New Xbox Experience Hands-On

Microsoft’s previous mega Dashboard update dubbed the NXE (New Xbox Experience) was sweet. It looked wicked and brought tons of new stuff to the table like Avatars, a Party System, the ability to install games to your hard drive and so on.

Of course Microsoft can’t just sit on their asses after one nice update and so they’ve been working on yet another update that should be available publicly by the first week of August. It’s not revolutionary like the previous one but it brings tons of tricks and tweaks to the table.

So the first thing that’s evident with the update is that Microsoft’s hell bent on making sure you deck out your virtual avatar with new clothes and accessories. Unfortunately they aren’t free so if you want your avatar to sport the latest game inspired fashion, you’re going to have to shell out your hard earned dough on that.

Apparel prices range from 20 to 160 points while accessories tend to be a bit on the higher side. As of now you have a Halo 3 store, a Fable II store and a Monkey Island store where you can doll out your character with hoodies, t-shirts, jeans, caps etc. inspired by the above mentioned games. Even though you’re paying for this stuff, the selection offered isn’t all that hot (some of the tees are just downright boring) but I’m guessing we’ll see cooler stuff in the future. On the non-gaming front you have something called Style Labels that offer clothes from the Steampunk genre and a genre called Recessionista, that we’re guessing is all about ghetto style. Once again, it’s nice but not I’m-gonna-shell-out-actual-dough-for-this nice.

As far as accessories are concerned, the coolest item up for grabs was a remote controlled Halo 3 warthog, since a giant ear swab really didn’t catch my fancy. I know its pretty useless since you can’t actually control the warthog but still... it’s kinda cool.

Next up is the Games on Demand section where you’ll be able to download full Xbox 360 games to your hard drive. This section’s not live yet and the only games available on demand are Xbox Live originals like Halo, Black, Chaos Theory etc. While we don’t know what games available from Games on Demand will cost, we’re guessing – or rather hoping – at least some of them (especially the Platinum range) will be available within 1600 points. This section should be populated with games by the time the update goes public.

If you like watching movies online with a group of friends you’ll be glad to know that you can now do so with the ability to party up and stream HD movies online, courtesy of Netflix. It's a pretty cool concept that has all party members – via their avatars - getting together and watching a movie in a virtual theater of sorts where you’re free to share your thoughts, opinions or gestures with other party members. Sadly this feature is restricted to the US only.

In addition to all the above mentioned features here are some of the smaller tweaks this update brings to the table:

• Display the amount of years you’ve been an Xbox Live Gold member on your gamer card.
• An easier to read and navigate achievement list.
• Launch games from your achievements browser.
• Ability to rate downloads and sort them by rating.
• Ability to automatically rejoin your party if you get disconnected from it.
• Awards for avatars that’ll be unlocked through certain games.

Sadly this is not the update that brings Twitter, Facebook or Last.Fm to Xbox Live. Those features will be added later. Expect a more in-depth look at the update once it hits Xbox Live by the 11th of this month.