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XBOX 360 E User Guide

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    MORE THAN A GAME MACHINE
    Congratulations! If you’re reading this book, you’ve obviously purchased or are considering purchasing an Xbox
    360. It’s a fantastic console capable of delivering superior visual and aural experiences as well as superior
    gameplay. Trust us, whether you’re into racing, first-person shooters, role-playing games, arcade titles, or
    anything in between, you’ll be a happy camper.But did you know that the Xbox 360 is much more than just a gaming rig? Gaming alone is enough for many,
    but you owe it to yourself to learn everything the system can do. That’s where this book comes in. In addition to learning the ins and outs of the console and some of its software, this book dishes out the 411 on
    the Xbox 360’s extensive capabilities. From its vast digital-media handling and incredible customization features
    to its service as a virtual shopping mall and more, the Xbox 360 is a console like no other. Drum roll, please!
    Xbox Live®Evolved
    6
    Xbox 360™Han dbook
    
    Even the green rings that are scattered across the
    outside of the Xbox 360 packaging have a meaning.
    They are part of the ideology behind the Ring of
    Light. The green rings seem to create a subtle, ripple
    effect of power. Imagine this emanating away from
    the center of the Ring of Light and you’re close to
    getting it. The idea behind them is that the player is at the
    center of those rings. The player is at the center of
    power. They, in effect, bring the Ring of Light and
    the idea of “powered by human energy” into a
    “unified experience.”
    Did You Know?
    Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful copying or downloading \
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    Microsoft did some truly groundbreaking things with its Xbox Live service for the original Xbox, so you’ll be
    happy to see how the service has evolved on the Xbox 360. Yes, it still excels at activities like online multiplayer
    gaming and online chat (text, voice, and now video), but now there’s plenty more to do with Xbox Live.
    Your Online Avatar
    Superheroes aren’t the only ones with secret identities. Now you can create a unique
    online identity that tracks all your gaming activities—online and offline—for every-
    one to see. Your gamer card and profile become you online. They keep track of your
    gaming preferences and accomplishments, so no matter what you do or where you
    are, everyone can see what you’re capable of.Sift through cards and profiles of millions of players to find fellow gamers who
    match your personal tastes and meet your skill level. Enhance your online
    experience by rating players positively if they play fair and dinging them if they don’t.
    Your Online Retailer
    Why do we call it “Xbox Live Evolved”? Because what
    Xbox Live once was, and still is, on the original Xbox
    has now blossomed into a deep community that
    goes far beyond the confines of your living room. The
    Xbox Live Marketplace allows you to enrich your
    gaming experience beyond what comes packed into
    the game case.  Sure, the box with that brand-new game gives you
    an instructional manual, a few tips, and, if you’re
    lucky, a card with details of upcoming games, but in
    the Xbox Live Marketplace you’ll get a ton more. 
    7
    Coming Full Circle—The Xbox 360™
    
    New Game Xbox Live Marketplace
    Paper flyer on upcoming games from the game’s developer  Free playable demos from nearly every
    game developer
    Coupons  Free arcade games (during limited-time
    promotions)
    Instructional manual Downloadable strategy, tips, and tricks videos
    Game disc with limited space New maps, weapons, levels, missions, skins, 
    expanded content, etc. (dependent on game)
    Links to Web content Real content and community
    Cool cover art Downloadable themes and gamer pictures
    CONTENTS OF NEWLY PURCHASED GAME VS. XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE
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    expressly prohibited.  
    						
    							
    Your Online Arcade
    Old-school gamers, this section is for you. It’s happened
    before: You’re ready to do some gaming, and you
    instinctively fish around your pockets for some change,
    only to realize that all you need to do is press the Xbox
    Guide™ button to power up.Xbox Live Arcade brings all the comfort and ease of
    arcade-style gameplay to the Xbox 360, minus the tokens.
    With Xbox Live Arcade you can try out, download, and
    play old-school classics and new-school sensations.
    8
    Xbox 360™Han dbook
    
    Old school, new school...you school? Why not? Using
    the Microsoft® XNA Game Studio Express framework,
    newbie programmers and experienced coders alike
    will be able to create new games to run on Windows
    and Xbox 360!
    What are  yougoing to do with the keys to the car?
    Did You Know?
    
    Download new content to extend the life of your game.
    Download themes to personalize your Dashboard. You
    can even download videos and trailers of upcoming
    games, TV shows, and movies. Here’s a short list of all
    the different types of content you can download:
    > New content (level, weapons, skins, maps, etc.)
    > Dashboard themes
    > Gamer pictures
    > New games (see chapter 7, “Arcade Action, Zero Quarters” for more information on Xbox Live Arcade)
    > Playable game demos
    > Game trailer videos
    > Support for portable music players
    > Movie trailer videos > Short films
    > Tips and trick videos
    > TV trailer videos
    
    The Xbox Live Arcade isn’t limited to your Xbox
    360, you know. Be sure to frequent Xbox.com and XboxLivePipeline.com to see what’s coming up in the marketplace.
    TIP
    Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful copying or downloading \
    expressly prohibited.  
    						
    							
    Your Online
    Community
    Gaming stopped being a
    single-player experience
    a long time ago. Even sin-
    gle-player games now
    foster huge communities
    of fans and followers.
    Gaming has gone global,
    and the community is
    growing every day.Nowhere is it more
    evident than on Xbox Live
    and Xbox.com. Play with
    your buddies on Xbox
    Live, and connect with
    like-minded gamers on
    Xbox.com. As the saying
    goes, “No gamer is an
    island unto himself.” 
    9
    Coming Full Circle—The Xbox 360™
    
    Though getting your Xbox 360 online is
    free, you will need a
    storage device and a broadband Internet
    connection to expe-
    rience the full range of what Xbox Live has to offer. 
    NOTE
    You don’t have to pay for most online multi-
    player games, meaning that you get most of
    the benefits of Xbox Live at no additional cost. But some games, like massively multiplayeronline (MMO) games, do charge extra fees.
    Know what to expect before purchasing a game!
    CAUTION
    Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful copying or downloading \
    expressly prohibited.  
    						
    							
    Making It Yours
    While creating a distinct online identity is as personal as it gets, the customizability of the Xbox 360 doesn’t stop there.
    There are lots of things you can do to make the console truly yours. Start with something simple like changing
    the faceplate of your console to make it reflect your personality. Download a theme for your Xbox Dashboard
    and let your menus reflect your gaming. You can alter everything from the physical appearance of your console to how it looks when you’re navigating
    the menus. You can also affect how other players see you online via gamer pictures. There are loads of things
    you can do to make your Xbox 360 all your own.
    New Ways to Play
    Beat it? Prove it! One of the
    newest and most exciting
    aspects of the Xbox 360 is
    the achievement system.
    Every game—whether
    you’ve purchased it at a
    store or downloaded it from
    Xbox Live Arcade—has an
    extra set of challenges
    that are not directly linked
    to the game’s main objec-
    tive. Challenges range from
    collecting a certain num-
    ber of objects in an
    adventure game to hitting
    a certain number of
    three-pointers in a bas-
    ketball game; achievements add a layer of gaming far
    beyond the old standard. Now the game’s not over
    until  you’re finished with it.
    10
    Xbox 360™Han dbook
    
    Best of all, achievements stay with you
    throughout your gaming career. Other players
    will be able to see your achievements, whether you netted them six months ago or yesterday.
    This gives your accomplishments permanence. Nobody can take that away.
    NOTE
    Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful copying or downloading \
    expressly prohibited.  
    						
    							
    Building on the Box
    Gamers looking to expand
    their experience beyond
    the confines of a console
    have come to the right
    place. An extension of the
    Xbox Live experience,
    Xbox.com is Microsoft’s
    way of bringing gaming
    to the community, and a
    community to gaming.
    Here you can take part in
    many Xbox Live activities
    when you’re away from
    your console. Send text
    messages to friends,
    scout people you played
    with the night before, and
    see which of your friends
    are playing online. If you’re
    looking to physically expand
    your gaming, check out
    Xbox.com’s catalog of
    software and accessories.
    11
    Coming Full Circle—The Xbox 360™
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    Because gaming is now
    a social affair, and it is,
    Xbox.com also provides a
    huge community for
    gamers. Go there to get
    your news, go there to vent
    about a tough game, go
    there to chat with gamers
    just like you, or go there to
    kill a few minutes between
    gaming sessions.  At the end of the day, if
    you could browse only
    one Xbox 360 site, this is
    the one.
    12
    Xbox 360™Han dbook
    
    XboxPipeLine.com is
    your one-stop shop for
    everything Xbox Live
    Arcade. Built on the same
    principles as the Xbox
    Live Arcade menus, the
    site is just as easy to
    navigate as the arcade
    itself. Click on a game,
    learn about its details, and check out screens before you buy. Once you’re convinced, hop on Xbox Live, stroll over to Xbox Live Arcade, and start downloading.
    
    Check out chapter 8, “One Website,
    Everything You
    Need,” for more information on Xbox.com.
    NOTE
    Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful copying or downloading \
    expressly prohibited.  
    						
    							
    Mass Media Monster
    Who says gaming consolesare just for games? Nobody at
    Microsoft, that’s for sure. That’s why the Xbox 360 has
    expansive multimedia capabilities. It can interact with a
    number of digital devices, from portable music players
    to digital cameras. You can use your music player to
    add a custom soundtrack to any game you’re playing;
    you can connect your digital camera to the console to
    play photo slideshows in your living room. PC users can get even more when they connect their
    computers to their Xbox 360. Depending on what oper-
    ating system you use, the Xbox 360 can stream music
    and photos from a PC. If you happen to be using Windows Media Center, your Xbox 360 can serve as a multimedia
    hub. Media Center users will be able to download and watch movies on their 360, as well as use their console as
    a virtual personal video recorder.
    Jukebox 360
    Let’s be honest, you’re not always going to like the music
    that comes with every game you play. What you  will
    like is being able to control the soundtrack to every
    Xbox 360 title. Create custom racing soundtracks on your portable
    music device and plug it into your Xbox 360. Rip CDs
    directly to your hard drive and listen to them while
    you frag online. Pop in a CD and listen to it while you
    play some Xbox Live Arcade games. It’s your gaming
    experience; shouldn’t it sound the way you want it to?
    Of course you don’t only listen to tunes when you
    play. Because the Xbox 360 can also be the hub of your entertainment center, you
    can create playlists on your
    hard drive from stored
    music. Sort your music by
    album, artist, playlist, or genre, and tune in and tune out whenever you want.
    13
    Coming Full Circle—The Xbox 360™
    
    Start building your jukebox right out of the box. Being able to rip CDs to the hard drive is one of the Xbox 360’s standard features!
    NOTE
    The Xbox 360
    supports MP3, WMA, and a range of other
    popular digital formats.
    NOTE
    Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful copying or downloading \
    expressly prohibited.  
    						
    							
    Worth a Thousand Words
    Put your pictures into action! By taking full advantage
    of the Xbox 360’s streaming media functions, you can
    also view photos and images on your television. Your PC
    is a great place to store photos, but then what? They sit
    there, unappreciated, in defiance of the very reason you
    took them.Using Windows XP Connect, you can route the 
    photos and image files to your Xbox 360 and create a
    dazzling slideshow for all to enjoy. The Xbox 360 can
    stream images from Windows XP Media Center PC,
    your digital camera, or even a CD with image files on it.
    Not bad for “just a game console.”
    Channel Surf!
    Television was meant to be
    watched on a comfortable
    seat, feet kicked up, with
    a remote in your hand, not
    on your desk chair in front
    of your PC monitor. The Xbox 360 also
    delivers television shows
    recorded on your PC to
    their rightful home, your
    television. By linking a
    Windows XP Media
    Center-based PC to your
    Xbox 360, you can stream
    full video to your television with the ease of a few button presses. What’s the benefit to all this? Never miss a
    show again.
    Go Ahead, Unleash Your Xbox 360™
    The Xbox 360 is a powerful machine that plays great games, but can also do so much more. Even if you’re a veteran
    owner, keep this book handy. You’ll never know when you might need to unleash the power of your Xbox 360.
    14
    Xbox 360™Han dbook
    
    Xbox 360 supports JPEG, TIFF, GIF, and BMP
    formats, so be sure you can see it before you try to stream it.
    NOTE
    Of course, it doesn’t have to be a television show for you to watch it.As long as it is a supported video format, you can stream your video content directly to your Xbox 360. Feel free to find embarrassing home videos of your loved ones now.
    TIP
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    Xbox 360™Han dbookThe Official User ’s Guide
    
    02:
    Get Started
    
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