass Effect, and Assassin’s Creed, to family favourites like LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Sonic the Hedgehog, Games on Demand gives you access to a growing catalogue of full Xbox 360 titles, updated weekly and available to browse and download 24 x7 from the comfort of your couch. Check out our line-up at launch:
Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
Burnout Paradise (EA)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios)
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Meet The Robinsons (Disney)
MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ)
Need for Speed Carbon (EA)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)
Prey (2K Games)
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
Sega Rally (Sega)
TEST DRIVE: UNLIMITED (Atari)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft)
Tomb Raider Legend (Eidos)
Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)
Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Game Studios)
No more hide and seek
Now you can view, find and arrange your content on Xbox LIVE the way you want. Want to send a specific friend a message? Sort your friends list by Gamertag, status and even activity, so you can easily find the friends you want. There are also new options for viewing your Achievements and progress, improved matchmaking support and more.
Best of all, you can now rate every single piece of content on Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace using a five star system. Support your favourite XBLA game with a five star rating, or find the top-rated titles in the newly-updated Indie Games Marketplace – it’s never been easier to find the best and most beloved game content on Xbox LIVE.
Just the beginning...
The Xbox LIVE summer update brings all new ways to play games, and connect with friends or friendly rivals anywhere in the world. It’s another step toward realising the Xbox 360 promise of entertainment for everyone, and another reason why Xbox LIVE is hands down the best entertainment value in your living room. But this is just the beginning…
Coming soon, we’re bringing a whole new wave of partnerships and custom features straight to your Xbox 360 – instant on 1080p streaming video with 5.1 audio from Zune, personalised digital radio stations from Last.fm, and the biggest forces in social networking: Facebook and Twitter.
The features, as described by Microsoft, look like this:
Movie night on Xbox LIVE
Browse, select and jump right into your favourite movies from the top genres: comedy, action, horror…even a tear-jerking chick flick. There are hundreds to choose from, with many in HD.
Avatars are people too!
Now thanks to Avatar Marketplace the options for customising your avatar are endless. With an ever-expanding selection of stores, full of premium outfits and accessories from your favourite games and fashion brands, you can express yourself through your Avatar like never before. Your Avatar’s one-stop-shop will launch with a growing collection from the top names in fashion and gaming including:
· Top Brands: Adidas, Quiksilver, Roxy, Tokidoki
· Unique Fashions: Steampunk, Recessionista
· Your Favourite Games: BioShock 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Gears of War 2, Fable II, The Secret of Monkey Island SE, Splinter: Cell Conviction, Star Wars Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
You can also earn special Avatar clothes and items just by playing your favourite games, starting with a hot logo t-shirt from Splosion Man, the hit Xbox LIVE Arcade title that kicked-off off the 2nd annual Summer of Arcade. And to keep your Avatars from getting bored, we’re giving them fun new props to play with; everything from a basketball to pompoms, even a mobile phone…just try to stick with nights and weekends.
Full Xbox 360 games at the push of a button
Xbox 360 games: Games on Demand. Launching with a library of 21 great titles, Games on Demand marks the introduction of digitally distributed full Xbox 360 games: the titles you want, when you want them, straight to your Xbox 360 at the push of a button. You’ll also have the option to easily purchase Games on Demand titles directly via credit card.
From award-winning hits like Mass Effect, and Assassin’s Creed, to family favourites like LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Sonic the Hedgehog, Games on Demand gives you access to a growing catalogue of full Xbox 360 titles, updated weekly and available to browse and download 24 x7 from the comfort of your couch. Check out our line-up at launch:
Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
Burnout Paradise (EA)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios)
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Meet The Robinsons (Disney)
MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ)
Need for Speed Carbon (EA)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)
Prey (2K Games)
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
Sega Rally (Sega)
TEST DRIVE: UNLIMITED (Atari)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft)
Tomb Raider Legend (Eidos)
Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)
Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Game Studios)
No more hide and seek
Now you can view, find and arrange your content on Xbox LIVE the way you want. Want to send a specific friend a message? Sort your friends list by Gamertag, status and even activity, so you can easily find the friends you want. There are also new options for viewing your Achievements and progress, improved matchmaking support and more.
Best of all, you can now rate every single piece of content on Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace using a five star system. Support your favourite XBLA game with a five star rating, or find the top-rated titles in the newly-updated Indie Games Marketplace – it’s never been easier to find the best and most beloved game content on Xbox LIVE.
Just the beginning...
The Xbox LIVE summer update brings all new ways to play games, and connect with friends or friendly rivals anywhere in the world. It’s another step toward realising the Xbox 360 promise of entertainment for everyone, and another reason why Xbox LIVE is hands down the best entertainment value in your living room. But this is just the beginning…
Coming soon, we’re bringing a whole new wave of partnerships and custom features straight to your Xbox 360 – instant on 1080p streaming video with 5.1 audio from Zune, personalised digital radio stations from Last.fm, and the biggest forces in social networking: Facebook and Twitter.
Companies:
Microsoft
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Comments
Daz 5 Aug 2009 15:16
1/2
wonder how overpriced, these game on demand will be, 10 quid says it'll be WAY cheaper to buy the disc (just like the Xbox originals)
Was p 5 Aug 2009 17:32
2/2
@Daz
Hope not. Having the game ready, on the machine makes me far likely to play it, rather than a game played after a game of hunt the disk but maybe I'm to lazy. Same goes for download versus shop.
If more people give things like Prey a shot and those who bought their 360 years after COD2 came out, get to have a go then it's a very good thing but if the price is to high, and not supported by demos, then it will suck, big time. Imagine as your first purchase, you bought Perfect Dark Zero, on a whim. What price would the games need to be for you take a chance like that again?
Hope not. Having the game ready, on the machine makes me far likely to play it, rather than a game played after a game of hunt the disk but maybe I'm to lazy. Same goes for download versus shop.
If more people give things like Prey a shot and those who bought their 360 years after COD2 came out, get to have a go then it's a very good thing but if the price is to high, and not supported by demos, then it will suck, big time. Imagine as your first purchase, you bought Perfect Dark Zero, on a whim. What price would the games need to be for you take a chance like that again?