Xbox Live grew a notch Tuesday with the release of several updates to the service. The new features include the ability to download complete video games and play them without a disc, expanded capabilities for Netflix movies, new ways to make your avatar snappier, and an better rating ability.
Some of the new features will be available beginning August 13.
Deleted and Reloaded
The titles available to be purchased and downloaded include Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, at an average price of $30. New titles are added weekly, and purchases can be made with a credit card or Microsoft points. Games can be deleted and reloaded again if the user runs out of space, since the purchase history is stored by Xbox Live.
The Microsoft announcement indicates that users will be able to play downloaded games from multiple locations, by downloading purchased games “to any console you are logged into with your Gamertag.”
The new Xbox Live also allows game manuals to be viewed, downloaded or printed. If you want your avatar to be more fashionable, brand-name avatar-wear can be purchased from a new Avatar Marketplace. There are also various Avatar Props, animated items with which your second self can interact.
Netflix, the DVD and online movie service, has been busy striking deals with as many device manufacturers as possible, and its deal with Microsoft is exclusive to the Xbox for game consoles. The Xbox Live update allows users to watch a movie together with remote friends, browse more quickly through New Releases, and enjoy “improved playback experience” and information about what your friends are watching.
‘Adding Value to the Box’
Parties can quickly dissipate when users start falling off, but the new Xbox Live update allows a user who has inadvertently been disconnected from a party to be automatically reconnected without…