Five great things about the New Xbox Experience

November 18, 2:03 PMVideo Game ExaminerQuibian Salazar-Moreno

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On November 19, Microsoft will be rolling out the "New Xbox Experience" for Xbox 360 on Xbox Live. So what will this really consist of? Well, it's an entire revamp of the Xbox Live system making it easier and and more fun to navigate plus making it a better experience connecting with friends seems to be a major priority.

But what are the best things to expect about the New Xbox Experience? Here are five of our favorites:

Avatars - Who cares that Microsoft is biting off of Nintendo's Mii idea or one-upping Sony's Playstation Home, avatars has been an ongoing idea from the Ultima game series to Second Life. This new feature for NXE allows you to create a digital version of yourself, down to the shape of your nose to what kind of clothes you wear. You finally get to give your gamertag the personality it deserves.

Netflix – This is probably one of the biggest announcements for NXE. Xbox Live Gold members who have a subscription to Netflix will be able to STREAM their movie queue through Xbox Live for no extra charge. That’s right, you don’t have to wait an hour or two to download the movie; you can actually stream and watch the movie through Xbox Live. If you don’t have a Netflix subscription, it sure makes you want to get one.

Copying games to your hard drive – Microsoft seems to be taking a page from Sony here. You can actually download portions of your games to your Xbox 360 hard drive so that the game will run smoother, load quicker, and not make that annoying disc “whirring” sound. Yes, your Xbox 360 can actually be a very quiet machine and you’ll be able to finally hear your game with out turning the volume all the way up!

Partying with friends – You can actually chat with up to 8 friends at the same time, travel from game to game plus share pictures, music and movies. If you have movies on your hard drive, you can start up a movie and watch it together with friends. Crazy, right?

Smooth navigation – While the navigation on Xbox Live was workable, it was kind of boring. With NXE there’s a very cool 3D format with a menu tree that can make it easier to find friends, downloaded games, music, or video and the different Game and Video Marketplaces.