Microsoft has long been at the forefront of online support and integration with their game consoles, and it has also created an efficient cycle of leaks that lead to product announcements. Xbox 360 owners can now be confident of the new features they’ll see in the May 7 firmware update for the 360, with the biggest addition being the support for Windows Live Messenger. This will allow users to chat with up to six friends while doing anything from playing a game to watching a movie and listening to music, and will also allow you to chat with your friends who have Messenger on their PCs. You’ll be able to input text using the virtual keyboard, any USB keyboard, or the upcoming keyboard attachment for the 360’s controller.
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The rest of the update features smaller tweaks, but many of them will be welcome for hardcore 360 gamers. Achievement notifications will now tell you which achievement you’ve unlocked and how many points you’ve gained. This is a big improvement from the old system, which forced you to leave the game to see your achievement details. There will also be more family settings to use on voice and text chat and the ability to see which disc is in the 360’s tray before you start it up.
The Marketplace also has a bevy of updates and will now feature its own blade on the dashboard. It will now be easier to see which Arcade games your friends are playing and to join them. There will also be a new messaging feature where you can update your friends on your achievements and high scores.
You’ll also now be able to begin to watch movies while they download, which is a nice feature when you’re waiting on a multigigabyte download. Late-night downloaders will also be able to have the system power down after all the items in their queue have downloaded.
The addition of Windows Live Messenger support to the 360 takes Microsoft a step closer to its vision of a unified gaming experience across platforms. Live Anywhere was the first step, allowing users to take keep a single gamer tag and stats across the Xbox 360, PC, and even Windows Mobile platforms. Live Messenger on the 360 provides another hook, one that Microsoft hopes will make using the console an even more social experience, keeping users logged in even longer.
While there is nothing groundbreaking in these updates, they do add up to improve the overall experience of using the 360 and in particular Xbox Live. If you’re a social gamer, or just want to keep in touch with your mother while you watch your movies, this will be a welcome update.
By Ben Kuchera
Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, firmware, Windows Live Messenger, PCs, virtual keyboard, Xbox 360
