Archive

November 14th 2012, 8:08 am PT

Grand Theft Auto V: Official Trailer #2

GTA V arrives Spring 2013

November 14th 2012 at 8:08 am | Xbox 360 | 16 comments

November 13th 2012, 11:47 am PT

Quickflix (AU & NZ) and Gulli Replay (FR) now available on Xbox LIVE

More exciting entertainment news from Xbox. We’re continuing to expand across the globe and two new apps launched today on Xbox LIVE:

Quickflix (Australia, New Zealand)
Instantly watch unlimited television episodes and movies on your Xbox 360 console.* Quickflix offers subscribers online DVD and Blu-ray disc rental-by-mail and instant streaming to Xbox LIVE subscribers.

Gulli Replay (France)
Instantly watch your favorite programs from Gulli on your Xbox 360 console.* Gulli Replay offers a large variety of programs including “Beyblade,” “Pokemon,” “Grand Galop” and many more. And with Kinect for Xbox 360, use your voice or gestures to navigate your entertainment.

You can download these apps from the Xbox LIVE marketplace starting today.

November 13th 2012 at 11:47 am | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 6 comments

October 31st 2012, 2:17 pm PT

Xbox LIVE Apps: WSJ Live, Ford, Gol Stadium launch

Today, Xbox LIVE continues to expand with news apps from WSJ Live*, Gol Stadium* and Ford.

WSJ Live delivers live and on-demand original programming from over 2,000 journalists across the globe. Tune into over 4 hours of live programming a day covering the latest news in markets, tech, opinion and more and get access to the entire video archive that The Wall Street Journal has to offer

image

The WSJ Live app launched today in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S.

Also in the U.S., a new advertising app launched from Ford. And in Spain we launched Gol Stadium. Spain’s largest sports TV channel offers live streaming from Gol Television and access to live soccer matches and more to subscribers.

We’re continuing to grow entertainment and news options offered through Xbox LIVE so stay tuned for more to come.

For more information please visit Xbox.com.

* Xbox LIVE Gold subscription and/or other subscriptions/fees and a high-speed Internet connection are required and sold separately.

October 31st 2012 at 2:17 pm | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 11 comments

October 30th 2012, 10:14 am PT

Grand Theft Auto V is Coming Spring 2013

. . .and Rockstar says it will be available for pre-order next week.

 

October 30th 2012 at 10:14 am | Xbox 360 | 18 comments

October 26th 2012, 8:12 am PT

Windows 8 is now available

Today is a big day for everyone here at Microsoft, as Windows 8 and Surface is now available.  If you haven’t had a chance to play around with Windows 8 yet, you should check out the Windows blog on what to expect. If you are an Xbox 360 owners will be using Windows 8 you have a lot of great stuff in store for you and I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of them.  Xbox is being delivered as the premium entertainment experience on Windows 8, with four Windows 8-style apps launching today: Xbox Games, Xbox Video, Xbox Music and Xbox SmartGlass. Xbox Games, Xbox Video and Xbox Music are preinstalled and the default experiences on Windows 8 and Xbox SmartGlass is available now as a free download in the Windows Store.

These apps will be available today on Windows 8 tablets and PCs and will become available on Windows Phone 8 when it ships.

Xbox SmartGlass
The power of companion scenarios come to life in new ways with Xbox SmartGlass, a new free Xbox app which enables your PC, tablet and phone to connect to your Xbox console in an intelligent way. Use your tablet to launch and navigate a movie on your TV and get rich details on the cast, crew and storyline. Pull the movie back to your tablet to finish watching it on the go. Use your phone or tablet as another great remote, and easily navigate your entertainment and menus by simple flicks, gestures and pinch and zoom.

 

Xbox Music
Xbox Music is the ultimate all-in-one music service, and features free streaming music on Windows 8* and Windows RT devices, as well as the ability to buy songs and albums**, an Xbox Music Pass**, artist-based radio via Smart DJ, plus comprehensive discovery from one of the world’s largest music catalogs. It’s a brand-new service, built from the ground up to meet all your music needs across your tablet, PC, phone and TV. Xbox Music is one of three pre-installed Xbox apps in Windows 8.

Xbox Video
With Xbox Video, you can browse and search the latest blockbuster movies and last night’s episode of your favorite TV shows, with more than 150,000 movies and TV shows available globally. You can buy a TV episode and rent or buy the movie of your choice. In addition to having access to the latest movies and TV shows, you can also see your videos in your local collection and play them back in a touch-optimized playback experience on your Windows 8 PC or tablet.

Xbox Games
 Back in August, I posted the list of the first wave of games coming in Windows 8. With Xbox on Windows 8, we created easy entry points into the types of entertainment that you’ll enjoy, including games. The Games app prominently features your Avatar, profile, friends and Gamerscore and allows you to explore your friends’ avatars, compare gamer stats and browse any of the top panels including Spotlight, Games Activity, Windows Games and Xbox Game Marketplace. Through these panels, learn about new games for your Windows 8 PC or tablet, or purchase digital Xbox 360 games and queue them to download on the console. The Games Activity Panel includes all of the games you own, with Xbox LIVE titles played on the console, phone and Windows to help you easily find games with Achievements, leaderboards and a connection to your friends on the Xbox LIVE service.

More from the Xbox Chief Marketing Officer

Update: Xbox SmartGlass for Android is now available

 

*On Oct. 26, Xbox Music offers free streaming music on Windows 8 and Windows RT in: France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Spain, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S.

**On Oct. 26, Xbox Music Pass and Xbox Music Store are available in: France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Spain, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, Denmark, Argentina, Finland, Norway, the U.K. and the U.S.

October 26th 2012 at 8:12 am | Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 86 comments

October 23rd 2012, 12:00 pm PT

Entertainment For All Plan expanding to five US Retailers

Beginning Oct. 28, we will be continuing a new pricing program we started testing in May called the Xbox 360 Entertainment For All Plan that provides another way for consumers to get the complete Xbox 360 experience at a low cost of entry. Expanding to be available at five major U.S. retailers in-store and/or online, consumers now have more value options to choose from and receive a discount on select Xbox 360 consoles and bundles with a two-year Xbox LIVE commitment ($14.99/month). We are pleased to add another incredible value for consumers this holiday season, proving that there’s never been a better time to own an Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 Entertainment For All Plan will now include:

  • 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect for $99.99*
  • 250GB Xbox 360 for $99.99*
  • 250GB Xbox 360 with Kinect for $149.99**

*With a required two-year Xbox LIVE commitment ($14.99/month)
**For a limited time

And, the program will expand to roll out to the following retailers in-store and/or online this fall***:

  • GameStop: Oct. 29
  • Toys R Us: Oct. 28
  • Best Buy: Oct. 29
  • Walmart: Oct. 29
  • Microsoft Stores: Nov. 5

This holiday, we are making it easier than ever to own an Xbox 360 and experience everything the device has to offer including blockbuster games as well as new entertainment experiences like Xbox SmartGlass and Xbox Music

More about Xbox 360 Entertainment For All Plan on Xbox.com

*** Dates subject to change.

October 23rd 2012 at 12:00 pm | Xbox 360 | 32 comments

October 22nd 2012, 9:00 pm PT

New Xbox entertainment experiences launching this week across your favorite devices

I wanted to let everyone know that this is a huge week for us because Xbox is taking several important steps to expand your entertainment experience. This week we’ll have the new console update, Xbox coming to Windows 8 and the launch of SmartGlass experiences across your favorite devices.

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, October 23rd, we are rolling out the Xbox 360 dashboard update to the remainder of our Xbox LIVE Members.

 

As I mentioned last week, this update includes:

  • Refreshed Xbox 360 Dashboard. We’ve updated the UI with a few things, including an updated layout with more tiles, a combined TV & Movies channel and, in the US, a Sports destination.
  • Pinning. Pinning lets you personalize the dashboard by saving your favorite movies, TV shows, games, music, videos and websites right to the home screen. It’s as easy as opening an app or a favorite movie and clicking “pin.”
  • Internet Explorer for Xbox. With Internet Explorer on Xbox, you can easily find and view internet content on the biggest screen in the house, including HTML5 videos. Pin your favorite pages directly to the web hub or the dashboard.
  • Recommendations and Ratings. Recommendations will allow you to discover new movies, TV shows and games, generated based on a number of variables including the content you previously viewed, what your friends are consuming and what is most relevant and popular with our Xbox community. You can now rate content yourself and also see Rotten Tomatoes ratings.
  • Xbox Video. Formerly called Zune Video Marketplace, Xbox Video offers hundreds of thousands of TV shows and movies for buying or renting in instant HD streaming.
  • Recent. Previously called Quick Play, the recent view gives you a list of movies, games, apps or other types of content that you most recently accessed on the console.
  • Enhanced Search. The last Xbox LIVE update brought Bing voice search to Xbox so you could use voice to search for movies, TV shows, actors, directors and artists. This year we added genre search to the list, so now you can search for action, comedy, romance, drama or sci-fi. Bing voice search now includes results for video across the Web and YouTube.
  • International Expansion of Voice Search. We’ve expanded our Kinect voice search capabilities to 9 new countries – Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Ireland.

 

And with the launch of Xbox on Windows 8 on October 26, we are launching Microsoft’s premier entertainment service. This is the year Xbox will light up entertainment on your Windows 8 tablet or PC. We want to make Windows the best place for gaming, the best video experience bar none, and combine all the elements people love about music into one service.

  • Xbox Games. Xbox Games for Windows 8 will bring many of the games you already know and love, like Angry Birds Starwars, Jetpack Joyride, Fruit Ninja and more. These games will be playable on any Windows 8 PC, laptop or tablet. All Xbox games for Windows 8 will allow you to earn the Achievements that you we know you love; and many will also take advantage of other Xbox features, including leaderboards, multiplayer modes, and connecting with friends.
  • Xbox Music. Xbox Music is a brand-new service, built from the ground up, to meet all your music needs across your tablet, PC, Phone and TV. Xbox Music is the ultimate all-in-one music service, featuring free music streaming on Windows 8 tablets and PCs, download to own, subscription, artist-based radio, plus comprehensive discovery from one of the world’s largest music catalogs.
  • Xbox Video. Xbox Video is a first run video service offering tens of thousands of movies and TV shows for buying or renting in HD.

 

Plus, Xbox SmartGlass will also be available later this week when Windows 8 launches on October 26th. When the Xbox SmartGlass app launches on tablets, PCs and smartphones, it will include key foundational experiences for interacting with your Xbox 360, such as dashboard and app navigation and Internet Explorer control, like text input, scrolling and pinch and zoom. Additionally, you will get SmartGlass experiences with Xbox Video and Xbox Music starting this week. Xbox SmartGlass will be a free downloadable app that takes your Windows 8 tablets and PCs, Windows Phone 8, iOS and Android devices, and converts them into a smart second screen for the entertainment you are enjoying through your Xbox.

I have gotten a few questions on what games and apps will support Xbox SmartGlass, so I wanted to share a few a list of some of the apps and games that will support Xbox SmartGlass in the coming months.

Games:

  • Ascend
  • Dance Central 3
  • Forza Horizon
  • Halo Waypoint
  • Home Run Stars
  • Karaoke
  • Kinect Sesame Street TV
  • Prima Games

Sports:

  • ESPN
  • NBA Game Time
  • UFC

Entertainment Apps:

  • Elections 2012
  • HBO GO
  • MSN
  • NBC News
  • NOW TV
  • Slacker Radio
  • TODAY
  • Univision

For more details on the update, read our blog post (and watch the video) on the Microsoft News Center

If you have any questions or need help with the update, be sure to hit up @XboxSupport, they’re ready to help!

Follow me on Twitter find out when the Xbox SmartGlass apps become available

October 22nd 2012 at 9:00 pm | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 80 comments

October 22nd 2012, 12:05 pm PT

NBA Game Time launches on Xbox LIVE *Updated*

More screenshots are on my Skydrive

Update: NBA Game Time is now available in all Xbox LIVE regions

Lots happening in the Xbox ecosystem these days and today we’re excited to bring NBA Game Time to Xbox LIVE.* Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers in the U.S. now have access to their favorite NBA teams and players anytime right from their Xbox.

NBA Game Time is available in the U.S. and offers the following unique features:

  • Live Games, Highlights, and Replays in HD –You’ll have access to every live regular season game, available in HD. All the games are available in replay, so you can watch on your schedule. And, if you’re short on time altogether, watch the condensed game recap in less than 10 minutes, or just take in the quick highlights.
  • My Teams – Obsess over your favorite team and get up-to-the-minute stats on your favorite players. With NBA Game Time on Xbox 360, getting to the details is quick and easy. And to make sure you are in the know, add 4 other teams to follow.
  • Stats & Standings: Want to know what’s going on around the league? With Stats & Standings, find out which team is leading a conference or which players top the leaderboards in PPG, RPG, and more.
  • Scores & Schedules – NBA Game Time on Xbox 360 gives you quick access to the scores you want and the schedules you need – right on your big screen. Feel free to turn those scores off too – so you can catch up on your game a little late, without the spoilers.
  • Mini Guide – The mini-guide gives you a quick preview of all of today’s games right at the bottom of your screen, and makes it easier than ever to switch between games.
  • Split Screen – Watch two games at once, or watch a live game on one screen while you catch up with highlights or a replay on the other.
  • Voice and Gesture Control with Kinect for Xbox 360 — Focus on the court instead of looking for the remote. Navigate through the games, skip to the next quarter, or play, pause, and rewind that buzzer beater…all with the sound of your voice or the wave of your hand.

With the addition of NBA Game Time to the existing lineup of sports partners – including ESPN, UFC and MLB – Xbox is taking live sports on TV to a whole new level with personalization features, deeper interactivity, and social connectivity found only on Xbox 360.

NBA Game Time launched in the U.S. today, with availability in all Xbox LIVE countries following shortly after.

*NBA Game Time requires a valid Xbox LIVE Gold membership. NBA.com League Pass Broadband subscription required to access live and on-demand games (sold separately). Blackout restrictions may apply in some markets. See xbox.com/live and nba.com/xbox for additional information.

October 22nd 2012 at 12:05 pm | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 29 comments

October 17th 2012, 8:23 am PT

Results from the second US Presidential debate

Following the US  Presidential debate last night that was carried on Xbox, I though you’d like to see the following data from the interactive polling that was conducted on Xbox LIVE :

  • More than 100,000 Xbox LIVE community members engaged in the 2nd presidential debate, responding to approximately 70 polling questions in real time.
  • There were well over 2,000,000 individual responses to poll questions.
  • Most poll questions averaged 35,000 to 40,000 respondents per question.
  • Among the approximately 2,000 Xbox Undecided/Swing Voters who weighed in:
  • 51% of undecideds declared Obama the victor, while 17% declared Romney the victor. 32% remained unsure of a winner.
  • Among those who leaned Romney prior to the debate, 19% thought Obama won the debate, compared with 2% of pre-debate Obama leaners who thought Romney won the debate.
  • 28% of undecideds either leaned or decisively supported Obama post-debate. 10% either leaned or decisively supported Romney post-debate.
  • 52% of undecideds declared Obama the most truthful, and 17% declared Romney the most truthful.
  • Among those who leaned Romney prior to the debate, 22% thought Romney was the most truthful, compared with 2% of pre-debate Obama leaners who thought Romney was most truthful.
  • 56% of undecideds thought Obama was specific enough about his plans, while 17% thought Romney was specific enough about his plans.

The final debate will be on October 22nd

October 17th 2012 at 8:23 am | Events, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 98 comments

October 16th 2012, 12:03 pm PT

Xbox 360 Holiday 2012 Bundles + limited time $50 Off Promotion

Available now, national retailers including Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, Target, Toys ‘R Us and Walmart, will carry Xbox 360 holiday console bundles, which include Xbox 360 hardware, games as well as one free month of Xbox LIVE Gold, Hulu Plus and EPIX.  Details include:

  •  250GB Xbox 360 with Kinect  and “Dance Central 2,” “Kinect Sports,” and “Kinect Adventures” and one month of Xbox LIVE Gold for $399.99 USD (ERP)
  •  4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect and “Kinect Disneyland Adventures” and “Kinect Adventures” and one month of Xbox LIVE Gold for $299.99 USD (ERP)
  • 250GB Xbox 360 with two games: “Skyrim” and “Forza 4 Essentials Edition” and one month of Xbox LIVE Gold for $299.99 USD (ERP)

The holiday values continue with a $50-off pricing promotion on select Xbox 360 consoles and bundles available at select major national retailers. The $50-off price promotion will apply to:

  • 250GB Xbox 360
  • 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect
  • 250GB Xbox 360 with Kinect

Additionally, the limited time $50-off price promotion will also be available with the Xbox 360 Limited Edition “Halo 4” console bundle, a must-have for “Halo” fans and the ultimate way to celebrate the return of the Master Chief in the next blockbuster installment of the iconic franchise. The limited edition console is available for pre-order and will arrive in stores with the launch of “Halo 4” on Nov. 6, 2012.

More bundle photos on my Skydrive

October 16th 2012 at 12:03 pm | Xbox 360 | 12 comments

October 15th 2012, 9:01 pm PT

New Xbox 360 dashboard update starts rolling out today

 

 

Many of you have been involved in the 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta and have been busy getting an early look at the latest Xbox LIVE features. Today we’re starting to roll out the official release of the update to Xbox LIVE subscribers around the world. To ensure a stable release, this will be a gradual deployment across subscribers and regions over the course of the next week. Our initial deployment will reach approximately three million consoles worldwide, with additional users being updated over the course of a couple weeks. Don’t panic if you don’t see an immediate update, just keep checking back in.

In this update, you will see the following features.

  • Refreshed Xbox 360 Dashboard. We’ve updated the UI with a few things, including an updated layout with more tiles, a combined TV & Movies channel and, in the US, a Sports destination.
  • Internet Explorer for Xbox. With Internet Explorer on Xbox, you can easily find and view internet content on the biggest screen in the house, including HTML5 videos.
  • Recommendations and Ratings. Recommendations will allow you to discover new favorites, generated based on a number of variables including the content you previously viewed, what your friends are consuming and what is most relevant and popular with our Xbox community. You can now rate content yourself and also see Rotten Tomatoes ratings.
  • Pinning. Pinning lets you personalize the dashboard by saving your favorite movies, TV shows, games, music, videos and websites right to the home screen. It’s as easy as opening an app or a favorite movie and clicking “pin.”
  • Xbox Video. Formerly called Zune Video Marketplace, Xbox Video offers hundreds of thousands of TV shows and movies for buying or renting in instant HD streaming.
  • Recent. Previously called Quick Play, the Recent view gives you a list of movies, games, apps or other types of content that you most recently accessed on the console.
  • Enhanced Search. The last Xbox LIVE update brought Bing voice search to Xbox so you could use voice to search for movies, TV shows, actors, directors and artists. This year we added genre search to the list, so now you can search for action, comedy, romance, drama or sci-fi. Bing voice search now includes results for video across the Web, including YouTube.
  • International Expansion of Voice Search. We’ve expanded our Kinect voice search capabilities to 9 new countries – Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Ireland.

What about Xbox SmartGlass? That’s coming too, but not until Windows 8 launches on October 26th. When the Xbox SmartGlass app launches on tablets, PCs and smartphones, it will include key foundational experiences for interacting with your Xbox 360, such as dashboard and app navigation and Internet Explorer control, like text input, scrolling and pinch and zoom.

Yesterday, we shared all the details about Xbox Music, our brand new digital music service. Xbox Music begins rolling out today on Xbox 360, it will launch with free streaming on all Windows 8 PCs and tablets on October 26th and Windows Phone 8 as devices arrive in market. Xbox Music combines all the different ways people love to enjoy music, creating the ultimate all-in-one music service.

For all the details on Xbox Music, check out the Microsoft News Center.

The 2012 Xbox LIVE update is beginning its rollout today and we expect all Xbox LIVE subscribers to have access to the update in the coming days.

October 15th 2012 at 9:01 pm | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 256 comments

October 9th 2012, 12:28 pm PT

Tell me what you are playing this week and you could win a free year of Xbox LIVE Gold

Tell me what you are looking forward to playing from the releases this week and you could win 12-months of Xbox LIVE Gold.

Dishonored XCOM®: Enemy Unknown Fable: The Journey DBZ for Kinect™ Harry Potter™ for Kinect™
Demo
Available
Demo
Available
Demo
Available
Just Dance® 4 Port Royale 3 Naughty Bear Panic in Paradise Worms™ Revolution

All of the above titles are scheduled for release this week* – in addition to the free Mass Effect 3: Retaliation game add. We are deep in the middle of the busy game season so I wanted to ask you
“What you are most looking forward to playing? “ (out of the releases this week.)

Post in the comments below and then I’ll randomly choose one person to win a free 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold membership.

*Subject to change. If I missed any games/content, lemme know.

The rules: Deadline to enter is 12:01 a.m. Pacific on Oct 14, 2012. One randomly selected winner will be notified by e-mail or Twitter. Winners must live in the United States. One entry per person. Read this if you have questions about the Disqus commenting system

Note: If you do not have an e-mail address or Twitter name associated with your Disqus login, you must include your Twitter information in your comment to be eligible. Any winner who does not respond to my notification within 72 hours will forfeit the prize. For faster notification, follow me on Twitter where I can DM you if you won.

Update: Comments closed and winner chosen! Congratulations to swifty2123 who I have DM’d that he won.

October 9th 2012 at 12:28 pm | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 1,974 comments

October 4th 2012, 7:13 pm PT

Medal of Honor Warfighter Open Beta

Medal of Honor™ Warfighter Content: Medal of Honor Warfighter Open Beta
Availability: Check availability in your Xbox LIVE region
Dash Text: Fight alongside the most elite Special Forces units in the world in the Open Beta. Create a two man squad of death, your FIRETEAM, and fight together for rewards. Take to the battle in one of the unique, real world terrorist hotspots in the only authentic modern military shooter this holiday. Plow through shrapnel, debris, fire, and more as the Frostbite 2 powered multiplayer frenetically connects you to the battle.

 

 

Add the beta  to your Xbox 360 download queue

Enjoy the beta? Purchase the full game

Learn more about the Medal of Honor Warfighter Open Beta on my latest podcast

 

 

October 4th 2012 at 7:13 pm | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 21 comments

September 25th 2012, 10:12 am PT

Fox Broadcast App Launch

Starting today, Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers who are also Dish or Verizon FiOS customers have access to the FOX Broadcast app on Xbox 360.

Fox Broadcast on Xbox LIVE offers next-day access to your favorite FOX shows and the latest content from the FOX Broadcast programming network. You can keep up with all of this season’s newest episodes including “Family Guy” and “Fringe.” Or kick back with past seasons of your favorite shows, like “House” or “24.” The FOX Broadcast app will also include Kinect integration, allowing you to play, pause and rewind using your hands or voice.

September 25th 2012 at 10:12 am | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 29 comments

September 11th 2012, 1:09 pm PT

A look at the Xbox 360 Essentials Pack and the Halo 4 LE Controller

in this video I’ll show you the Xbox 360 Essentials Pack and the Halo 4 Limited Edition Controller

I’ll be giving these away on a future podcast

September 11th 2012 at 1:09 pm | Xbox 360 | 34 comments

August 21st 2012, 9:00 am PT

Open Call, More Testers Welcome for 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta!

The amount of interest we received in July for the 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta was so staggering that today we’re announcing a second open call for Xbox LIVE subscribers to test out the beta program. I can tell you that we’re accepting far more beta-testers this time around, but space is still limited and once the spots are filled the beta will be closed, so sign up today!

If you’re selected, an update will be pushed to your Xbox 360 in the next few days. The update will contain new Xbox LIVE features, including:

  • Internet Explorer for Xbox
  • Recommendations and ratings
  • Pinning and favorites
  • Enhanced category search and discovery features
  • Voice search (in specified markets)

Note: A console in the program is expected to remain fully compatible with standard retail consoles not in the program.

If you would like to participate, please register for the 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Beta here. You will be required to agree to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for confidentiality reasons. Any participant who violates the NDA will be removed from this beta and all Xbox betas moving forward, and will not have access to Xbox LIVE until the end of this beta program period. Our NDA enforcement squad is really good at finding violators; so save us both the trouble and don’t test them. We also ask that you fill out a brief 5-minute survey at the end of the beta to let us know what you think.

Your interest and passion in helping the Xbox team has been awesome and we’re very excited to see the early feedback so that we can make Xbox even better. Thanks again for your participation and enjoy!

Update: Several users have reported an issue with accessing the registration link for this program — keep trying – there is a high demand on the site right now due to the popularity of the program.

Update: The full registration process should now be available to everyone. If you hit an issue accessing the site please keep trying – there is a high demand on the site due to the popularity of the program.

August 21st 2012 at 9:00 am | Preview, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 649 comments

August 9th 2012, 6:09 am PT

World premiere of COD: Black Ops II at Gamescom next week

If you are heading to Gamescom in Cologne, Germany next week you can be one of the first play the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Multiplayer before anyone else. Just head on over to Hall 6, booth A21/B30- A31/B30 and you can’t miss the massive multiplayer arena.

Can’t make it to Germany? No problem I’ll be there with AceyBongos for the live world premiere of Call of Duty: Black Ops II Multiplayer.   We’ll be streaming live from the Call of Duty: Black Ops II booth at Gamescom, on Wednesday, August 15 at 6PM local time (9am PST, 12pm EST/5pm GMT). Our live multiplayer world premiere will feature interviews with Treyarch and feature live gameplay from the show floor.  The Xbox LIVE broadcast will air in Europe, and North America (US and Canada).  You can also catch the show on-demand afterward on Xbox LIVE, Xbox.com (Europe only), or CallofDuty.com.

I’ll update this post with links of the streams once we get closer to the show.

Note: The Xbox live event player required to watch the live broadcast on August 15,  can be downloaded starting August 14

Update: In addition to being able to watch the stream on your Xbox 360, if you are not near your console it will be also streamed to the web at the following locations.

Xbox.com in Europe

CallofDuty.com

Twitch.tv

Facebook.com/codblackops

August 9th 2012 at 6:09 am | COD, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 50 comments

August 8th 2012, 8:19 am PT

Netflix “Just for Kids” Comes to Xbox 360

imageimage

Today brings exciting news for Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers with Netflix memberships. Once you download the most recent update to the Netflix app that is available now, you will have access to Netflix “Just for Kids.” It is an entertainment experience designed exclusively for children 12 and under that makes it easy and fun for families to browse and instantly watch a large selection of kid-friendly TV shows and movies.

Check out this video for a quick tour of the new navigation experience from our friend at Netflix, David Watson, director of product innovation.

Now, kids and parents can click and instantly watch their favorite characters, including many they’ll recognize from their favorite shows and movies. “Just for Kids” consists of titles organized by easy-to-understand genres such as superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs and girl power, featuring clear and simple descriptions of the plot of each title. And with Kinect for Xbox 360, all of your favorite entertainment on Netflix can be found by simply using your voice.

Netflix “Just for Kids” is available today in all markets where Netflix on Xbox LIVE is offered. Don’t have Netflix? You can easily download the app from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace on your console today to begin enjoying movies and TV shows instantly*.

*An Xbox LIVE Gold subscription, Netflix unlimited streaming membership and a high-speed Internet connection are required and sold separately

August 8th 2012 at 8:19 am | Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 73 comments

July 26th 2012, 9:00 am PT

2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta Now Available **UPDATED**

Update: The amount of interest in Xbox LIVE’s first public Beta has been incredible. The Xbox LIVE public Beta is now closed. Later this year our entire Xbox LIVE community will be able to experience all of the great features we will be bringing to your Xbox…Stay tuned!

With our work on the updated dashboard underway, we’re ready to announce an open call for all Xbox LIVE subscribers to participate in the 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta.

We need members of our valued community to help us fine-tune this early build of Xbox LIVE. What do you love? What would you like to see improved?

Numbers are limited, so sign up today. If you’re selected as a tester, an update will be pushed to your console once the public beta kicks off. The update will contain select dashboard features, including:

  • Internet Explorer for Xbox
  • Personalized dashboard recommendations
  • Enhanced category search and discovery features

Note: A console in the program is expected to remain fully compatible with standard retail consoles not in the program.

If you would like to participate, please register for the 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta here.

You will be required to agree to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for confidentiality reasons.

We also ask that you fill out a brief 5-minute survey at the end of the beta, to let us know what you think.

The 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta is a great opportunity to help the Xbox team by providing early feedback to make Xbox even better.

Thanks for your participation and enjoy!

Edit: Twitter appears to be down, so if be sure to add me to a circle on Google Plus for updates.
Update: Twitter is back up

July 26th 2012 at 9:00 am | Preview, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | 281 comments

July 18th 2012, 9:00 am PT

Reminder: Update Your Security Information

I wanted to make sure that you saw this letter from Alex Garden that was posted today, and more importantly remind you to check your security information and update it if necessary.

July 18th 2012 at 9:00 am | Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox.com | 21 comments

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