Preview: August Xbox Live update

Microsoft unwrapped all the details regarding the new Xbox 360 Update that has now been confirmed to be available on August 11th. This update will NOT boast Microsoft's previously promised Facebook, Twitter, Zune Instant 1080p, and Last.FM compatibilities, which are now expected to be unrolled in the late fall or winter
updates.

Avatar Marketplace

Fear not, there are many new interesting features bundled in this summer update from Microsoft. First off, a new Avatar Marketplace will be introduced which will allow gamers to buy clothes for their in-game persona. Yes buy clothes, as in with real money, err Microsoft Points. Real world clothing manufactures will be featured in the Avatar Marketplace, aswell as Microsoft branded items, such as a Halo style top. Other articles of clothing can be unlocked through beating games. 'Props' will also be introduced, such as a remote control car or even possibly a pet animal that can be 'controlled' by your avatar.

Party and Friends List

Next up, Microsoft has introduced a new way to organize your friends list and has refined the party system. Users may now organize their friends list by gamertag (alphabetically), activity, and online status. Also if you or someone else drops out of the party, they can easily and automatically reconnect. Inviting people to the party can now be done through a special menu, with one press of a button you can quickly run down a list of online friends and invite up to eight people in about three or four seconds. A new veteran badge will be added to the top right side of a player's gamertag which displays the number of years the user has been a gold Xbox Live member.

Netflix

Netflix users will benefit a great deal from this new update. Subscribers can now instantly add videos to their queue directly though their Xbox 360. Gold Xbox Live members who wish to watch a movie with friends have had their wish granted. By inviting friends to party, up to four different users may view the same Netflix movie together through Xbox Live.


Games on Demand in the Marketplace and User Ratings

Both gold and silver Xbox Live users can now purchase and download Xbox 360 titles directly through the Games on Demand Marketplace. Game manuals can be downloaded and printed for free through Xbox.com website. Gamers will also be able to rank both full games and arcade titles in a five star rating system. These ranked games can now be sorted and searched for by ratings through the new refined marketplace.

The following games will be available for download on August 11th:

1. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
2. BioShock (2K Games) - North America Only
3. Burnout Paradise (EA)
4. Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
5. Dance Dance Revolution Universe (Konami) - North America Only
6. Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
7. Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios)
8. Karaoke Revolution American Idol Encore (Konami) - North America Only
9. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
10. Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
11. Meet The Robinsons (Disney)
12. MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ)
13. Need for Speed Carbon (EA)
14. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
15. Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)
16. Prey (2K Games)
17. Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft) - North America Only
18. ridge racer 6 (Namco) - North America Only
19. Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
20. Sega Rally (Sega) - Europe Only
21. Sonic the Hedgehod (SEGA) - North America Only
22. Test Drive: Unlimited (Atari)
23. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
24. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft) - Europe Only
25. Tomb Raider Legend (Eidos) - Europe Only
26. Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)
27. Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Game Studios)

Miscellaneous Updates

• Display Discovery allows for the highest possible quality of display and audio through an option that allows you to override the default input and select audio and video formats independent of the information your television sends to your Xbox 360 console.Xbox LIVE Community Games has been renamed Xbox LIVE Indie Games.

• An Achievements browser which allows you to easily read through all the achievements of a certain game while playing. You can now also launch a game directly from the browser.A new view inside the profile panel which includes a summary of Achievements earned across all the games played, and shows of all your completed games.

• Streamlined navigation, including new entry points in the dashboard for Active Downloads, redeeming codes, recovering Gamertags and more.

• When recording a voice message, a warning will pop up if no audio is detected.

• Time stamps now appear in the memory area in conjunction to your saved games.

• If your Xbox LIVE subscription is about to run out, you will now be notified when you sign into Xbox LIVE.

• Updates for Invalid Windows Live IDs. If the Windows Live ID you provided has expired, you will now be prompted to update it the next time you sign into Xbox LIVE.

• Account recovery process has been made faster and more reliable.
  

A comprehensive update from Microsoft to say the least, I'll be excited about downloading this one on Tuesday morning.

[Images courtesy of Joystiq.com]