14 DAY TRIAL // MTV Games has released an Xbox 360 add for the Harmonix developed Rock Band 2 that apparently gives away the date when the Xbox Live re-design kicks in. The commercial spot references November as being the month when Microsoft updates the system. The phrase used is “Check out the New Xbox Experience coming in November”.
Microsoft presented the way the Xbox Live dashboard would look back at the E3 trade show. In its press conference, it emphasized the way the new Xbox Experience would create a fresh environment for gamers, by including a redesigned dashboard, 3D Avatars that would be pretty much Xbox 360 adapted Miis, Live Parties that would allow eight player groups to chat and share things and a service called Xbox Live Primetime, which would include game shows. Netflix streaming will also be included in the fall update or will come shortly after that. All the new features are made specifically to attract more casual gamers.
Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, who is pretty versed in the way the console works, said that, on Monday, September 29, the Xbox Live service would be down for a whole 24 hours so that Microsoft could update it to accommodate the fresh features. When the service comes back up, there will be no new functionality, so do not get your hopes up.
Taking a look at the release schedule for the Xbox 360 games, it seems appropriate that Microsoft will be aiming for the first part of the month, to make sure that the launches in late November and early December will land on the new, re-designed service. Considering that this is a major part of the company's plan to promote its console as Christmas draws near, we might be in for a bumpy ride, with some glitches being almost inevitable.