Coming later in July

Jul 7, 2010 09:02 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has announced that it plans to launch a new game browser for the Xbox Live Arcade service it maintains for the Xbox 360 home console. The new tool is based on the look and feel of the Xbox 360 Dashboard and the company promises that players using it will be able to sort the games offered on the XBLA by employing a variety of attributes, from the marks they have received from other gamers to the price tag attached. There's also an option to only show those titles similar to the video games a user has already bought and enjoyed.

The fresh game browser will be called Destination Arcade, as seen in the screenshot attached to this article, and Microsoft says it will be both a “recommendation engine and visual browser app.”

It will have a newly launched game section, a sort of news feed that shows launch dates and offers coming with low prices, plus a variety of search options. At the moment, there are close to 300 video games offered on Xbox Live Arcade and users of the service have long complained about the lack of tools allowing them to discover and enjoy lesser known titles.

The software giant is not saying whether Destination Arcade will replace the existing interface of the XBLA or whether gamers will need to replace it. The launch date is currently set for July 14 and Microsoft will announce it throughout Xbox Live.

The Xbox Live interface was significantly redesigned last year in order to make it easier to understand and use by the average player. Microsoft is likely to make further changes to it in 2010, as it is getting ready to launch motion tracking peripheral Kinect. The fresh gadget might be aimed mainly at video games but the company promised it could also be used to control the entire Xbox 360 interface.