Here’s a bit of good news for Core and Arcade Xbox 360 owners. Previously it was announced that the New Xbox Experience which is set to go live on November 19 will require at least 128MBs of memory in order to function properly. Core and Arcade owners were left out in the cold, or so it seems. Microsoft has announced that it will be offering a solution for those who either have no memory, or are running low on memory space.
If you’ve purchased a Core unit, you can visit Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade page and enter the console serial number to be eligible for a free 512MB memory card, or a discounted 20GB hard drive which is priced at $20. If you’re the proud owner of the newer arcade model and you’re low on space, you can opt to get a 20GB hard drive and a three month Xbox Live Gold membership for $30. That’s not a bad deal at all. Unfortunately for your Premium and Elite owners, you’ll have to get your memory elsewhere, since those consoles came with adequate memory for the upgrade.
There’s been no word on when you’ll receive your memory upgrade, but hopefully Microsoft will have it out to those who need it by November 19, unless another DHL shipment fails again. It seems like Microsoft is redeeming itsself with this latest offering.
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.