From Fable II to Gears of War 2, Microsoft Game Studios has a number of highly anticipated releases headed to the Xbox 360 in the coming months. While the software division has been busy, the hardware team has had its hands equally full with the Xbox Live dashboard overhaul. A hot topic during this year's E3 2008, the latest firmware upgrade to Microsoft's system adds a number of features, including avatars, Netflix integration, and the ability to install games to the console's hard drive, to name a few.
Not to belie the obvious, Microsoft has thus far only said that the dashboard overhaul will be rolled out this fall. However, confirmation of a more narrowed release window appeared to arrive earlier today. After attending a Microsoft London event last week demoing the new update, a representative of the publisher reportedly told UK gaming blog RPG-TV that the dashboard revamp would be pushed live in November.
"I'm not sure if this has been confirmed already or not but I was told the new dashboard would arrive in November," said the gaming blog. RPG-TV also noted that the much touted downloadable content for the Xbox 360 edition of Grand Theft Auto IV would also arrive in November. There, the information sat quite innocuous for the remainder of the week, seemingly destined to be lost in the Internet's murky depths. That is, until a variety of gaming Web sites and blogs went deep-sea diving earlier today, hauling the revelation to the fore.
The official story: Unfortunately, it appears as if RPG-TV's information was either erroneous or off the record. After contacting the publisher to confirm the validity of the information, a Microsoft representative told GameSpot, "We have not yet announced the timing of the fall update."
Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that the fall Xbox Live dashboard update is a lock for November. However, given that the hardware maker's last two fall updates arrived at the end of October and the beginning of December, a November launch is certainly possible.
