E3 2008: MS details fall XBL update

Publisher explains a handful of tweaks to 360's online platform, including "Play From Hard Drive," PC-based Marketplace, new display resolutions; red, green joypads due in Sept.

New information seemed to ooze out of every word uttered by presenters today at Microsoft's E3 Media & Business Summit. One of the biggest reveals, though, concerned the long-rumored Xbox Live interface revamp. When the Xbox Live redux goes live this fall, it will bring a completely new look to the online platform, as well as an avatar-based community system and integration with Netflix's on-demand movie download service.

Fall XBL Revamp

Check out avatars and Netflix in action.

Significant happenings one and all, but those aren't the only changes Microsoft is slotting in for its fall update. In an open letter posted to Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb's company blog, Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten ran down a number of other updates planned to be rolled out for the service in the near future.

Taking a play from Sony's book, Microsoft today introduced "Play From Hard Drive." The optional feature will quickly put Microsoft's new 60GB Xbox 360 to use, letting gamers install all games--whether already out or coming soon--to their hard drives. According to Microsoft, the install will both decrease load times and dampen noise by eliminating the need for the disc drive to spin a disc.

The avatars are coming! The avatars are coming!

Microsoft will also be strengthening ties with its PC platform by opening up Xbox Live Marketplace for access through the PC. Xbox Live members will be able to browse through and buy Marketplace goods through Xbox.com, and purchased content will then be downloaded automatically.

Whitten also elaborated on a few of the key points of Microsoft's press conference. Addressing the avatar system, Whitten said that players will be able to form parties of up to eight to jump from game to game as well as view Netflix films, share photos, and chat through the Xbox Live dashboard. This community approach will also extend to Xbox Live Primetime, a casual-game portal that features gameshow-like events and contests. The publisher noted that a live host will be on hand for many of the events.

Those concerned with the hardware itself have two new features to look forward to. On the display side, Whitten said that Microsoft would be adding 16X10 aspect ratio over both VGA and HDMI, as well as implementing 1440x900 and 1680x1050 display resolutions. The game maker also debuted a pair of festively themed controllers. One green and one red, the wireless controllers will come bundled with a Play & Charge battery kit and will be available for $64.99 each on or about September 30.

111 Comments

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Oct 24, 2008 7:39 am PT

    Space Issue?? 1, 500Gb Seagate Barracuda SATA HDD 2, Format via 'FAT32'
    3, Install quite a few games onto it, Job done!!

  • blarg_blarg

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 6:56 am PT

    Can't wait!

  • ascalon94

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 6:30 am PT

    what is the name of the new controllers that just came out my friend got one and when i shot a sniper from Cod 4 my controller almost jumped out of my hand. Im probably going to get a red one..

  • BUAKAW_PP

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 2:40 pm PT

    the red controller have the new d-pad implemented?

  • Chargrilled

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 12:27 am PT

    Hard drive space used for each game depends entirely on the game. youll find some will take about 4gig (oblivion) and others will eat upwards of 8gig.

    Im interested in multi-disk games and how they are installed using this new system.

    However, its one in the eye for naysayers who said this would only be for new games coming out and wouldnt work on previously released games. HA friggin HA!!

  • punkdsk8erdude

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    im most interested in how much harddrive space is needed to install the games.
    demos can take up to over a gig, which worries me because i have over 10 games, and my hdd is a 20gb, and right now with only 2 demos on my hdd and 1 game trailer, along w/ my game saves and what not, my hdd only has 10.2 gb of space left over.
    because you know the hdd isnt a full 20 gb, for some reason when u buy it it comes preloaded with crap that im too scared to delete cuase idk what it is and dnt want to mess anything up, leaving you with only about 13 or 14 gb when you first buy the system and turn it on with no game saves, no demos, etc.
    so, do i need to get the 60gb hdd?
    cause that would suck...given the price tag, esp. for someone like me who DID wait for the price to go down after launch and didnt buy one till over a year after it came out for i think it was lik 400 or 350 when i bought my pro, they didnt even offer the elite yet, nd now the pro comes with a 60gb drive for even less money then i paid for, and now to use the NEW features ill prob need to spend even more money on a bigger hdd?
    "what da efff" (david blane)

  • guppieface

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 8:32 pm PT

    but "yo" if "cliffy b" did it, and he used a $64.99 pink-looking controller, "i'm down, dog"

  • guppieface

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 8:31 pm PT

    $64.99???? for a controller???

  • Richman57

    Posted Sep 24, 2008 2:37 pm PT

    question. if you have the 20gb hardrive can you still put the games on the harddrive or do you need the 60 gb?????

  • Slayer420

    Posted Aug 8, 2008 8:54 am PT

    Definitely interested in those new colored controllers and the play from hdd feature is very welcome. Time to officially start looking into either the 120gb hdd upgrade or just buying an Elite.

  • IIFoxmanII

    Posted Jul 20, 2008 9:32 pm PT

    (reply) hawaiiinsomniac: the fall system update with all features (including "Play From Hard Drive") will be for all xbox 360 systems.

  • gandalf_storm

    Posted Jul 20, 2008 4:04 pm PT

    installing games to the hard disk is not a rip off idea, what do PC`s do ?

    Fair enough avatars are pointless mii rip-offs and trophies are blatant acheivement ripoffs for geeks but installing games is fantastic idea and if its copying anything, then it copies the PC.

  • hawaiiinsomniac

    Posted Jul 19, 2008 1:14 pm PT

    Does anyone know if "Play From Hard Drive" is only for the new XBOX 60 GB or an update for all 360s?

  • xraycat7055

    Posted Jul 19, 2008 3:44 am PT

    Cliffy B demo'd Gears 2 using the new red controller. It looks amazing. I'll be getting a couple of those.

  • raza3

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 2:39 am PT

    dude green that is awesome

  • SamSlayr

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 1:11 am PT

    Will this play from hard drive thing be available for DVDs cos i find the Disk Drive much more annoying in films

  • lettuceman44

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 1:08 pm PT

    Green controller? Sweet.

  • grambyte

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 5:31 am PT

    great to install games on my 360 to reduce load times, but i'm kinda over the whole avatar thing (was fun for a while on the wii, but that's it)

  • Ifritx111

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 7:59 pm PT

    Damn, I hate the avatar idea. I much prefer a simple yet custom gamer pic using my vision camera.

  • Truskills

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 6:29 pm PT

    what the heck is an avatar?

  • Ton77

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 12:23 pm PT

    Dont worry People You will still have your Gamercard. and the XMB will be very different. its on INSIDE XBOX. Take a look if you have 360

  • COMBATER202

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 10:38 am PT

    I wanna know whats happening to our gamercards and gamer pics too...

  • racerx737

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 9:49 am PT

    Now all MS needs to do is offer bigger HDDs and lower their prices to an normal, sane amount. Honestly, ytf should I have to pay $180 for a 120 GB HDD that I can only use for my 360 when I can buy a 750 GB external HDD for a computer for $150? it makes no sense!

  • Zoldaire

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 7:19 am PT

    Installing games to play from the hard-drive... handy, but I still prefer playing from the discs. But if the loading times and decreased more then 20%, I might consider installing the games.

  • atomicIceberg

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 3:14 am PT

    Xbox Live just keeps getting better and better, Good job Microsoft.

  • Ortadragoon

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 12:56 am PT

    lol, now I am certainly glad I bought that Elite with the 120 gig harddrive. I'm going to install every game I buy lol.

  • phearless

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 8:10 pm PT

    Being able to rip the games directly to the harddrive whether they borrowed the idea or not is just a freakin stroke of genius. The first game I am putting on my harddrive is Mass Effect!

  • jrabbit99

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 12:33 pm PT

    it looks like microsoft is giving into the casual gamer and not paying attention to the hardcore. WE DON'T WANT AVATARS!!! Only the casual wat them.

  • homeboyuri

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 12:16 pm PT

    it looks cool but i wudnt want my gamercard got rid of

  • Verno77

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 11:57 am PT

    The avatars are cool, but What's going to happen to gamer pics people paid for? What happens to gamercards too?
    I don't like the new menu at all. It looks confusing and random.
    Netflix and the installing feature are cool i guess, but they don't phase me at all. The Marketplace on the computer is cool too.

  • lego863

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 11:48 am PT

    looking foward to tis

  • P0T

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 11:38 am PT

    guys, the disc must be in the disc drive when playing from HDD to verify ownership. if you read the original article on major nelsons site you will see that.

  • yankees222

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 10:07 am PT

    Response to mocano40's post:

    "I want to know more about "Play From Hard Drive." how will they prevent me from installing the same game in multiple consoles and play in all of them at the same time?"

    Although many of these questions have been brought up only after hours or even minutes after the article, such as :

    "If I have a certain game then I can just share it with my friends and we never need to buy another game"

    "I can install my friends game free of charge ?"

    How will microsoft stop people from doing this?"

    Well I believe that with the limitations of HD space on the X360, this wont really be much of a problem seeing as you can only install so many games till you run out of space, if you do delete it, youd have the choice of reinstalling it or just run it on a Disc. Just like PC games, well almost all PC games, they require an install and Disc 1 to play and once you use the serial number or watnot its basically a no trade in value. btw apologize for the poor structure and grammer, its friggin 5 am and i havent slept because of E3 XD. anyways HD space is a factor when determining what games you will keep/install. MS made games installable on the HD to reduce the need to use that noisy Disc Drive and to carry their plan on HD storage media/gaming for the future .



    from the producer Whitten:

    "[The hard drive install feature] will allow you to install any game that you want. It's optional, of course," said Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten. "You can [install] any game that ever shipped, any game that will ship... every game."

  • DDR_Midian

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 9:56 am PT

    1440x900! Woot, that's mine!

  • theshredmaestro

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 8:19 am PT

    @ capthavic You are an idiot it's not a ripoff of home you know why? because that would mean that sony is ripping off what pc users have been doing for years!!!.

  • TwiztedMetal

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 8:13 am PT

    I thought this was a poor attempt of trying to combine sony home with the avatar system of a wii they should have made something up that was original or go with the old saying if it aint broke don't fix it!

  • MidniteShadow

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 7:56 am PT

    Response to mocano40's post:

    "I want to know more about "Play From Hard Drive." how will they prevent me from installing the same game in multiple consoles and play in all of them at the same time?"

    Although many of these questions have been brought up only after hours or even minutes after the article, such as :

    "If I have a certain game then I can just share it with my friends and we never need to buy another game"

    "I can install my friends game free of charge ?"

    How will microsoft stop people from doing this?"

    Well I believe that with the limitations of HD space on the X360, this wont really be much of a problem seeing as you can only install so many games till you run out of space, if you do delete it, youd have the choice of reinstalling it or just run it on a Disc. Just like PC games, well almost all PC games, they require an install and Disc 1 to play and once you use the serial number or watnot its basically a no trade in value. btw apologize for the poor structure and grammer, its friggin 5 am and i havent slept because of E3 XD. anyways HD space is a factor when determining what games you will keep/install. MS made games installable on the HD to reduce the need to use that noisy Disc Drive and to carry their plan on HD storage media/gaming for the future .

  • capthavic

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 7:55 am PT

    I'm honestly not liking the avatar thing. It feels like a rip off of Sony's @Home.

    As for the rest I guess I can get used to it.

  • onuruca

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 7:39 am PT

    1680*1050 res will be great for my 22' monitor

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 7:30 am PT

    The update is going to be nice

  • 09231991

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 7:29 am PT

    Wow, I'm actually surprised to see most people here actually embracing these changes instead of whining about it like the people yesterday. Ok, about the controller thing, thats a great deal. Buying a wireless controller by itself costs 49.99 and a play & charge kit costs 19.99. Add those together and then figure tax, it'll come out to like $75 but buying this new bundle that includes both for 64.99, figure tax, you'll be saving close to about $5 to $6 or even $7. That's a good deal and money saving. So to the people who are whining and crying, shut up because all of these new changes and additions are fantastic and awesome

  • Imhotepp

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 7:26 am PT

    Wow, since the announcement of FF XIII, my cellar got flooded with rain.... or is it tears from SONY fans???

    (in the tone of black rob's "whoa"):

    "See ya game go to another console is like "WHOA!"

    ...to funny!

  • Cube_of_MooN

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 6:42 am PT

    Meh, I like the current dashboard. I guess I can't complain about new features though, even if the avatars seem a bit stupid.

  • Samfisher_1

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 6:18 am PT

    Poor PS3, no need for one

  • mocano40

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 6:05 am PT

    I want to know more about "Play From Hard Drive." how will they prevent me from installing the same game in multiple consoles and play in all of them at the same time?

    Anyway I think this is awesome !!!, PS3 fans must be crying.

  • JaniH_

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 5:28 am PT

    Now, let's remember that it doesn't install games. It copies them, so the whole procedure should be a lot faster than in installs. Benefits are still there: faster load times (hopefully bye-bye for pop up in Mass Effect et. al.), and the sound of the jet fighter is just a bad memory. That also negates the already poor multiple discs -argument, that some try to throw around. It's a shame for those who don't have a HDD or have the 20 gig version. Hopefully MS understand that and drops the price of the 120 gig HDD a lot. Nevertheless, it's not something that is away from others, but it's an absolutely great option.

  • Lord-Viru

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 4:16 am PT

    To be honest I'm more looking forward to the party mode than all the other "enhancements" Microsoft are offering. The ability to enter a party which combines both the aspects of the old chat system as well as being able to jump from game to game, to movie, to pictures then back to game really excites me and will really save time instead of having to go to the list, try and connect to their game etc.

  • KOTORkicker

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 4:03 am PT

    @ ElectrolightSW : And another benefit is that it isn't mandatory, so if you are playing a game alot then install it, but other games you can just leave as they are.

    Yeah! 360 Rocks!

  • MidniteShadow

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 3:14 am PT

    Glad to see alot of people are for this , the real war has begun, wether it be Blu-Ray Discs or HD Storage.
    Good job Microsoft, just please give us a bigger hard drive. Thats all we ask

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