These won’t have made the cut to look in Microsoft’s E3 keynote earlier today but gamers will probably appreciate two new features mentioned in a letter from Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten. “Cloud Storage for Game Saves and Live Profiles” is first up and gives access to ones profile and saves from any console, at any time with the choice to avoid wasting to XBL servers rather than a memory unit or harddisk. All of it sounds much like the service offered for PlayStation Plus but as Joystiq notes, to this point exact details are scant. The alternative feature mentioned is support for “Beacons” which go one step further than broadcasting what you’re playing or watching immediately by allowing users to flag what they want to play, and lets friends on XBL or Facebook see that to allow them to meet you for a game. Look into the whole letter after the break or over at the ‘stiq, we’ll relax and dream of a future world where bringing our XBL profile by a friend’s house to maintain track of our beatdowns is as easy as just logging in.
We have now an easy vision. Each of the entertainment you will want, with the folks you care about, made easy. Today at E3, we took another remarkable step toward realizing that vision, unveiling an entire new approach to experience entertainment, where TV is more amazing if you find yourself the controller.
We’re transforming entertainment inside the lounge by bringing you more entertainment experiences and new the right way to enjoy them.
Coming this year to Xbox LIVE may be UFC and YouTube, adding to our ever-expanding library of serious entertainment, including ESPN, Facebook, Hulu Plus, Last.fm, Netflix and Twitter. We’re also forging new partnerships to bring live television to Xbox LIVE within the Us of a and all over the world, adding to our current partnerships with Sky TV inside the UK, Canal Plus in France and FOXTEL in Australia.
And here is only the start; we are able to continue to bring more entertainment experiences to Xbox LIVE for you and your pals.
However the future front room does greater than come up with great entertainment; it helps you discover and judge. It will give you simplicity, discovery and private choice. With the ability of Xbox, the simplicity of Kinect voice control and the intelligence of Bing, you can now just say it and Xbox will find it. Bing on Xbox offers the best way to discover the entertainment you would like.
Daily, you and nearly 35 million other members of the Xbox community are pushing us to continue to deliver new and exciting experiences. Whether it’s playing “Call of Duty: Black Ops” (Activision) and “Halo: Reach” (Microsoft Studios) with friends, or catching up at the latest episode of “30 Rock” on Hulu Plus and watching college football on ESPN, our community is spending a median of 60 hours a month on Xbox LIVE. That translates to two.1 billion entertainment hours a month!
Here’s a great opportunity to continue bringing you the games, movies, TV shows, music and more experiences you will want. Thanks for pushing us to deliver more.
So we all know you might want to keep playing, watching, sharing and enjoying a while on Xbox LIVE. We’re equally passionate in our efforts to repeatedly improve and innovate the LIVE service, and i am happy to share a glimpse of what’s more to come back:
· The hot Dashboard. Simpler. Cleaner. Easier to navigate. With the addition of recent entertainment content on Xbox LIVE and our commitment to continuously improving the final Xbox experience, we’ve updated the dashboard with a brand new appear and feel that makes it much more open, inviting and intuitive to navigate. Your entire favorite content is categorized in a technique it is easy to browse and find what you are looking for, plus you need to use voice anywhere within the dashboard to effortlessly navigate and get to what you wish.
· Bing on Xbox. We’re bringing Bing to Xbox. Bing on Xbox searches Netflix, Hulu Plus, ESPN, in addition our music, video and Xbox LIVE marketplaces to search out precisely the entertainment you desire to enjoy. With Bing on Xbox and Kinect, you may effortlessly find the games, movies, TV shows, sports and music you need by only using your voice. You are saying it, Xbox finds it. The experience is now simpler than ever before.
· Expanded Kinect Voice Support. We would like Xbox LIVE members world wide to experience the magic of Kinect’s voice recognition technology so we’re committed to bringing voice to 8 additional markets by the top of this year with a complete of 13 markets with a purpose to have Kinect voice. We’re also exploring some innovative new how one can enable the LIVE community to assist us accelerate the refinement of voice models in new markets, and sit up for sharing developments on that front soon.
· Beacons. We wish to make it easy with a view to hook up with friends over your favorite games on Xbox LIVE, so we’re introducing Beacons to the service. Beacons are how to tell your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends that you really want to play a game on Xbox LIVE. By setting a Beacon, you tell Xbox LIVE what you would like to play. Then, Xbox LIVE allows you to know when friends are playing or desire to play the identical game. With Beacons, whatever you’re currently doing on Xbox LIVE your folks know that it’s okay to ask you to play your Beaconed games. Imagine sending out a Beacon to let your pals know you’re inquisitive about playing “Halo,” while watching a film on Netflix. It’s about making it easier a good way to share and discover games and multiplayer opportunities with friends on Xbox LIVE.
· Cloud Storage for Game Saves and LIVE Profile. Here at Xbox LIVE we hearken to your feedback. We’re making it easier that you can sign into your Xbox LIVE account from any console at any time to access your game saves and whole profile, including items equivalent to Microsoft Points to make purchases, Achievements and friends. Cloud storage will will let you benefit from the same great Xbox LIVE gaming experience even if you are not on your own front room by supplying you with the choice to store your “game saves” securely within the Xbox LIVE cloud in place of on a transportable memory unit or your console’s harddisk. Gone are the times of “gamertag recovery.” Now all you might want to do is check in, irrespective of where you’re!
· Summer of Arcade. For the fourth year in a row, we’re excited to bring you the most well liked Xbox LIVE Arcade titles with Summer of Arcade. Starting July 20, enjoy five consecutive weeks of the season’s most highly anticipated downloadable games, including:
o “Toy Soldiers: Cold War” (Signal Studios/Microsoft Studios). Jump into the fray with playful ’80s combat action in “Toy Soldiers: Cold War.” Bring your favorite action toys to life and wage war against the red menace. Need backup? Call in a pal for co-op campaign action at the couch or over Xbox LIVE. Take a break from the primary battle with Survival mode and playful minigames. Whilst you beat your LIVE friends’ scores, they’ll be gunning to reclaim the highest spot!
o “Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet” (Fuelcell/Microsoft Studios). This side-scrolling, 2-D, action-adventure game takes players on a journey during the curious Shadow Planet worlds, unique environments stuffed with twisted life, surreal ecologies, hostile creatures and environmental hazards. Players explore the depths of several interconnected themed areas, fighting swarms of enemies, battling bosses, solving mind-bending puzzles and acquiring power-ups to unlock new parts of the map.
o “Fruit Ninja Kinect” (Halfbrick/Microsoft Studios). The global gaming phenomenon “Fruit Ninja” is now coming to Kinect for Xbox 360 in its juiciest form yet – you’re the ninja! Your arms are actually blades, and the battle against the world’s most delicious produce is only beginning. “Fruit Ninja Kinect” is a tremendous evolution of the slice-em-up genre created by Halfbrick, utilizing next-generation precision power for the juiciest combat ever!
o “Bastion” (Supergiant Games/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment). “Bastion” is an action role-playing experience that redefines storytelling in games, with a reactive narrator who marks your every move. Explore greater than 40 lush hand-painted environments as you find the secrets of the Calamity, a surreal catastrophe that shattered the area to pieces. Wield an enormous arsenal of upgradeable weapons and battle savage beasts adapted to their new habitat. Finish the most important story to unlock New Game Plus mode and continue your journey!
o “From Dust” (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft). Find a unique Modern God game wherein nature is the star. “From Dust” is the most recent original concept by Eric Chahi, visionary creator of “Another World.” Behold the great thing about a primitive world pulsing with life and face the might of nature. Beware the chance of an international it is constantly changing under your command. Control the destiny of a tribe struggling to outlive and help it recover its ancestors’ lost powers. Immerse yourself in an international as exotically beautiful because it is dangerous. A universe where nature reclaims what’s hers and also you are your people’s only chance of survival.
Also today, Kudo Tsunoda announced Kinect Fun Labs Kinect Fun Labs which brings innovation to Kinect owners and provides more exciting how one can rejoice. It is all about creating magical moments with never-before-seen Kinect technology and new Gadgets available on a regular basis to experience and share together with your Xbox LIVE friends.
That is just the start. This year alone we’re taking Xbox LIVE from half one million pieces of content to hundreds of millions, all controlled by your voice. Our mission is to forge partnerships with the proper known entertainment companies in the course of the world so everyone can experience how TV becomes more amazing if you find yourself the controller.
Xbox LIVE can provide your entire entertainment on one box, where you need to use your voice to simply control, search and choose. i will not wait to open the doors in your new home for entertainment this holiday, and rest assured, there’s more to come back.
See you on LIVE,
Marc Whitten
Gamertag – Notwen
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