We just wanted to take a moment to remind you: If you're the sort who likes to preserve their digital privacy, an e-hermit if you will, you'll want to beat cheeks over to Xbox.com and change your "Friends of Friends" preferences. As we speak, people are looking at your friends list. And they're judging you ... harshly.

This also gives us the opportunity to ask a question we've been considering: How will you set your preferences? Do you care if the earth eyeballs your list? Are you going to restrict it to friends? Or are you going to hide your friend light under a proverbial bushel?

Will you share your Xbox 360 Friends list?

With the whole world!Only with friends.No way on earth.Vote

A recently purchased Microsoft Points Card package (manufactured in Ireland) confirms the impending launch of Xbox Live Video Marketplace in Europe, apparently limited to the UK, Ireland, France, and Germany. The packaging also suggests that users will be able to rent "great movies" (in high-def), but does not mention the possible availability of television content.

Microsoft has loosely targeted a year-end release for Video Marketplace in parts of Europe (and Canada), and with this new evidence, we should expect Tuesday's Dashboard Update to include the service in all relevant territories.

[Thanks, RazorD]

Microsoft Japan recently held a small press briefing detailing some of the new features bundled into the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update. With the help of Engadget Japanese's Ittousai we've been able to pinpoint a few relevant changes that are in store for next Tuesday's update. The most significant addition is the reorganization of the "games" blade (pictured above), which now features the "Games Library" (in place of "Xbox Live Arcade"), in addition to the old "Achievements" and "Played Games" sections.

When opened, the Games Library is nearly identical to the current XBLA menu, with a vertically-scrolling games list and an info box appearing for the highlighted game [Famitsu image]. New, however, is a horizontal sorting menu, broken down by filters like "All Games," "Arcade," "Demos," and "Recent Downloads." (This new horizontal and vertical organization is not unlike Sony's XMB design -- Microsoft calls it "twist" navigation, the same UI used for Zune.)

Additional Fall Update features:

• Top level of "marketplace" has been reorganized and reduced to four categories: "Featured Content," "What's New," "Game Store," and "Video Store" (below top level, categories will be navigated by twist, just like the Games Library)
  
• "Personal Profile" added to Gamer Profile; text field allowing approx. 500-1000 characters, providing space to publish name, nationality, region, and self introduction. (Further social networking tools to accompany 'Friends of Friends' functionality)
• XBLA demos deleted from "Played Games" and Gamercard lists
  

Note: This feature set is by no means complete, and we should expect to see variations in and additions to the North American update, which will be made available on Dec. 4th.

Read - Game Watch (Impress)
Read - Famitsu

The size and quality of your Xbox 360 friends list is sort of like the thickness and number of pockets in your Trapper Keeper were in middle school: It's an undeniable barometer of coolness among a very specific subset of people. After Dec. 4's fall update, you'll finally be able to judge your friends' binders e-popularity with the new "Friends of Friends" feature.

Unless they've disabled it right here, you'll be able to flip through others' friends lists to see how they stack up to yours, maybe even add a few prized names to your own. It's a cool feature, but it has us a bit worried about list capacity. With the new opportunities to make friends, could we have more than 100? Please?

[Via X3F]

Well that didn't take long. Microsoft has issued a press release confirming reports from earlier today that original Xbox games will soon be available for download from Xbox Live Marketplace. The games -- referred to as "Xbox Originals" -- mentioned explicitly by Microsoft were Halo, Crimson Skies, Fable, and Psychonauts, though it's unclear if all of these titles will be available on the day the service launches. That day, incidentally, is not December 2 as previously reported, but rather December 4. As noted by the press release, "This new service will launch with an array of blockbuster titles spanning the most popular genres from action-adventure to classic role-playing games." Classic role-playing games on the original Xbox? Really? All three of them? Anyway, the games will be available for the previously reported price of 1200 MS Points ($15). Whether or not the launch lineup that was reported earlier is accurate remains to be seen.

Microsoft also added some announcements about the fifth anniversary of the launch of Xbox Live on November 15. In celebration, Microsoft will be offering a free download of the Xbox Live Arcade game Carcassonne (Hexic 2 in Korea) starting at 12:01am EST November 15. The game will be free to all subscribers for 48 hours. Also, all subscribers who have been a member of Xbox Live since 2002 will receive 500 MS Points for free.

And here we were hoping our favorite console was going to learn how to make julienne fries. Alas, no. Instead, the Fall Dashboard Update for the Xbox 360 brings with it the ability to download original Xbox games. The news comes from Official Xbox Magazine (by way of CVG, whose article has since been pulled), which reports that the update will be available December 2nd. The first round of Xbox titles up for grabs are Halo: Combat Evolved (duh), Fable, Indigo Prophecy, Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex, and Burnout 3.

Microsoft apparently plans to make as much of the original Xbox catalogue available as possible (can we get to work on Panzer Dragoon Orta, please?). Games are expected to cost 1200 MS Points ($15 U.S.).

Of course, there are still some unanswered questions. How much space will the games take up? Will they be upscaled to HD (we're betting yes)? Will Halo: Combat Evolved fans finally get Live enabled multiplayer? All the games on the list have 360 sequels already out or in the works except Crimson Skies and Indigo Prophecy. Is this a hint that the rumored Crimson Skies sequel is real? Is Indigo Prophecy getting a much deserved sequel? Only time will tell, but at least you shouldn't have to wait too long.

[Via Joystiq]

Team Xbox has singled out a recent posting on the official Xbox forums declaring a class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft because of hardware problems initiated by the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update. The alleged plaintiff, known by gamertag REDRUM6622, has supposedly accused Microsoft of a breach of contract, violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and negligence; and he has demanded that a jury weigh the allegations.

There has not yet been official verification of the lawsuit's authenticity, but real or not, someone has taken the time to draft a detailed claim -- could it all be for a few laughs? We shall see.

Last Tuesday, we found ourselves rushing out to a local Toys "R" Us to pick up Microsoft's official VGA cable after our trusty Dell 2405FPW balked at dishing out 1080p over component. Regardless, we wanted to watch our 1080p upscaled DVDs and -- due to all sorts of arcane legal restrictions -- Microsoft is only able to offer that service over VGA and not component (note: reason #38 why we want an HDMI connection).

So, you'll appreciate our dismay when we plugged in our new ($50!) cable, only to find that our display had serious issues with the 360's VGA connection -- it was entirely washed out, a known issue with the Xbox 360's VGA implementation apparently. But there's more! Any resolution, not just 1920x1080, exhibits a significant amount of screen tearing, which isn't replicated using component. And one last thing. Some televisions, most notably Sony's LCD XBR series, that are supposed to accept 1080p over component just flat out refuse. Just reading through the AVS Forums thread on the topic should be enough to convince anyone that something's rotten in the state of 1080p on the 360.

Microsoft podcaster Major Nelson brings word that the team in Redmond is aware of the 1080p issues and are working on a fix ... at around 8 minutes into his latest 'cast (number 200, congrats!), he says the display issue is "kind of this bug that the guys are working on and they are aware of." He limits it to simply the 1080p over component issue, so let's hope that Microsoft takes the opportunity to isolate and correct the outstanding VGA issues as well.

[Via Engadget HD]

So you've decided to cut the cord and purchase the new Xbox 360 wireless headset this weekend, good for you! But did you know about the snazzy new battery indicator that was enabled through the fall update?

Well, our friend Major Nelson informs us that you'll be able to check not only your wireless controller's battery life, but the battery life of your new wireless headset too. And all of this battery information is easily accessible through the Xbox guide and is displayed in convenient icon form. So I ask, are you planning on picking up the new wireless headset and freeing yourself of the wires?

GamerScore whore awfullygood, from the appropriately named blog, "Confessions of a GamerScore Whore," describes how the Fall update made life more difficult for achievement cheaters:

With the Fall Update, Microsoft has introduced a hybrid locking mechanism that effectively harms the first method [ for swapping game saves] and squelches the second method. Method 1 has been smacked silly because the vast majority of existing game save files created on the previous update do not work on the Fall update software version. This renders those files useless until unscrupulous members decide to re-upload hundreds of saves based from the new dashboard version. This will most likely take months upon months or possibly never happen for very unpopular games.

Method 2 has been rendered useless as new console specific security is in place. Gamerscore thirsty gamers are taunted with a Corrupt Save message when the bypass method attempts to be used. Obviously, the new security may eventually be cracked by code junkies, but those game saves may also have to be re-uploaded. I'm unsure of any repercussions to method 3. I've always found trading accounts to be supremely idiotic as anyone could keep your account for themselves. Anyway, if anyone has heard if method 3 has been affected, let me know.

Former champ ST TheKing quit the GamerScore race after the upper reaches of the leaderboard became became clogged with fakes, including awfullygood himself (who admits he was cheating just to keep up with the Joneses). Sure Xbox 360 achievements are intangible and useless, but they are fun to earn and these a-hole cheats make a mockery of every pallid kid who spent a three day weekend in the basement going after that final Lumines Live time attack get. For God's sake, if putting endless hours into a crap game like Bomberman gives you a limited sense of accomplishment, stealing a game save must give you even less. Of course, these changes won't stop cheating, just slow it down for a bit. But it does serve as a reminder that you're not entitled to an elite score, unless you're playing that other console.

Major Nelson reports -- from a rest stop in Massachusetts -- that a fix has been created for those having trouble with the Fall Update. Those of you that have had no problems with the update will not be prompted to get the fix and may continue on as if nothing happened. Those of you who have had trouble should call Xbox Support. We're not really sure how you apply an update to a bricked console, but that's probably why you have to call customer support. If anyone out there manages to get this patch, leave a comment here and tell us what the process was like.

[Thanks, Glenn]

Angry owners in the AVS forum report that the Fall Update's vaunted 1080p support works as advertised with Samsung HDTVs -- but not with two of Sony's most popular (and expensive) 1080p LCD models XBR2/3:


While it's outrageous to suggest that MS would intentionally blacklist their rival's most popular HDTVs, it is amusingly ironic -- unless you're staring at a $4000 distorted screen right now. Another patch could be imminent. It's worth pointing out that most people on that thread say they're going to return their Sony set, not their Xbox 360. And, as usual, someone comments that an upscaled 1080i signal is indiscernible anyway.

Sidenote: The general public doesn't have a prayer of grasping this stuff.

IGN reports that Microsoft has scheduled an Xbox 360 press briefing two days ahead of the Tokyo Game Show September 22:

Officially, the company plans on showing off its Japanese Xbox 360 titles for the rest of the year and sharing its strategy for the Japanese market. We presume there will be plenty of long-awaited details on Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon, but there should be some big surprises as well.

How about some news on the Fall dashboard update. Speaking of updates, what's on your wish list?