In a bid to gain reputation as a more family oriented console, Microsoft will be introducing the new face of Xbox LIVE on September 29th. LIVE service will be down for more than 24 hours, so you’d better get in all the multi-player fun and arcade game downloads you want before then.

The new dashboard which is scheduled to go live with the update closely resembles a mash up between an iPhone and Nintendo Miis. Apparently, Microsoft is trying to get the best of both worlds. Hardcore gamers are probably none too happy with this update, as it features the little cutesy avatars prominantly throughout the whole dashboard. Those who would rather have the gamerpics Xbox LIVE has been famous for will have to settle for having their favorite gamerpic on their avatars t-shirt.

There’s no word on what else the update will feature, or whether or not they’ll be any new LIVE arcade games. However, there has been some great news announced for Banjo-Kazooie fans.

Banjo-Kazooie Hits LIVE

In order to celebrate the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the N64 release of Banjo-Kazooie will be available on Xbox LIVE starting November 26th. Gamers will be able to download the smash hit for a whopping 1200 Microsoft Points. If you’re a huge Banjo-Kazooie fan and you plan on getting both games when they become available, you can pre-order Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts at GameCrazy, EBGames, GameStop, or Amazon and receive a free voucher to download the original N64 Banjo-Kazooie on Xbox LIVE two weeks early.

The sequel, Banjo-Tooie, is slated to hit LIVE sometime next year.

Wow. In another surprising move this month which started with Xbox console prices being slashed, then moved on to the points and subscription service’s prices being cut, you can now get your very own 20GB hard drive from Target for around $30 with tax.

This means that if you were to purchase a $199 Xbox Arcade version of the console, along with this $24.98 20GB hard drive, you’d effectively be getting the Premium version of the console for $223.98 before taxes. Of course, you wouldn’t get the component cables, but if you’re planning on hooking up your Xbox via HDMI cables, this is a really great deal for you. The amount of money you saved even leaves you with enough left over to buy an extra controller, should you wish to do so, as it’s about $40 in savings.

Even if you already have a console with a 20GB hard drive, this deal shouldn’t be passed up. I know currently I only have about 6GBs of free space on my console, and I only have one xbox original saved on it. Even if you’re not a gamer, but you know a gamer, this is a great deal, as the 20GB hard drive usually retails for around $99. You’d better hurry though, as this deal might not last very long, and your local Target could run out of supplies very quickly.

If you’ve never experienced the wonder that is Xbox LIVE gaming, now might be the best time for you to do so. In a wave of console price cuts, it was to be expected that there would be price cuts on the paid subscription services, as well.

This week, online retailer Amazon.com slashed the prices of its Xbox Live subscription card to under $40. Amazon is selling the 12 month gold subscription for $38.99, which is a 22% discount than if you were to purchase the service directly through Microsoft. This is also the cheapest place to get a LIVE gold subscription anywhere, web or retail.

In addition to the gold membership discount, Amazon has also slashed its prices on several of the point cards it offers. These point cards are used to redeem LIVE arcade games, movies, gamerpics, and other goodies. The 4000 point card which retails at $49.99 was slashed to $39.97, and the 1600 card, priced at $19.99 is down to $15.97. This puts Microsoft points down to the price of Wii points, which are priced at $1.00 per 100 points.

These price cuts are sure to help combat the continual lead the Sony Playstation 3 has taken over the past several months in console sales.