A Letter from Marc Whitten: The Fall 2010 Xbox LIVE Update

From the MS press release (letter from Marc Whitten - corporate vice president of Xbox Live):
[QUOTE]
Just three months ago at E3 2010, I shared with you the latest entertainment experiences coming to Xbox LIVE, including ESPN and Zune music. Today, I’m excited that tens of thousands of you will receive an advanced look at these new experiences through the Xbox LIVE Preview program.

What you’ll find is that we’re continuing to bring you amazing content to enjoy on Xbox LIVE, we’re making your entertainment social and interactive, and we’re continuing to refine and build on our best experiences.

With this update, we are adding 3,500 live and on-demand sporting events per year, including out of market games, from ESPN3.com and 11 million music tracks from Zune at launch in the US. We are also adding Netflix search to existing features like movie parties to ensure Xbox LIVE continues to be the best way to enjoy Netflix.

With ESPN on Xbox LIVE, available to members in the US, we’re building in interactive features that will let you keep up on the latest scores from around the sports world without leaving the game you’re watching, follow your favorite leagues, predict a winner and see how the rest of the community voted on a particular game. The social nature of our LIVE platform will let you voice chat with up to seven friends on the other coast while watching the big game as if they were sitting next to you in the stadium.

Last year, we delivered tens of thousands of videos instantly in up to 1080p HD to Xbox 360 for the first time, and this fall with the expansion of the Zune music experience on Xbox LIVE, members in the US, U.K., France, Italy and Spain can enjoy unlimited, instant streaming of millions of songs via a Zune Pass music subscription and see what their friends are listening to on the largest screen in the house. What’s better is that you’ll be able to enjoy Zune music and video across your Xbox 360 console, PC and, this holiday, Windows Phone 7.

Also included in this Xbox LIVE update is the launch of Netflix on Xbox LIVE in Canada, a refreshed Xbox LIVE dashboard and updated Xbox LIVE Family Settings so you can help choose the right play and viewing settings for your family.

But this is only the beginning. With the launch of Kinect for Xbox 360, I truly believe that the best of Xbox LIVE will become extraordinary. This amazing technology will allow you, your friends, and family to navigate ESPN, Zune, Sky Player, and Last.fm on Xbox LIVE with just the sound of your voice and the wave of your hand.

I’m also excited to confirm that Video Kinect will integrate with Windows Live Messenger at launch, so Xbox LIVE members can video chat with hundreds of millions of PC users around the world. Video Kinect will use Kinect to bring the people you care about right into your living room without a headset, and adjust automatically to capture everyone in the room.

Every year we’ve pushed ourselves to deliver the best games and entertainment, and I’m incredibly proud of my team, and what we’re delivering to Xbox LIVE this fall. Our goal is to continue innovating and delivering experiences that are meaningful to you. So you can enjoy the entertainment you want, with the people you care about, in a simple way. Keep playing, keep sharing, and keep pushing us.