Xbox Live updates announced at E3

Microsoft has announced a number of new updates to Xbox Live at E3. The update that has seen the most interest is the ability for players to copy games from a DVD to the Xbox 360's hard drive.

The new system will allow games and movies to copy directly to the Xbox 360 hard drive, bypassing the need for the noisy disc drive to spin up and start making a racket while also allowing games to run faster and smoother.

Microsoft hasn't offered any information yet on copy protection, but the safe bet is that the disc will still need to check the disc periodically to avoid piracy.

The press conference also saw the announcement that users will be able to access the Xbox Live Marketplace on any computer or web-enabled device and download new content from there.

Another new feature is the Live Party function which will allow up to eight friends to join up and play with each other as they move from game to game, while also sharing videos and photos with each other.

New display support is also being added - including 16x10 over VGA or HDMI and support for 1440x900 and 1680x1050.

Article appeared on www.bi-tech.net.