Features-a-plenty for next 360 update

With E3 now winding down, I figured I should hurry up and get a post about this one up - the next system update for the 360. This one is going to be the biggest update the console has seen, here is a run down of some of the cooler things going into it:

• A full re-make of the dashboard. It will have a new 3D look to it, as well as new easier ways to get to your content, as well as content available through Xbox live
• Avatars - Microsoft's answer to the Mii - now you can create a little person and dress them up and make them look however you want, and this will go with your gamercard - not sure if this will replace the gamer pic, but we will see.
• Full game installs on your HDD - You will be able to install a 360 title on to the HDD of your console and run it from there. The disc will need to be in the tray still (to make sure you haven't just hired a game, ripped it and returned it) but this means your 360's disc drive will last longer, and loading times will drop massively
• You will have access to the marketplace from the web - and if your console is turned on it will download straight to it. This means you can download game content or a movie while you are at work, so it is ready to go when you get home.
• The blade system is now incorporated into the guide - so the new dashboard doesn't get rid of it all together. Now when you hit the guide button you will get a small window that gives you all the same functionality you have on the current dashboard.
• A new LIVE party system - you can group together with up to 8 people and have that group persist through everything you do on your Xbox, from a game, to the dashboard, to watching a movie - you will be in constant contact with your party, no matter what you are doing. Great for a gaming night with a few games on the menu, no more having to find each other in the new game again.
• Xbox Live Primetime is a new type of game being added - think like gameshows (the first will be 1 vs 100) that you can play on your console, with other gamers all interacting in it with you and real prizes up for grabs. So you will see what time each game is on for, and can join in - looks very cool.
• Some new display modes have been addes, like support for 16x10 over VGA and HDMI.

And this is just the beginning we are told - stay tuned for more news closer to the release of the update, which should be in a couple of months.