Microsoft is going to be ditching the “My Xbox” section of Xbox.com in the next few days and replacing it with the new “Social” section. Social will allow visitors to “see at a glance what [their] friends are up to.” It will also add Zune browsing functionality and the ability to stream movies/TV shows to browsers. But the real news is that the “Beacons” feature headed to the next 360 Dashboard Update is also going to debut there.
Beacons allow gamers to mark the games they want to play with their friends. The idea is that they will simplify the process of setting up a digital play date with your buddies. Could this be the end of mass texting your chums “Hayroz tonight at 10, bros?” and the beginning of beacon/beaconing/beaconed as a verb? That remains to be seen, as this type of thing could just as easily overcomplicate the process as it could streamline it. Here’s hoping for the latter.
The corresponding Dashboard Update still does’t have an official release date, but it is rumored to be coming on the 25th. It’s a safe bet that we’ll be seeing enhanced Beacon capabilities and a layout that resembles the new look of Xbox.com whenever it is ultimately released.
[Source: Microsoft]
