First off, I want to plug tonight's 'Spy-Hunter event where myself and three other members of the GameSpy crew will happily submit ourselves to a public pummeling at the hands of our diligent readers. We're going to play Capcom's Lost Planet over Xbox Live with the new maps released last week, so be sure to download those bad boys and shoot a friend request to GabeSpy, GSI Sterling M or GSIScooter (unfortunately, Patrick Joynt won't be joining us as he's away at an EA event in sunny Florida). So far, we GameSpies have already been subjected to crushing defeat once, but we look forward to a little more success tonight; then again, we also look forward to being proven horribly wrong, so be sure to sign on to Xbox Live tonight at 7pm PST!

Spring Update and New Gear

As I covered in a recent news story, Xbox Live users can expect some new Instant Messenger functionality from Microsoft's new Spring Dashboard Update. This is exciting to me because it means an even greater merging of the PC and Xbox 360 platforms. During my meeting with Microsoft where it unveiled the Spring Dashboard Update, I watched Xbox Live Group Program Manager Jerry Johnson IM with a colleague on a PC while we watched a 300 trailer in HD. I can imagine now what half of my IM conversations with my PC-wielding friends will be like while I wail away on some fools in the new Gears of War Annex multiplayer mode: "Dude, you need to get a 360 and Gears right now so I can teach you how to play games. Put down the WoW, pick up a wireless controller and be a man again."

All kidding aside, there's more to the Spring Dashboard Update than texting insults to your chums from a multiplayer game. The Xbox Live Marketplace will finally get its own blade to make the service more accessible to those unfamiliar with the wonders that Microsoft offers through the online service. This is crucial because as Sony and Nintendo continue their feeble attempts to oust the 360 as the online gaming system of choice, Microsoft needs to make sure that it maintains its well-earned position as the fullest featured online service. Smaller refinements like displaying the name of the current game you have in the drive and providing a metapanel describing list items in greater detail serve as reminders that Microsoft is always working hard to ensure the best possible experience to us, its loyal consumers.


To those of you that have tried Sony's and Nintendo's online services, I'm sure you're already aware that crowning the 360 as king of online is a total no-brainer. I've used PlayStation Network in the past, and I can't say that I've been impressed. Even though it's free, there's a palpable sense that you're getting what you paid for. While online hits like Warhawk and the daring new social experiment Home may prove to be both innovative and fun, I've still got my money on Xbox Live (and not just because I'm a hopeless fanboy, though I'll admit that I am).

Over this last holiday weekend, I entered my WEP key into my Wii and plied the strange seas of Nintendo's online offerings, but again was underwhelmed. As Sterling has made frequent reference to in his Download That! column, the Wii has serious issues when it comes to maintaining a stable Wi-Fi connection. I experienced this myself while perusing the WiiShop Channel when I suddenly found myself no longer perusing the WiiShop Channel and instead staring at that little ball as it revolved around the circle (the animated icon that represents the Wii's attempt to re-establish a network connection). This kind of thing simply doesn't happen with Xbox Live, yet it's still easy to take things like the Spring Dashboard Update for granted and forget that Microsoft's Xbox Live system is so stable that Microsoft can focus more on refinement and new features than fixing broken crap.