New Xbox Experience

Image via WikipediaI used to be an avid gamer and would regularly connect with my friends to play online and battle through the many enemies and scenarios. Now the Internets have become my main hobby, communicating with friends through social networking and media. That doesn't mean that I have turned my back on the gaming community as I still actively follow the industry through the feeds I subscribe.

Only recently a comment on my blog directed my attention to a discussion on the Official Xbox forums and I 'jumped in'. When I originally started posting on xbox.com I wasn't really that active online but that took off once I began socialising with like minded people and discussing the platform and direction.

Contributing on the forum recently it quickly became clear that forums are very static and other than the Gamercard it feels dated. It's a considerable improvement to the previous build although since frequenting sites like Facebook for example I feel that the next version needs to be more of a social network. We can speculate over what will happen with the forums but the purpose of this post is to highlight the New Xbox Experience which appears to be heavily focused on social interaction. Here are the details from xbox.com...

• Netflix instantly streaming in HD: The New Xbox Experience isn't the only thing that will look great on your TV. Netflix is taking the first step by instantly streaming movies and TV episodes in high definition with the introduction of approximately 300 choices in HD via Xbox 360, including La Vie en Rose, Flawless, and Heroes. Xbox 360 is the only Netflix-ready device to offer high-definition movies and TV episodes.

• Xbox LIVE Party: Use Xbox 360 to create a virtual party on your TV with up to seven friends. With Xbox LIVE Party, use voice chat while you play games,* share photos in real time, and entertain friends all over the world.

• Personality plus: Create a customized, animated avatar and literally jump into the world of Xbox LIVE. Your avatar is your game face throughout the New Xbox Experience and represents your personality, whether you are serving as an Xbox LIVE Party host, playing a game of Scene It? ® Box Office Smash, or chatting with a friend.

• On-demand entertainment: Xbox 360 is home to the best TV and movie entertainment, including more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix and a large online library of more than 15,000 on-demand high-definition TV shows and movies from global partners such as Constantin, The Walt Disney Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM), NBC Universal, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

• Your personal game room: Play revived classics such as PAC-MAN Championship Edition™, Galaga Legions, and Portal: Still Alive, alongside games that put your avatars in the action, such as A Kingdom for Keflings, UNO®, and Hardwood Hearts exclusively for download from Xbox LIVE Arcade. Xbox LIVE members also ill be able to access all of Xbox LIVE Marketplace, including Xbox LIVE Arcade, and even queue content to download straight from Xbox.com.

• Games for the community, by the community: For the first time in the history of console gaming, thousands of games developed by the creative community will be available to the public. The Community Games channel on Xbox LIVE will include games made by students, hobbyists and maybe even your next door neighbor, and will be exclusive to Xbox LIVE.

I'm interested to hear what people think about the New Xbox Experience, how it compares to what is available on the other consoles and also what could be improved. It would be really appreciated if you could leave me a comment with your views. Alternatively add me on Xbox Live Gamertag - shreddies :)

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