Essential linkage: There's a lot of cool stuff coming to the Xbox's dashbaord - but not here in Australia.
Both the Xbox and the PS3 are gunning to be the center of your home entertainment setup. With solid storage (on all but the entry level Xbox, anyway) and online connectivity, it only makes sense to make these expensive lumps of plastic ever cooler and cooler. The recent VidZone update for the PS3 is a perfect example, and now the dudes over at Ars Technica have gotten some hands on time with the next Xbox Dashboard update.
As cool as this update is sounding (more on that later), this really steams our grits for a couple of reasons - for one thing, why don't local Aussia media get this kind of love? Why do we have to rely on overseas copy for this kind of stuff?
And, secondly, why do we have to put up with an inferior overall service compared to our cross-Pacific compadres:
One of the nicest additions to the service is the ability to browse the content available via Netflix. Streaming Netflix content on your 360 used to require a computer or laptop to fill your queue, but will soon be able browse movies directly from the system-a much-needed update.
Netflix on the Xbox! Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, don't get too excited, becuase like some of the other neat new things coming in the next update, Australian console gamers are going to miss out. We asked local Xbox reps if we were getting the full Monty downunder, and got a pat response with this closing point:
The following features will be coming in future Xbox LIVE updates, which we'll be sure to let you know about.• Facebook• Twitter• Movies-on-Demand and 1080p Instant On
Yeah, so we get the super-important stuff like a streamlined interface and new clothing options for our frakking avatars, but not little things like greater social networking options and 1080p films on demand.
Grr.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012