Xbox 360 Fall Update and More

The fall dashboard update for the Xbox 360 is running a little late this year. According to Official Xbox Magazine, it should happen on December 4th. Will it be worth the wait? Well parents will be able to use the new Family Settings to limit the time childen playing games. Thats enough Viva Pinata, little Jimmy. Sadly, this is unlikely to curtail the pint sized razor tongued demons I meet nightly in the Xbox Live lobbies of various M rated games. At least MS is trying.

Also coming with this update will be Xbox’s own virtual console! Original Xbox games will be available for 1200 Microsoft points ($15). The launch lineup will be the original Halo (obviously) Fahrenheit, Fable, Crimson Skies, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex and Burnout 3: Takedown. Compatibility with Xbox Live is expected for those titles that supported it (Crimson Skies, Burnout).

Those in Europe will be pleased to find out they’re finally getting Video Marketplace. Now they too can finally download episodes of South Park for $2 a pop.

In a little more immediate news, Screwjumper is now Xbox Live Arcade’s 100th game. To celebrate this as well as 2 years of the service they’re promising a surprise new game next Wednesday that is a “sequel to Xbox Live Arcade’s most successful game.”
I haven’t checked the numbers in a while. That could be early hit Geometry Wars, the card game Uno, or even this year’s best selling classic arcade title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

No matter what, there seems to be no shortage of downlaodable content on Xbox Live these days, which is frustrating since I’m still trying to clear Halo 3, haven’t touched Orange Box yet, and Assassin’s Creed comes out this week.