Cloud saves, voice control and more. We recently got a chance to sit down and talk with Robin Burrowes, the product and marketing manager for Xbox Live in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. While that means he doesn't technically look after us here in the antipodes, what he said (and showed us) is still very relevant for you.
For a start, Microsoft are bringing a new dashboard to the Xbox 360 this Christmas. Part of their regular updates, this new dashboard changes up the interface quite a bit, moving away from the vertical and horizontal scrolling to a horizontal-only method that is far more suitable to the Kinect than the existing system.
The new look isn't all that's changed, with the most significant and immediately notable inclusion being the all-new "apps" tab. No details were available as to what such a tab might be populated with, but non-game apps that run on something as powerful as an Xbox 360, connected to your television? There's loads of potential here, we can't wait to find out more about Microsoft's plans in this area.
The new interface has better, tighter integration with social networks, too, allowing gamers better and more immediate access to streamlined versions of their favourite social networks.
That's not the end of the social stuff, either, as has become the theme in recent months across the industry. The new dash update brings a brand new feature called "Beacons" into play, which lets you leverage Facebook or Xbox Live itself to tell people what you want to play or even create appointments for future game sessions which you can invite your friends to.
