Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard update features revealed

Excited for this year’s Fall Dashboard Update for the Microsoft Xbox 360? You very well should be! Not only are we getting a ton of improvements for our mean green machine, but also the ability to download and play games we might have missed on the original Xbox. That’s putting the bang in your buck.

Check out the entire scoop about the update via the full article.

Xbox 360 owners rejoice! The highly-anticipated Fall Dashboard update for our mean green machines of next-gen joy is right around the corner, with the massive improvement-laden patch coming live this December 4. And to give you a better idea of just what’s going down come that fateful day is this equally-massive list of the new features and improvements, all of which sound too good to be true. So, without further ado, let’s get cracking.

First up on our list of changes is the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This year’s Fall Dashboard Update sees the arrival of the Xbox Originals download option. For 1200 Microsoft Points, you can download your own favorite original Xbox title and play it on your Xbox 360. Yes, you read that right: you’ll be able to download and play titles like Psychonauts, Halo, Fable and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex for only a paltry sum of Microsoft Points.

The best part? They’re practically the retail version, with no alterations or cuts. The only difference is that you download them, instead of running over to your favorite videogames store and purchasing a copy for yourself. Add to that the fact that the best-selling downloadable arcade games on Xbox LIVE having permanently-reduced prices, and the Marketplace is definitely looking sweeter and sweeter indeed.

What else we got? Enhancements all around in terms of both online and offline content. Gamers will always be on the pulse of gaming news with a new direct feed that links the Xbox LIVE dashboard to the console’s official website. An enhanced online profile lets your friends (and the whole community should you choose to let it) read and see more about you, the face behind the gamertag. Not to mention an expanded Friends List access, where you can see not only your own list but of other peoples’.

For parents worried about the games their kids are playing, worry no longer, as this year’s dashboard update also enhances Parental Controls on the Xbox 360. Family Timer, for instance, lets you set just for how long your kids can use the Xbox 360, either on a per-day or per-week basis. Sweet, isn’t it?

Here’s more of the new features included in this year’s Fall Update:

• Improved Video Library.
• Improved visuals and descriptions.
• Users can now sort movies and TV Shows in the video library by Title or (Download) Date.
• TV shows can now be grouped by Series .
• Group video and game trailers .
• Art associated with personal video files on a portable device will now be displayed.
• Easier to use media areas and improved metadata .
• Improved source selection for video, picture, and music libraries, making it easier to switch between console/digital camera, computer, portable device or disc.
• New “Suggested Items” link for downloaded movies.

Of course, that’s just a tiny chunk of the iceberg that is the complete features list, so if you want to peruse the entire thing, you’d best head over to the link we’ve supplied below.

Via Xbox.com