Gamers and entertainment buffs have a reason to celebrate this week with the arrival of a new Xbox 360 dashboard experience, offering even more entertainment and a new way of controlling their console.
Coming to Xbox 360s this week, the new updated dashboard will bring internet TV offerings from ABC, SBS, YouTube, Daily Motion, Crackle, and NineMSN, adding even more entertainment content that would normally require a Smart TV.
The updated content isn’t all that’s changed, with a new look dashboard also thrown into the mix, as well as voice control, something that was previewed earlier in the year.
“Xbox is different, not only with a new look but great new content and voice control as of tomorrow,” said David McLean, Director of Microsoft Australia’s Consumer Channels Group. “We are unique in the market and plan to stay that way.”
While every Xbox 360 will have access to the IPTV content, you will need Microsoft’s motion gaming Kinect accessory to get voice control working.
Web search looks like it’ll be provided too through the dashboard, as will social networking, with achievements and game invitations being primary features of the update.
With rumours circulating recently about TV makers turning to Microsoft and its Kinect platform to compete against the rumoured Apple TV, this could be the first shot in a new interactive TV battle.
