You’ve probably heard that an Xbox 360 Live update was coming, if you knew when or what it entailed is another story. We’re here to set the record straight by discussing a few of the new updates coming to Xbox Live this August 11th.

Avatar expansions

Your virtual character in the Xbox world will be getting a massive update with plenty to styalize and customize your character. The avatar marketplace will open to allow gamers to purcahse premium outfits and accessories.

New props allow your avatar to character items that bring custom animations to your friends channel page.

New brands such as Adidas, Quiksilver, and Roxy allow you to show off your brand awareness clout.

New styles such as Steampunk and Recessionista allow your characters to have themed outfits.

New awards for your avatar just by playing games such as ‘Splosion Man’.

As well, your favourite games from Halo to Star Wars will have themed avatar costumes and accessories to enjoy.

Direct Download Xbox 360 titles

I’m not sure what EB games and Gamestop will be doing this coming year as coming August 11th, you have almost no reason to venture into these stores and drop cash for games. The reason is due to Games on Demand.

Launching globally with 30 Xbox 360 titles for direct download straight to your Xbox 360 hard drve. Gamers will be able to purchase these games either with their credit cards (thanks to PayPal), or through MS points.

With new titles being released every tuesday and available for download 24/7, theres no reason to ever leave your house again! Canada’s starting line-up includes:

Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft)
BioShock (2K Games)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
ridge racer 6 (Namco)
Burnout Paradise (EA)
Meet The Robinsons (Disney)
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
Call of Duty® 2 (Activision)
MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ)
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (SEGA)
Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Game Studios)
Need for Speed Carbon (EA)
TEST DRIVE: UNLIMITED (Atari)
Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
Prey (2K Games)
Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)

Movie growth

Netflix is expanding their services on Xbox (sorry, NOT AVAILABLE IN CANADA) with a number of new features due to the overwheleming sucess of movie streaming on consoles (game consoles are the most popular devices for bringing web-based video to the TV). New features such as the ability to update your Nexflix queue from your couch and the choice to watch with friends having your avatars in the front row via Xbox LIVE Movie Parties.

Other new features include the ability to organize your Xbox dashboard as you see fit and search for whatever you need, Xbox Live Marketplace user ratings, and much more! Time for more Xbox for this gamer.

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Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

This October, Netflix will be hosting the Netflix Movie Watching World Championships in New York City to see who can sit through 121 hours of movies, and beat the previous Guinness World Record of 120 hours and 23 minutes.

The movie watching marathon will begin on October 2, 2008 in New York’s Times Square and is set to finish five days later on October 7. The winner of the competition will win a $10,000 cash prize, a lifetime subscription to Netflix and the first-ever Popcorn Bowl trophy.

The previous world record holder, Ashish Sharma of Mathura, India, will be competing in the event to defend his title. Sharma will be competing against other endurance champions, including Claudia Wavra of Germany and Suresh Joachim, a Canadian of Sri Lankan descent, who holds 32 Guinness World Records. The general population will be given an opportunity to compete in the event through submissions of video auditions to a special Facebook group on the social networking site.

Guinness World Records rules states contestants much watch films non-stop without averting their eyes from the screen. Competitors will be given 10 minutes between each movie to refresh themselves. Eating, drinking, standing and stretching are allowed as long as eyes are on the screen, according to the press release.

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