Make Xbox live free
Of course, this is the most obvious option and something that many users have been hoping for. There can be little doubt that the yearly cost of Xbox live makes some potential customers purchase the Playstation 3 instead. While the service offers reasonable value for those that play regularly, for the casual gamer who wants to dip his or her toes into the on-line worlds of Bomberman Live or Guitar Hero 3 once in a blue moon, £40 a year seems unreasonable. Furthermore, if the service was free, many of us wouldn't feel quite so angry that Microsoft sees fit to charge us money for such things as themes and gamer pictures that are about the size of a large postage stamp.
How likely is this to happen?
It's debatable really. Many people speculate that Microsoft make enough revenue through content and advertising that they could make the service free. However, if Sony or even Nintendo were to offer a free gaming service comparable to Xbox Live, Microsoft may be forced to make Xbox Live free or risk losing a significant chunk of its Xbox 360 user base.
Better custom soundtracks with full/partial game control options
Anyone who uses the 360's admittedly excellent custom soundtrack option will have noticed this. Play a game with its regular soundtrack and complete a race or finish a level and invariably the music will change to something more befitting of your victory. Sit revving your engine on the starting grid and most games will stop the music altogether, until the green light comes on. Turn on your custom soundtracks however and this effect is lost, as the same tune warbles away no matter what the context of the game. Wouldn't it be cool if the game could be given partial control? You could even choose different play-lists for different events in the game (such as during a race, during the menus, or during a loading sequence).
How likely is this to happen?
This is the kind of functionality that should have been thought about from the beginning. It's unlikely to be added in now and its unlikely that existing games could be updated to take advantage of it. Maybe this is something we'll see in Microsoft's next game console.
Centralised stats-tracking and social networking with other live users
It's fun to track your Halo 3 stats on-line at Bungies website, or your Lewis Hamilton style racing exploits at Forza.com. Wouldn't it be nice if there was some sort of centralised page where all this information could be accessed though? I'm a fan of the profile page in the PC gaming utility Xfire, which allows you to take screen shots of your games and instantly upload and display them. Social networking tailored for gamers can't be far away, especially considering the lofty promises Microsoft had for user created content when the console was first released.
How likely is this to happen?
We saw a move toward this with the last dashboard update, where Microsoft added the bio section to your gamer card. Microsoft need to work on improving this service and also protecting privacy before we can expect to see an on-line service with the same features as Facebook or similar social networking sites.
Improve the friends system, allowing for notes to be taken for each friend
IF you're anything like me then your friends list on Xbox Live is probably full of people you played with once or twice, but now you can't remember for the life of you who they actually are. Unfortunately, remembering that Zacky123A was the person who you beat at Halo last month, and RedDawg34 was the person who shattered your Ridge Racer winning streak isn't particularly easy. The friends system in World of Warcraft allows players to add a one-line note to each player on their friends list. This is great for jogging your memory and reminding you that Mia32A wasn't actually the cute gnome you met in Westfall, but the rather butch looking warrior woman you met in Duskwood.
How likely is this to happen?
It's a simple idea and one that could be implemented easily, surely someone at Microsoft must play World Of Warcraft and see what a great idea this is. Let's hope to see this functionality in a dashboard update soon!
amBX support
the amBX system, invented by Philips, is a way of attaching lights, rumble packs and fans to your computer and then having the software on your computer control these devices to create a more emersive experience. In practise, the lights work the best, making for some truly cool ambient effects as you trudge down the corridors of the latest generic sci-fi first person shooter on the PC. Ever since the system came out, PC owners have been asking if there is a chance of seeing the hardware in action on the popular games consoles. The system even hooks up to a spare USB port, which the Xbox 360 has in abundance.
How likely is this to happen?
The official word from Philips is “not if, but when” but it largely depends on the technology proving itself as a viable mass-market accessory and not just a toy for PC gamer geeks.
Xfire Integration
Xfire is a free service on the PC that brings in-game IM and matchmaking to most popular PC game software. Microsoft is looking for ways to expand gaming on both Windows Vista and the 360. Its early efforts with games like Shadowrun, which offered cross-platform play and some of the Xbox live functionality on the PC haven't proven to be overly successful. What if Microsoft merged some or all of Xfires functionality into the live service? Ok, stop laughing, it could happen. It would mean that gamers could chat easily to their friends and see what games they were playing, even if one was playing on the PC and the other was on the 360. “Hey, you playing World of Warcraft again? Here's an invite to come play Burnout, so switch your PC off!”.
How likely is this to happen?
Pretty damn unlikely, if Microsoft bought Xfire and tried to charge for it, PC gamers would simply move to another free service, like Gamespy Comrade. Meanwhile, going to the trouble of allowing cross-platform/protocol chat would be unlikely to gain Microsoft any significant number of new customers.
