We've all heard the rumors about what the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update might encompass, but there's no need for that anymore, as Microsoft has released a full list of features. Truth be told, much of it has already been announced, but there are some minor things that haven't been discussed yet.
First up, there's the new Xbox Originals service which will allow gamers to download select Xbox games at a rate of 1200 Microsoft Points per title. Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, Halo, Fable, Fuzion Frenzy, and Psychonauts will be the debut games for the service when it launches alongside the Fall Dashboard Update on December 4.
The Xbox Live Arcade Hits program will showcase the top XBLA releases. Best of all? These games will be reduced in price! The first 'hits' are Bankshot Billiards 2 and Lumines Live at 800 Microsoft Points each, and Marble Blast Ultra, Small Arms, and Zuma Deluxe at 400 Microsoft Points each.
Since I was unsuccessful in cramming every last update detail into four paragraphs, you'll have to hit the jump for the rest of the features. If you enjoy "obtaining" movies via the Internet, you'll be glad you did.
While not nearly as nice as a web browser, Inside Xbox, a feed that displays the latest Xbox.com news straight to your Xbox 360 dashboard, is still a step in the right direction.
It's hard to get your message across to Xbox Live randoms while conforming to your motto's character limit. Microsoft has decided to fix this by adding expanded bio's that will appear in your profile. Going one step further, the update will let you see who's on your friend's friend list.
In an attempt to beef up the Xbox 360's parental controls, there will be a "Family Timer" come December 4. Because, y'know, it's just too damn pesky to manually remove children from the videogame console.
Media enthusiasts will be thrilled to know that the update will add support for Mpeg-4 part 2 video files in AVI container. Streaming DivX and Xvid up to 1080p to your Xbox 360!? F**k yes! Forget about Xbox Originals and Inside Xbox, this is the one feature I truly care about.
Lastly, the Xbox Live dashboard interface itself is going to be re-imagined. Navigation looks to be much easier for the new game and video sections of the marketplace -- watch the above video to see for yourself.
And that's the Fall Dashboard Update in a nutshell. If you've dreamed of being a know-it-all in the field of Xbox-related updates, you can read up on every single minuscule improvement right here (thanks for the tip, Aaron).
What do y'all think? Is there anything Microsoft didn't include in the update that you've been dying to see? Clan support and IPTV anyone?
Jordan Devore is Destructoid's PC gaming manager and founding ginger editor. He is said to be easy to love but difficult to know. When Samit inquired about his curious bio photo Jordan simply replied: "bitches love sandcastles" ... yet, there is no sandcastle in that photo. We may never truly understand his ways.
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DivX support is sweet. Most hope it's coming for PS3 as well since 2.0 added the ability to find and designate DivX type files. Would be neat to see Media Center files recognized on PS3 as well, but doubt that'll ever happen.
Fill me in here, so the 360 doesn't have a browser right? so how do you find the DivX/ Xvid content to stream? I want to be able to browse to my favorite site for DivX stuff stage6 and watch all their videos through the XBox.....but it doesn't sound like this is possible yet right?
or am I missing something here...
Marble Blast Ultra for $5? That's a buy, glad I didn't get it before, it's half price now. Don't care much about the other discounted XBLA titles. I hope other older XBLA games get marked down as well. Y'know, the ones that aren't selling quite so well as Puzzle Quest and Castlevania.
As for the downloadable original Xbox games, I already own the ones worth owning already, except Fable, but I can get a retail copy for $10, so why pay $15 for a virtual one?
bleep, the 360 has no browser (it could potentially be a security risk). You download or rip the divx files to your computer and stream it from there. =)
I am very excited about this dashboard update. I think the family timer is a step in the right direction. Love the divx support. Love the bio. Love the marketplace update. Like all dashboard updates, it's not a huge overhaul, just some nice additions and changes that make me happy time.
Divx / xvid support is great, I can finally access video without converting it. My NAS drive will be much more useful now. I am surprised that this functionality is here though as divx xvid is more or less a piracy format. Not that I mind of course.
You are right, that's actually what I did until now. I used TVersity. It certainly solves the problem, but streaming a transcoded thing is not really as convenient as watching it natively. For instance, if you want to fast forward, you won't be able to do it immediatly upon starting playing, and until the whole stream is transcoded, and even then you will need lotsa free disk depending on how long is the thing you're playing...
Also, my TVersity server started malfunctioning, but well, that's a completely different issue :)
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Contest:
3:28 PM on 11.30.2007
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or am I missing something here...
As for the downloadable original Xbox games, I already own the ones worth owning already, except Fable, but I can get a retail copy for $10, so why pay $15 for a virtual one?
And to think I ever see a xmb type menu for the 360 :)
Looks awesome :)
By the way, you will not be able to remove existing XBLA trials from your list. However, when the update hits, no new ones will appear anymore.
http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/11/30/child-account-graduation-and-changing-live-id-association.aspx
I am very excited about this dashboard update. I think the family timer is a step in the right direction. Love the divx support. Love the bio. Love the marketplace update. Like all dashboard updates, it's not a huge overhaul, just some nice additions and changes that make me happy time.
woot.
anybody think microsoft could actually be working on a browser? who knows how that would work out. considering the use of an analog stick.
also, hardcore pron
Microsoft has just killed some of their business
What you have to do is setup a program which will allow you to transcode video files on the fly so they can play on the Xbox 360.
This requires a PC
An Xbox 360
Networking from the console to the PC
Software
There are Many different softwares out there, I use transcode 360
Its amazing at how well this works but native Divx and Xvid support is great because that means higher quality files.
And according to that video they had 1080P Divx running smoothly so I'm very much looking forward to playing around with it!
If Microsoft brought out updates like this Alot more often I'd pay for them :D
You are right, that's actually what I did until now. I used TVersity. It certainly solves the problem, but streaming a transcoded thing is not really as convenient as watching it natively. For instance, if you want to fast forward, you won't be able to do it immediatly upon starting playing, and until the whole stream is transcoded, and even then you will need lotsa free disk depending on how long is the thing you're playing...
Also, my TVersity server started malfunctioning, but well, that's a completely different issue :)