Xbox Live's Major Nelson : new Xbox experience

Preview Program Wave 3 has begun (and an update for 1st an 2nd wave)

Major Nelson — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:22:00 GMT

The great thing about our Xbox LIVE previews is the people who participate in them - you. Thanks for all your feedback. Based on your suggestions, today we'll be sending out a fix to some of the items you pointed out in the first and second waves of the preview. The third wave of the preview starts today. You'll be seeing a prompt for another update this afternoon . Keep the feedback coming Not in it yet ? What are you waiting for? Sign up now.

Rock your Avatar in Guitar Hero 5

Major Nelson — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:06:40 GMT

Earlier today, Activision announced that you can use your Xbox avatar as a playable character in game. If you want a preview of what this will look like, download the special GH 5 trailer from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. In the trailer, you’ll Xbox’s own Don Mattrick, Shane Kim, Phil Spencer and Marc Whitten take their Avatars from mild-mannered video game geeks to glam-rockin’ metalheads and “Shout It Out Loud” with a Redmond rendition of KISS. I am sure If there was a way to have your avatar as a roadie, that’s where you’d find mine with this band.

Listen to my weekly podcast when I post it this Sunday, where I’ll have the Guitar Hero 5 producer on to discuss how this avatar integration will work.

Add this Guitar Hero 5 video with the Xbox team to your Xbox 360 download queue

Preview Program Update

Major Nelson — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:45:57 GMT

Waves 1 and 2 of the Xbox LIVE Update Preview Program have been pushed out and we have seen quite a few Xbox LIVE members already download and start checking out all the new features in this update. We are collecting the necessary information for another Wave, so please hang tight if you have been accepted but have not received your update yet. A fair number of you have not provided accurate information (like an invalid console ID or serial number) so if you previously signed up, and have not received the update, you may want to visit connect and confirm your information.

If you haven’t signed up yet, you are still in luck – we are is still taking additional signups. You can do read more about the program on my blog, or on Xbox.com. If you want to get some of your friends to try the new Netflix party mode, get then to sign up and you can try it out together!

Preview Program Emails are being sent out

Major Nelson — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:29:24 GMT

We’re in the process of sending notification emails out to the first group of people for the Xbox LIVE Update Preview Program. Please check your email (and spam folder…just in case) to see if you were selected. If we stay on schedule, those selected should receive a prompt to accept the update later today/tonight.

We’ll be sending another wave of notifications later this week, but we are holding registration open a bit longer to make sure everyone has a chance to participate. If you signed up but did not receive a mail yet, please head over to the connect site and review your information to make sure it is correct. I am being told that there are quite a few people did not properly complete the survey. If this is the first you are reading about the Preview Program, go ahead and sign up and you may be chosen to participate before the update is released on August 11th.

Update: Sign in to the connect site to see if you are accepted, since many of you did not opt-in to allow us to send you emails, or your email was not properly record in the system.

Cool shades for your Avatar

Major Nelson — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:50:00 GMT

A whole new set of eyewear is now available for your Avatar.

Mens:

Black Shutter Shades
Red Shutter Shades
White Shutter Shades
Hippy Shades

Ladies:

Blue Shutter Shades
Green Shutter Shades
Yellow Shutter Shades

All clothing choices are free, and will remain available. It is easy to tell what is new when you are in the avatar editor, just look for the gold star. Any item of clothing with a gold star is new since the last time you signed in to the avatar editor.

Avatar Summer Wear

Major Nelson — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:18:00 GMT

It’s Officially Summer, which means (at least for the Northern Hemisphere) its time to bust out the warm weather wear. The following items are now available for download as part of the latest release of apparel for your avatar:

Male

Rashguard
White Vest
Swim Shorts
Surfer Shorts

Female

Flower Vest
Surfer Hot Pants
Surfer Shorts
Surfer Skirt
Surfer Dress

At E3? Come by and get the first Xbox Avatar prop

Major Nelson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:23:00 GMT

In his letter to the community yesterday, Xbox LIVE's Marc Whitten (Notwen) outlined some of the new things we're bringing to the Xbox LIVE service later this year. One of the new features we have is called props which will allow you to add cool new items for your avatar to interact with. If you are attending E3 this year, you have a very special opportunity to get the very first prop: An 2009 E3 Trophy cup that will commemorate your attendance to this years show.

All you need to do is drop by the Xbox 360 booth and sign up. Later this year, we'll email you a code for your prop that you can download from the upcoming Avatar Marketplace.
Look for the special sign up computer we've set up in the Xbox LIVE section of the booth. (South Hall, Booth 1523) If you’re having trouble finding the right section, it’s on the side facing Ubisoft’s booth.

Tell them Major sent you.

Geek out your Avatar

Major Nelson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:53:00 GMT

While E3 is happening, it’s time to channel your inner Geek into your Avatar! The following items are now available for download as part of the latest release of apparel for your avatar:

Male

Work Shirt

70’s Plaid Flares

Jam Jar Glasses

Female

Knitted Vest

Gingham Shirt

Thread Skirt

Crackdown Premium Theme Preview

Major Nelson — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:09:00 GMT

I just got word that a Crackdown NXE Theme is coming to Marketplace tomorrow. I’m a big Crackdown fan, so I was pretty excited when I was able to get a preview of what it will look like as well.

Here are the details as they’ll appear in Marketplace tomorrow MORNING after 0700 ET/0300 PT

If you a Crackdown fan, be sure to download the Agility Orb sound file. It makes a great message tone for your mobile phone!

Content: Play More Crackdown!
Price: 240 Microsoft Points
Availability: Not available in Germany
Dash Text: Two years later, Crackdown is still an awesome game. Here’s a new Premium Theme in celebration of its sheer awesomeness. Why not dust off your copy, give your friends a nudge, and go stir up some mayhem in Pacific City?

Edit: Updated region availability

New shoes are now available for your Avatar

Major Nelson — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:48:00 GMT

The next time you sign into Xbox LIVE, check out the newly-released avatar shoes. I’ve posted pictures of a few of them over at Flickr. . As a bonus for all you single guys, we’ve included the ever-popular socks with sandals look. Chicks can’t resist it.

As usual, all of the avatar clothing items are FREE, so try ‘em all on!

For the guys, you have

Flip Flops
High Top Sneakers
Socks and Sandals
70’s Leather Platforms

For the ladies, check out:

Sunny Day Sandals
White 60’s Boots

Tip: It is easy to tell what is new when you are in the avatar editor, just look for the gold star. Any item of clothing with a gold star is new since your last sign in

1 vs 100 Beta is on in Canada

Major Nelson — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:54:00 GMT

Starting this Friday, May 8th our fine friends in Canada are going to get the very first look at the new Xbox LIVE show 1 vs 100 when the team rolls out a beta just for Canada*. If you have have an Xbox LIVE Gold account in Canada, you’ll want to check out the beta since in addition to it being a lot of fun, they’re also giving away real prizes. Hit the 1 vs 100 page on Xbox.com for FAQ’s, Rules and more. Keep an ear out as well, as I may drop in a few nights as ‘guest host.’

*I have a feeling there may be a lot of Hockey related questions, don’t you?

New clothing now available for your Avatar (Hip Hop)

Major Nelson — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:36:00 GMT

The following items are now available for download as part of the latest release of apparel for your avatar:

For the men we have:
Denim Shorts
Faded Jeans with Print
Striped Visor Beanie
Diamond Stud Earrings
Square Stones Ring

And for the ladies:
Oversized Jacket with Chains
Short Shorts
Sports Vest
Diamond Stud Earrings

Be a part of the Xbox LIVE team meeting

Major Nelson — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:06:00 GMT

Later today, we’re having one of our regularly scheduled team meetings with the entire Xbox LIVE team. We do this every so often and it goes something like this: the Xbox LIVE General Manager (Notwen) provide updates and members of the team will do demos of cool unreleased thing we’re working on.

The meeting is only open to members of the LIVE team, and while what we talk about and demo is stuff we can’t share publically yet, we do want to give you a chance to be a part of the meeting.

Here is how:

Before, during and after the meeting, we’ll have a screen showing real time updates from twitter that are tagged with the twitter hashtag of #heyxboxlive. This big screen will be in front of the entire team, so you’ll have a attentive audience. Ever wish you could say something to the entire Xbox LIVE team? This is your chance. The meeting will be today between 3pm and 5p PT. (what time is that in your time zone?) I am posting this now, so you can start thinking of what you’d like to share with our team….but don’t post too early or we won’t see ‘em!

I’ll also post a reminder when we get closer to 3pm on my twitter page, and once the meeting kicks off you can watch the comments/suggestions etc. stream by here.

Thanks for being a part of our meeting.

How the Xbox 360 download queue works

Major Nelson — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:33:00 GMT

When we launched the web marketplace in last November, we introduced the ability for Xbox LIVE members to browse Marketplace through Xbox.com and easily add game and video content to your Xbox 360 download queue. That meant when you turned on your Xbox 360 console, and signed into LIVE, you would immediately start downloading items you added from the web Marketplace. If you own more than one console, or travel with your Xbox LIVE profile on an MU or HDD, it’s possible that your downloads don’t start immediately upon sighing in to LIVE, and that has left you puzzled.

You may have added things to your queue and then signed in on a console and gone to your Active downloads only to notice things are not automatically starting to download like you thought.

Your active download screen may look something like this:

What does Assigned to another console mean? And how do you make items automatically download to the console you are signed into?

Let me back up a little bit and explain how web marketplace works.

After NXE launched, the very first console that you used to download any Marketplace items is seen as your main console. That means anytime you add items to your queue, they’ll automatically start downloading when you sign in with that console.

Now, for most people that is fine. But if you have more than one console, or you travel around a lot, your main console status may have been assigned to a console that was not in fact what you consider to be your main console. To be more specific, if you sign in with any other console, you’ll see the above message and your items will be pending and assigned to another console.

I’ll now show you how you can make whatever console you want your main console.

First, add something to your download queue from the web marketplace. Then, sign in to the console that you want to make your main console and navigate to active downloads (press the guide button -> Marketplace -> Active Downloads.) When you see the above screen shot showing the item you added to your queue assigned to another console, simply select it and press A and you’ll be greeted with this message:

From here Select Download All Items

Once you do that, your download will begin, but more importantly choosing Download All Items tells the Xbox LIVE service to make the console you are currently signed in to LIVE with your main console.

From that point forward, anytime you add items to your download queue from the web marketplace and you sign in on that console your downloads will begin the moment you sign in to LIVE. You can change what console the service considers your main console as frequently as you would like by repeating the above steps.

Of course if you select Download this item only, the service will download that one item and not change what console is your main console.

Hopefully this will help you understand how the Web Marketplace works in relation to your Active Downloads.

Edit: I made a few edits for clarity.

Business clothes now available for your avatar

Major Nelson — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:09:00 GMT

This week it’s time to get down to business for your Avatars. The following business wear is now available for your avatar:

Male

Blue Formal Shirt

Moleskin Pants

Waistcoat and Shirt

Suit and Tie

Female

Pencil Skirt

Slacks

Pinstripe Blazer

Twin Set

Western Wear clothes now available for your avatar

Major Nelson — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:22:00 GMT

Headed to South By Southwest 2009 later this week? If so, get your Avatar duded up for your trip to Lone Star state. Not going to Texas? Don’t worry about it…you can still get in on the Western Wear action now available for your Avatar. Giddy yup!