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Technology Lifestyle

Microsoft makes mega messaging Xbox 360 announcement

Written by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Monday, 09 April 2007

In a sign that Microsoft isn’t interested in giving any ground in the next-gen console wars to Sony or Nintendo, a new messaging feature emerges hot on the heels of the Xbox 360 Elite announcement.

It’s been less than a month since the PS3 launched in the ‘rest-of-the-world’, and since then, two major Microsoft announcements have emerged to remind the world that Microsoft is serious about doing everything it can to win this round of the next-gen games console wars.

First there was the Xbox 360 Elite with HDMI, a 120Gb hard drive and new black color scheme, now it’s a ‘Spring Update’ due on the week of the 7th of May, with a raft of new features, including a new instant messaging service for Xbox 360 users that is fully compatible with the Windows Live Messenger used on PCs and mobile devices, helping to bridge a bit more of the gap that still exists between games consoles and personal computers, as there are 260 million active accounts and network of 20 billion relationships on Windows Live Messenger, meaning plenty of people to talk to whether using an Xbox 360, PC or phone.

At a stroke it further broadens the appeal of the Xbox 360 with communications features that make it more PC-like, making us wonder when Microsoft will bring web browsing and other PC like features to the Xbox 360 in addition to the new messaging feature, especially as Microsoft says a standard USB keyboard can be plugged into the Xbox 360’s USB port to more easily type messages, with a special keyboard attachment for the Xbox 360’s controller set to be released for those who prefer to ‘thumb type’ their messages instead, as many are now used to with the thumbboards of many mobile devices.

Xbox 360 users, of which there are more than 6 million, already send over 2 million text and voice messages each day on the Xbox Live network, now they can contact any of their regular Windows Live Messenger contacts and chat with up to six people from their contact list at any time, whether playing games, watching movies and TV shows or listening to music. Apparently with a microphone headset and an Xbox 360 webcam, you can use those features to voice or video chat to Windows Live Messenger users, too

Existing Windows Live Messenger and Xbox LIVE contact lists can be also be merged . Jerry Johnson, the product unit manager of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft said that: “Bringing the largest IM community in the world, Windows Live Messenger, to Xbox 360 makes sense, as Xbox LIVE has really become the largest social network on television”.

Johnson continues that: “For our growing community of 6 million on Xbox LIVE, using Xbox 360 is a very social, connected experience. They are using Xbox 360 to play games, music and movies while simultaneously communicating with one another through video, voice and text chat. With this announcement we are simultaneously expanding the access of Xbox LIVE users to existing friends and family while introducing Windows Live Messenger users to the benefits of Xbox 360."

Among the many new features of the Xbox 360 “Spring Update” are as follows, with the rest detailed at Microsoft’s announcement.

- A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to leave the game to check the Achievements list.

- Enhanced family settings features for Xbox LIVE communications enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.

- A new Xbox LIVE Marketplace blade lets Xbox LIVE members access the content they seek -- whether it is game content or TV shows and movies (available in the United States) -- from one place on Xbox LIVE.

- Updates to Xbox LIVE Arcade allow owners to quickly see which Xbox LIVE Arcade games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Xbox LIVE members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and

Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded Tell a Friend capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.

- A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version Xbox LIVE Arcade games.

- New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

- Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after downloads are complete.
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