The Full Experience
Reviewer’s Guide to the New Xbox Experience
Starting November 19, Every Experience is a Shared Experience
WELCOME TO THE
NEW XBOX
EXPERIENCE
The New Xbox Experience is an innovative and
groundbreaking operating system for Xbox 360 with
an entirely new look and feel that makes it easier
than ever for you to connect to friends and family,
discover new content together, and explore the global
community of Xbox LIVE.
*
With the introduction of the
New Xbox Experience, Xbox 360 has evolved from a
premiere gaming console to the ultimate entertainment
destination, equally accessible to gamers playing
“Gears of War” or families watching “Ratatouille.”
The social elements are greatly enhanced as well.
Party games such as “Scene It? Box Ofce Smash”
and “You’re in the Movies” give friends and family the
opportunity to get involved and share the New Xbox
Experience, whether they’re in the same room or on
opposite sides of the globe. Expanding daily, Xbox LIVE
Marketplace is more robust than ever. By joining forces
with Netix Inc., Xbox 360 now offers an additional
12,000 choices of movies and TV episodes — more
than 25,000 pieces of video content total. This exciting
Netix feature is available at no additional cost to Xbox
LIVE Gold members who are also Netix subscribers.
Xbox LIVE provides more entertainment than any
device connected to your television.
Xbox 360 seamlessly integrates games, music, Xbox
LIVE, movies and TV shows to offer something unique
for each consumer. And starting at an estimated retail
price of $199, Xbox 360 is the most affordable next-
generation console on the market.
**
* Hard drive is recommended for Xbox LIVE, and is required for some features. Xbox LIVE Gold membership and/or other fees may apply. Netix sold separately. See xbox.com/live.
** Xbox 360 Arcade $199.99, Xbox 360 $299.99, Xbox 360 Elite $399.99.
What do I need to do?
Just sit back and wait. For Xbox LIVE members, the upgrade
will happen automatically on Nov. 19. Follow a few simple
steps and you’re done. And it’s free — all you need to do is
click on the download button. See http://www.xbox.com/
update for system requirements and more information.
What do I get?
• Easy-to-navigate New Xbox Experience interface
• Access to a vast and diverse catalog of games and movies
• Expanded Xbox LIVE Marketplace, including Netix, the
world’s largest online movie rental service
*
• The ability to watch your favorite DVD movies
• Multiple ways to stay connected to friends and family
through voice, text, instant messaging or video chat
• Wireless access to all the digital music and pictures on
your PC
**
• An innitely customizable Avatar, your virtual identity online
• Xbox LIVE parties with up to seven friends (eight total) that
allow you to share your favorite entertainment while staying
connected across the entire New Xbox Experience
• A new Community Games Channel that allows users to
create and sell their own content in the Marketplace
• The option to copy games to your hard drive, cutting load
times considerably
• Gorgeous new Themes that allow you to customize and
personalize your Xbox 360
• Rich cover art for game and movie titles
• Interactive party games for the whole family
• Improved Xbox 360 Guide Button functionality for faster
navigation
• Alphabetical search capability for Xbox LIVE Marketplace
* U.S. customers only. Gold member subscription and Netix Unlimited subscription required.
** With wireless adapter and PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista
The Next Level of Personalization
Your Avatar
Immediately after downloading the New Xbox Experience, you’ll be asked to create
your Avatar, a virtual representation of yourself. Getting started is easy — click on
Create Avatar and a group of 10 candidates in all shapes and sizes dash out and
vie for your attention. Designed by Rare Studios Inc., these Avatars are expressive
and diverse. If you don’t see one that meets your personal requirements, hit the X
button and another group scrambles in, eager to please you. This audition process
is immensely gratifying. Once you’ve found your match, hit the A button to make it
ofcial. From here, you have the option to personalize your Avatar in a multitude of
ways. Or if you’re satised with the “oor model,” you can get straight into exploring
the interface.
Make Your Avatar Your Gamer Picture
To replace your old gamer picture (gamerpic) with a snapshot of your new Avatar, go
to Gamer Picture in the Prole. You can adjust the framing of the camera as well as
make your Avatar dance around with your right thumbstick. If you’re attached to that
old gamerpic, don’t worry — you’ll still be able to use it as your online identity.
Switching Proles
From the My Xbox Channel, you can create multiple Avatar proles. This is especially
helpful for roommates or families who might be sharing a console. Or people with
split personalities. It’s also a useful way for parents to conrm that their kids have
the appropriate settings for their age group.
Choose Your Theme
Themes in the New Xbox Experience are more elaborate and detailed than ever. In addition to being a cool way to customize your
Xbox 360, these new Themes can also be integrated into your Friends Channel as background environments. If you’re a big “Halo”
fan, we suggest the Warthog and some dead aliens. “Madden” enthusiasts might prefer the colors of their favorite football team.
Customize Your Look
Time to move on to an impressive array of design options from standard features
such as body type and hair color to more specic details such as gloves, hats and
jewelry. You can even choose to have an entirely tattooed face. Another interesting
option is the ability to put makeup on women and men. Customize to your heart’s
delight. You want a mustachioed skater with a pompadour rocking some cowboy
boots? Check. Be adventurous — you can change your Avatar as often as you
like. You can also create up to 21 outts for your Avatar that properly represent
whichever mood you happen to be in. Your Avatar has moods, too. Use the right
stick to shake its head back and your Avatar gets a bit grumpy. A nod of the head
turns that frown upside down.
Party Anywhere, Anytime
Invite Your Friends
Start a party at the touch of a button. From your Friends Channel, you can tell which
of your buddies is online by whether or not their Avatar is awake. Click on their gamer
card and select Invite To Party to send an invitation. If someone’s asleep it means
they’re ofine but can jump right into the fun as soon as they wake up (sign in).
Your friends can invite people to the party, too. But if they’re harshing your mellow,
you’ve got the option to kick‘em out. It is your party, after all.
Start a Photo Party
Download the photo party application on Xbox LIVE. Photo party is available only to
LIVE Gold members. Upload your digital photos to your Xbox 360 using a wireless
connection to your PC or by using a USB drive, CD or DVD. From the My Xbox
Channel, start a party and invite up to seven friends. In minutes, you’ll be sharing
pictures on the big screen and chatting about them in real time. Multiple people can
share photos at once. You can “bam” a specic photo, making it pop to the forefront.
Friends can “bam” you back, creating a photo contest call-and-response, of sorts.
Vote on whose sunset portraits are more stunning. Embarrass your brother in front
of the entire family with candid shots from his bachelor party. Photo parties are a
great way to stay close to those you love most.
It’s not just for vacation photos, though. Hardcore gamers will be pleased to discover
that they can use this app for a variety of functions, such as sharing screenshots of
impressive frags or collectively geeking out over the new “Gears of War” maps.
Stay connected to friends, family and the worldwide
community across all games and channels with
interactive parties for the New Xbox Experience. Chat
before, during and after any game with up to eight
friends (including you) on Xbox LIVE. Play games, share
personal pictures, or nd new and exciting activities to
do together as you move through each possibility of
the Xbox 360 landscape without borders or limitations.
Every experience is a shared experience.
Community Games Gives You the Chance to Shine
Community Games allows game developers to turn their hobbies into full-edged
careers. You can distribute games directly to millions of consumers over Xbox LIVE
and potentially make lots of money. Consumers will be able to search, view and
rate community games on Xbox.com, watch trailers, and even create a queue to
download titles directly to their console. Not only is this a huge opportunity for
aspiring developers, but gamers now have more video game options than ever.
Xbox LIVE Marketplace
Xbox LIVE Marketplace is your online game and movie store, featuring more than
20,000 titles to browse, preview and purchase with Microsoft Points. As always,
demos and trailers are free.
A new alphabetical search option makes it easy to nd the best games, map
packs, movies and more. Rich, detailed cover art makes shopping more enjoyable.
Marketplace is now available on the Web at Xbox.com, so if you nd an awesome
“Rock Band” track on your lunch break at work, you can buy it online and it’ll start
downloading as soon as you get home and turn on your Xbox 360. You can access
Marketplace from anywhere now.
Netix Joins the Experience
Xbox LIVE Marketplace now offers instant streaming of movies from Netix,
the world’s largest online movie rental service. The inclusion of Netix brings an
additional 12,000 movies and TV episodes that can be watched instantly on your TV
through Xbox 360.
*
Video playback streams instantly at near-DVD quality, and users
are able to rate movies they’ve watched via Xbox LIVE.
Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netix subscribers can instantly watch
blockbuster movies and hit TV shows at no additional cost. Silver members are only
a few clicks away from a free trial membership. Use your Guide Button to nd Netix
in Video Marketplace and get started.
* U.S. only, for LIVE Gold members with Netix unlimited subscriptions only; includes Starz Play library of 2,500 movies,
TV shows and concerts
YOU ASKED FOR IT,
WE DID IT...
Go Anywhere with the Guide Button
Use your Guide Button to explore anywhere, anytime,
in or out of games, across all channels. Here you’ll
see a sleek, streamlined version of the familiar
blades interface you’ve grown to love. You can access
your full games library at all times, in addition to
Marketplace and your Friends Channel. No more B
button mashing to back out to the Dashboard. Keep
moving and discovering. Save time, save your thumbs.
The Guide Button is also a handy way to see your
wireless controller’s battery life, time of day, how
many friends you have online, and your Achievements
and Gamerscore.
Install Games to the Hard Drive
Instead of always playing from the disc, we made it
possible for you to copy games to your hard drive.
This will cut loading times 30 percent to 50 percent.
That’s huge. If you have a few favorites that you play
daily, you can get into them faster than ever. And like
everything else in the new interface, it’s easy — pop
your disc in, use your Guide Button to go to My Xbox
Channel, select Install to Drive and you’re done.
It’s worth noting that saving to the hard drive is
optional, not required. If you’re just testing a game
out, you can still play from the disc. Another key thing
to mention: If you delete a game from your drive to
create space, your game will still be saved for the
future if you decide to play it again later. Any content
you’ve purchased from Xbox LIVE can be deleted and
downloaded again without charging you twice. For
obvious reasons, we recommend that you get a hard
drive to have sufficient room for your entire library.
Saving your games to the hard drive virtually
eliminates the noise of your spinning game disc. For all
you sound geeks out there, the actual volume level has
been reduced by 7db. That means you can hear more
subtle nuances in your games and music collections. It
also enhances voice chat with friends on Xbox LIVE.
Ditch Your Zero Gamerscores
We know your Gamerscore is important to you. We
want you to get Achievements, too. And just because
you (or someone else who uses your console) played
a game once and didn’t like it doesn’t mean it should
be held against you for all eternity. So now we offer
you the ability to ditch the zero score games from your
history. Happy now? Good.
Browse the Marketplace Alphabetically
No more scrolling through endless titles to find the
content you want. Using your Guide Button, go to
Game Marketplace, scroll down to select All Games
or All Videos and search alphabetically. If you don’t
know what you’re looking for, browse by genre.
Keep Your Old Gamerpics and Themes
Don’t worry — all the gamerpics and Themes that
you downloaded will still work with the New Xbox
Experience. We haven’t taken anything away, just
added features and made it more user-friendly. And
if you think Avatars are too cutesy, try giving yours a
Mohawk, fangs and a facial tattoo.
Microsoft’s primary goal of the New Xbox Experience is to expand our audience while still remaining true to our
devoted faithful. Xbox LIVE currently has 14 million members, with a new person joining every five seconds. Xbox
wouldn’t be where it is today without their support and continued contribution to this constantly evolving process.
We listen to suggestions and value opinions. With that in mind, we implemented some changes to address specific
needs and requests.
Core Updates
PLAY WITH THE WHOLE
FAMILY
Timed with the release of the New Xbox Experience are a handful of lighthearted, interactive titles that introduce
party gaming to family members and friends of all ages.
“Scene It? Box Ofce Smash”
“Scene It? Box Ofce Smash” is a great way to entertain guests at your next social
gathering. Up to four players or teams match wits in a trivia game featuring the
movies they love. Complete with HD content, all-new questions and a variety of
engaging puzzles, “Scene It” provides hours of entertainment as you challenge your
friends and family to see whose movie knowledge reigns supreme. “Scene It” is also
the rst game on Xbox 360 to debut with the console’s new Avatars, personalized
characters that respond to play and interact with each other. You can literally put
yourself in the game. (Xbox LIVE Gold membership required for online multiplayer.)
“Lips”
Released exclusively for the Xbox 360, “Lips” is the only singing game that offers
wireless motion-sensitive microphones and the ability to sing from your own
music collection. Keiichi Yano, celebrated developer behind “Gitaroo Man” and
other acclaimed rhythm games, brings his latest vision of collaborative and social
entertainment to the Xbox 360.
(Sing along to DRM-free music on select popular music players. Lyrics will not display
on screen when singing to your music. To learn more, visit http://xbox.com/lips.)
“You’re in the Movies”
“You’re in the Movies”
*
combines cool with kitsch as you live out your dreams of
becoming a scream queen, zombie or kung fu master. Using the Xbox LIVE Vision
camera, players’ minigame actions are captured and placed into short, riotous lms
that put the spotlight on the unique and often dubious acting talents of friends and
family. You also have the option of jumping into Director Mode by choosing music,
recording voice over and editing the nal cut.
* Published by Microsoft and Codemasters; developed by Zoe Mode
THE NEW XBOX EXPERIENCE IS
YOU ME US WE • PLAY PARTY SHARE • HERE THERE • WHEREVER WHENEVER
EVERY EXPERIENCE IS A SHARED EXPERIENCE
Glossary
Achievements
Earn achievements online or ofine. Achievements
indicate progress, skill and accomplishment.
Avatar
Your virtual representation in the Xbox LIVE community.
Avoid Player
If someone gets on your nerves, you can designate
them as an avoided player. This makes the gamer very
unlikely to show up in matchmaking. How to do it:
When submitting a review, you can choose to “avoid
this player.”
Channel
One of many menus containing content on Xbox 360.
Inside each channel are multiple slots with pertinent
info for games, movies, videos, etc.
Chat
A private voice chat. You can chat with one person at a
time, but you can have multiple channels of chat open.
Switch back and forth whenever you like.
Chat Invite
Set up a private chat with any gamer on your Friends
List. Chat invites can be found in your Message Center.
Custom Match
Similar to OptiMatch on Xbox. Set up a game based
on whatever criteria you decide: track, level, game
type, etc.
Family Zone
The Xbox LIVE Gamer Zone that is appropriate for all
members of the family.
Friend
A gamer you have added to your Friends List, either by
sending or accepting a friend request.
Friends Channel
Where you can see which of your friends are online and
what they’re currently doing.
Friend Request
An invitation to make another gamer your friend. Send
them or accept them.
Friends List
Your personal gaming posse of up to 100 gamers. This
list can be edited and updated whenever you like.
Gamer Picture (Also Gamerpic)
The picture gamers choose to represent themselves.
This picture will appear on your gamer card on Xbox
LIVE and on Xbox.com.
Gamer Prole
Includes all the information found on a gamer card, and
a list of all your achievements. The detailed resume of
your gaming life.
Gamer Card
Includes a quick hit of information on a gamer: gamer
picture, Gamerscore, reputation, Gamer Zone and
motto. The business card of your gaming life.
Gamerscore
The cumulative score of all your Achievements.
Each disc-based game is worth up to 1,000 points,
while Xbox LIVE Arcade titles are worth up to 200
points. The higher you score, the more varied your
gaming experience.
Gamertag
Your online gaming persona. Can be up to 15 characters
long and is not case-sensitive.
Messages
All your communications to and from other gamers in
the Xbox LIVE network.
Player Match
Matchmaking based on your gamer prole. If you
choose a player match, you’ll get paired against gamers
with similar Gamer Zone, Gamerscore and reputation.
Preferred Player
If you play with a great gamer, you can designate that
player as a preferred player. This makes that gamer
more likely to show up in matchmaking. How to do it:
When submitting a player review, you can choose to
“prefer this player.”
Recreation Zone
The Xbox LIVE Gamer Zone for both casual gamers
and those who like hardcore games with a laid-back
attitude.
Rep
See reputation.
Reputation
Your rating as a gamer, earned through feedback from
other players. Great gamers with awesome feedback
can have up to ve stars.
Ring of Light
The green circle surrounding the power button on the
Xbox 360. It lights up during the startup animation. The
four quadrants of light show which controller is active.
Slot
A subset of a channel that features content available
for download on Xbox LIVE.
Spotlight Channel
Highlights what’s new and exciting in Xbox LIVE
Marketplace.
TrueSkill
An Xbox LIVE matchmaking system that uses game
input to compute a player’s rank relative to particular
games and game modes.
Underground Zone
The Xbox LIVE Gamer Zone for gamers who like their
competition served up with a healthy dose of smack
talk. Anything goes.
Xbox Guide
The always-accessible display that takes you to your
Message Center, your music controls, Friends List and
personal settings. Use it while you’re playing a game
and watching a movie — whenever.
Xbox Guide Button
The silver button in the center of an Xbox 360
Controller. Use this button to bring up the Xbox Guide.
Xbox LIVE Gamer Zone
Indicates your personal gaming style. Gamer Zones
include Family, Pro, Recreation and Underground. You
can change your Gamer Zone at any time.
