Xbox Live to get facelift in December

GaplekNews--In what will be the third dashboard update since the Xbox 360 was launched in New Zealand, Xbox has announced that a "significant" update on December 6 will make Xbox 360 owners feel as though they "have a new Xbox".

The update will bring a new dashboard,  expanded voice control with Kinect and the "first group of entertainment custom applications". Xbox 360 users will also be able to "effortlessly navigate through their favourite entertainment on Xbox 360 using voice or gestures with Kinect for Xbox 360". This will mean Kiwis will finally be able to use their voice to control things like movie playback since Kinect launched a year ago.

Xbox says the update will bring cloud storage for game saves and Live profiles as well as enhanced family settings and Facebook sharing but the part of the press release that I was interested in was this: "Starting on December 6, a wealth of new content will be coming to Xbox 360. New customised applications for television, movies, internet videos, sports and music will begin rolling out from world-leading providers in more than 20 countries."

So, does this mean New Zealand Xbox 360 users will finally get some form of television service on their console?

That was a little too vague for my liking so I put to Xbox NZ's PR person whether this meant NZ was getting some form of TV content through Xbox Live. Here's the reply: "Unfortunately I have nothing to confirm at the moment for NZ specific content."

According to Jason Hill's Screenplay blog in Australia the update will bring ABC Iview, SBS On Demand, YouTube, Crackle and The Daily Motion video content to Xbox 360 owners across the ditch. I understand that YouTube will be coming to NZ but it would be nice if we got some form of TV service like the one the Australians enjoy. It would be great to be able to access Netflix content in New Zealand without having to go through the rigmarole of doing it through a VPN and a fake US Live account!

So, if you had a say, what sort of television and movie content would you like to see on Xbox Live for New Zealand Xbox 360 owners? stuff