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Radioactive IT New Xbox Experience just Windows dressing for us
Radioactive IT New Xbox Experience just Windows dressing for us | New Xbox Experience just Windows dressing for us |
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| by Mike Bantick | |
| Thursday, 20 November 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 Featured Whitepaper
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A quick comparison of the gaming console interface’s on offer with this generation of hardware gives a neat insight into where each of the companies sit right now in the market. The Nintendo Wii has right from the start used the channel interface to hide its lack of storage, but at the same time given users the wonderfully simple yet fun and flexible Mii creation tool, and then integrated the Mii Avatars into many Wii games as personalised players. With the Sony PS3, we have had a great deal of information about PlayStation Home, a complete Second Life like 3D world where human avatars can roam, meet up, exchange trophies and other digital items, create and deck out virtual apartments and just hang. But no concrete release date is on the horizon. And now Microsoft have the Xbox Experience launched, being a little of both of these and a bit more. 3D avatars, new integrated themes, easy to set up LIVE parties with mates. More importantly to avoid the not-so whisper quiet noise of the DVD drive, games can be loaded onto the Xbox 360’s hard drive to minimise ambient sound whilst playing. The extra information presented on the interface is also welcome, with a more logical and intelligent design layout. And in the U.S access to some 10,000 streaming movie titles as part of the Netflix service. Not part of the offering in Australia or New Zealand, with local execs only giving vague hints as to when this might be part of the line-up. Then there is the rumoured blocking by Sony of any Netflix titles produced by the movie arm of the company. Still with 10,000 movies to choose from, and instant start feature as part of the streaming, this is definitely an attractive feature for those of us with the Microsoft console as the focus of living room entertainment. Obviously Marc Whitten, general manager of Xbox Live at Microsoft agrees;"The next time you turn on your Xbox 360, the way you enjoy entertainment in your home will be changed forever. The New Xbox Experience will not only be easier to use from the very beginning, but it will give you new ways to connect with your friends and family and offer up more entertainment choices than any other device connected to the TV." Cool, now roll out all the features to all of the regions as soon as you can Microsoft.   |
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