Skip to Content

New to the Mac? Check out TUAW's Mac 101
AOL Games

spring-update posts (Subscribe to this feed)

MS confirms no Spring update, a DRM fix and an XBLA restructuring

In an exclusive interview with Next Generation, Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten announced the rather disappointing news that they will not be releasing a Spring update this year. This of course means that the rumored Spring update feature set that was leaked last week was complete bologna. Whitten says that instead of putting their resources into a Spring update, they decided to focus their energy into "building the proper infrastructure and scale for the service" (ahem, more reliability). But all is not lost in the land of updates, as Whitten confirmed Microsoft will be rolling out a change to their DRM policy in June that'll allow content owners to re-license XBLA and XBLM content to a single console. This move will make said content available when disconnected from Xbox Live.

Finally, we learn that the Xbox Live Arcade will get a metaphorical Spring cleaning as Microsoft plans to remove under-performing Arcade titles. Games that have been on the market for over six months, have a Metacritic average lower than 65% and a conversion rate below 6% will be targeted for de-listing. A move that Microsoft hopes will streamline the service and open it up to bigger and better things.

Rumor: Spring update adds game installs, DRM fixes, "motion sensor" features


If history remains true the Xbox 360 Spring update should be on its way soon, but unlike previous updates we've heard nothing about new features. According to a tip sent to Joystiq regarding the spring update there are nearly 80 new features and tweaks possibly incoming for the Xbox 360.

The completely unconfirmed list can be found after the jump but we can tell you it includes some features we've dreamed for. Voice chat conferences for up to four people, an Inside Xbox Portal which includes news, entertainment, weather and various community features, downloading audio from feeds (such as the Xbox 360 Fancast, or other podcasts we guess), a DRM check for downloaded content which lists items that will not be accessible when disconnected from Xbox Live and a new (hopefully working) way to correct the DRM issue are some of the features on the list.

Other notable features include being able to delete games from your played games list if they list a gamerscore of zero (and zero obtained achievements) and the ability to save game data onto the hard drive for faster loading (presumably the way PS3 handles the feature).

The most interesting addition is the ability to calibrate motion sensor based peripherals again pushing the Wii-like controller rumor into the limelight.

Keep in mind that this all squarely falls under the category of "rumor" for the moment. We'll let you know as soon as we hear otherwise. Find the full list of (rumored) features after the break.

Continued →

Rumor: 360 dashboard update to support game installs, 'motion sensor devices' [update]


It's becoming increasingly difficult for us to shamble out of bed and avoid stubbing our toe on some unconfirmed list of Xbox 360 features, fixes, enhancements and/or tweaks meant for the system's Spring dashboard update. Though we usually avoid the ones promising "full compatibility with Metal Gear Solid 4" or "online racial slur filters," this latest one proved unavoidable. Thank you, dear tipster, for leaving a concrete block at the base of our bed.

You'll find the "incomplete" list of unconfirmed features after the break, though we'll draw your attention to two in particular. "Calibration options for motion sensor devices." That certainly brings to mind the numerous Newtonian rumors of a Microsoft waggle wand we've encountered over the last few weeks. As for allowing games to "store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading?" We'll go make a sandwich while you guys discuss.

Update:
Microsoft says: "We don't comment on rumors or speculation, but what we can tell you is we've never seen this list before."

Continued →

Featured Galleries

Ion Assault (XBLA)

Ion Assault (XBLA)

U-Wars

U-Wars

Halfbrick Rocket Race

Halfbrick Rocket Race

Tales of Kaloki (Band of Bugs DLC)

Tales of Kaloki (Band of Bugs DLC)

Band of Bugs Avatars

Band of Bugs Avatars

Skate 2 Maloof Cup DLC

Skate 2 Maloof Cup DLC

Worms 2 Armageddon (XBLA)

Worms 2 Armageddon (XBLA)

McFarlane's Halo 3: ODST

McFarlane's Halo 3: ODST "The Rookie"

Garou: Mark of the Wolves (XBLA)

Garou: Mark of the Wolves (XBLA)

 


X3F Fancast


New episodes every Monday evening.
Now playing:
Xbox 360 Fancast 124 -- Sweatin' It, for Monday, June 29.



Archive | RSS | iTunes

Joystiq Features




Autoblog

BloggingStocks

Download Squad

Engadget

Massively

Asylum

Wow.com

Engadget HD

Big Download