community-briefing posts (Subscribe to this feed)

E308: Avatar clothing could be unlocked using game achievements

by Dustin Burg { Jul 15th 2008 at 11:45AM }

Coming straight from Microsoft's Community Briefing yesterday (the same one where we got the chance to nibble on delicious chocolate delights), we learned that an Avatar's wardrobe could not only be comprised of those items offered through normal channels, but could potentially come from the earning of game achievements.

Team Microsoft said that the potential is there and developers are showing interest in offering unlockable Avatar content using game achievements. Think of items like a Gears of War 2 tshirt for your Avatar to wear if you earn the Seriously achievement or the unlock of a special ninja mask for completing Ninja Gaiden II on the hardest difficulty. It'd be an extra incentive to go after an achievement IF the achievement itself isn't enough, but the rub here is that you have to actually care about your Avatar's clothing. Us, we're all about forgoing the whole wardrobe unlock thing, sporting a naked Avatar and getting double the game's Gamerscore.

E308: XBLM purchases and queue all through Xbox.com

by Dustin Burg { Jul 14th 2008 at 7:45PM }

A super exciting and highly demanded feature that may have slipped under the E3 2008 radar was the announcement that ALL Xbox Live Marketplace content will be browseable, available for purchase and queueable using Xbox.com when the Fall update rolls out. Yes, we said EVERY piece of content.

During the Community Briefing brunch, we were told by both Aaron Greenburg and Marc Whitten that the the Fall update will usher in improved functionality between Xbox.com and the Xbox Live Marketplace. Similar to how Halo 3 handles content downloads, subscribers will be able to browse, purchase and queue up downloads via the site and, when the console is turned on, all the queued downloads will download. So, that means you'll be able to spend your Microsoft points all from the comforts of your work's cubicle.

E308: More details about Netflix on the Xbox 360

by Dustin Burg { Jul 14th 2008 at 6:30PM }

Chatting with Marc Whitten and the entire Xbox 360 team at today's Community Briefing (more Community Briefing details will be coming later today), we were treated to a demo of the Netflix Xbox 360 service and how it works. Specifically, we were shown how the queuing system will be integrated and really, it's rather a straightforward process that utilizes Netflix.com.

First, to connect one's Netflix account to their Xbox Live account, customers will enter a keycode via Netflix.com that'll link the two accounts together. Then, once linked, the Netflix.com queue will instantly appear on the Xbox 360 allowing instant access to the movies. Want to change your movie queue? Simply update your movie queue online and within' 10 seconds, your Xbox 360's Netflix list will update. A very slick process indeed.

Other Netflix details we were able to learn from the Community Briefing was confirmation that only SD videos would be offered and streamed to the console (not downloaded) as the system analyzes which bitrate is the best fit for your connection. Up to eight friends can watch a movie together BUT they all must be Netflix subscribers. Finally, we were informed that Netflix's servers would handle all movie streaming and that they'll significantly upgrade their infrastructure before the Fall release.