At the E3 Xbox Press Briefing Robbie Bach (Chief Xbox Officer) has been waxing lyrical about the machine's ability to become an all-pervading entertainment lifestyle unit. Indeed, as details of Xbox Live Now are revealed, it seems as though Microsoft is making proper efforts to fulfil the console's potential.
The details of Xbox Live Now mainly emphasise the community-building stage of the initiative. SMS, Instant Messages and E-mails can all be used to bring Xboxers together, notifying competitors of upcoming tournaments or just updating them on their ranking. There will also be a dedicated 'waiting-room', where eager online gamers can gather in anticipation of some multiplayer madness. This will also provide the opportunity for individual members to edit and update their friends list.
Xbox Live Now also provides a straightforward download manager, where you can organise pending game invitations and/or bolster an existing save-game file with downloadable updates. It's also tied into Xbox Live Web - the obligatory website dedicated to the cause of Xbox gaming. In essence, it will be just that, an information base for Microsoft fiends.
The Xbox isn't just tackling its online foundations; it is also trying to flirt with traditional PC applications. With enormous scope for the transfer of digital photos and music files, Microsoft has reminded us that it really can bring the PC and Xbox together in joyous harmony. The first example of this holistic approach comes in the form of Music Mixer, which contains software for both PC and Xbox, a microphone, karaoke songs, a music database and a stack of 'fly visuals'. Not only will you be able to play around with your jukebox and an immense database; you can even rip video footage straight off your desktop. Plenty of resources for a budding DJ/VJ and really rather impressive for less than forty dollars.
Music Mixer should be on show at E3, so hopefully it will prove itself as good as it purports to be by the end of the week.
The details of Xbox Live Now mainly emphasise the community-building stage of the initiative. SMS, Instant Messages and E-mails can all be used to bring Xboxers together, notifying competitors of upcoming tournaments or just updating them on their ranking. There will also be a dedicated 'waiting-room', where eager online gamers can gather in anticipation of some multiplayer madness. This will also provide the opportunity for individual members to edit and update their friends list.
Xbox Live Now also provides a straightforward download manager, where you can organise pending game invitations and/or bolster an existing save-game file with downloadable updates. It's also tied into Xbox Live Web - the obligatory website dedicated to the cause of Xbox gaming. In essence, it will be just that, an information base for Microsoft fiends.
The Xbox isn't just tackling its online foundations; it is also trying to flirt with traditional PC applications. With enormous scope for the transfer of digital photos and music files, Microsoft has reminded us that it really can bring the PC and Xbox together in joyous harmony. The first example of this holistic approach comes in the form of Music Mixer, which contains software for both PC and Xbox, a microphone, karaoke songs, a music database and a stack of 'fly visuals'. Not only will you be able to play around with your jukebox and an immense database; you can even rip video footage straight off your desktop. Plenty of resources for a budding DJ/VJ and really rather impressive for less than forty dollars.
Music Mixer should be on show at E3, so hopefully it will prove itself as good as it purports to be by the end of the week.
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