Daily Loaf

There were several enormous bombshells dropped today at Microsoft’s E3 press conference. Among the various expected and unexpected game titles was the news that Microsoft will be integrating Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm into their LIVE services, as well as looking to improve their current Netflix and streaming video offerings. When you consider that Microsoft is attempting to pull in the entire family to using their consoles – as well as attracting non-gaming families – this is a move that makes a great deal of sense.

Twitter, a 140-character microblogging service already wildly popular with users from 18-49 years of age, will be given a NXE-avatar interface.  Users will be able to read their Twitterstream, tweet, and even link their Twitter and Xbox LIVE accounts together, enabling people to find their friends – and play together on LIVE – easier. Facebook’s new Xbox 360 home will resemble one of the current menus, offering the option to read your timeline, check in on friends, and even view pictures from you and your friends in full-size on your television. Additionally, they previewed the option to catch screenshots from your games to upload to your friends on Facebook to show off the different things you’re doing in-game – or to talk smack.

Last.fm, an interesting hybrid of social network and Internet radio station will also be making the jump to the 360 in the not too distant future. While the full Last.fm site allows you to locate friends and check out their music, this new service appears to be geared primarily towards getting to your own Last.fm playlists, favorites, and streaming them to your 360, with perhaps a bit less focus on the social aspects. Honestly, I hope they find a way to integrate at least some of the friends functionality; I’ve picked up quite a bit of interesting new music by checking out what my friends have favorited or scrobbled. In either case, it’s certainly a welcome addition, and will be offered as a free service for Xbox LIVE Gold accounts.

Finally, I must give a nod to the planned improvements to the Netflix service on the 360. Already wildly popular, having crossed over the 1 million users mark in February, the 360 Netflix experience has been a split proposition. Users have been required to sign on to their Netflix account on their PCs so they can search for and add streaming movies to their queue, only to then have to switch back from computer to 360 to watch them on their televisions. Tres clunky. Now they’ve announced that they will add the ability for users to browse their streaming offerings, and add things to their queue from within the 360 Netflix interface – a seriously overdue improvement. Additionally, they are changing their own video service to all 1080p offerings, which will be immediate-viewing capable due to a similar type of streaming technology as Netflix employs. This means no longer will you have to wait on a ridiculously slow download to enjoy your movie; it’s all instant gratification from here on in.

You really can’t deny it; despite console hardware issues that have earned them piles of ridicule, they are doing an amazing job of adding more and more value to the 360, making it far more than just a toy for kids (or kids-at-heart). Microsoft are positioning their console to become the family’s all-in-one source for entertainment, and adding more and more value to make the price-tag worthwhile to those who are still resistant to drop the cash on one.

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