5. Zune Marketplace:
Microsoft has unlimited potential with bringing Zune to the forefront of every Xbox Live gamer with adding a blade for the Zune Marketplace. What’s so special about the Zune Marketplace that the Xbox Live Marketplace doesn’t offer? Music would be the clear cut answer to that question.
If Microsoft was to put up the Zune Marketplace on Xbox Live for gamers to download their music on their Xbox 360 to listen to and transfer them to your Zune on the go, it would help tremendously to market the Zune to a wider audience. Knowing only a handful of Zune owners, it may not be a huge feature right off the bat, but over time it could grow into something big. No other service provided by the competitors has even mentioned the accessibility to download music on their consoles, so Microsoft should jump at the chance of introducing the Zune Marketplace – which consists of over 3 million songs – to Xbox 360 gamers.
6. Game with Fame:
It may be a silly selling point, but Microsoft needs to seriously start marketing Game with Fame better. Sure, playing video games with a D-list celebrity or a rock band is fun, but how about providing gamers with the chance to enter into a video chat with these celebrities and talk to them “face to face.” I don’t know about you, but I’d love to enter into a video chat with Jessica Alba; it sure would make Game with Fame a lot more entertaining.
7. Xbox Live Originals:
Even with this service already in place, not too Xbox Live members know about it. Microsoft needs to get their butt in gear and get the ball rolling as only having one to two titles a month release is not cutting it. To send it on the right path, Microsoft should commit to releasing their Xbox catalogue throughout the rest of the year to start getting publishers interested. Here’s a quick listing of all the titles Microsoft has to release that would fit ideally on the service: Halo 2, Conker: Live & Reloaded, MechAssault 1 and 2, Voodoo Vince, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders and Heroes, Blinx 1 and 2, Midtown Madness 3, Oddworld: Munch’s Odyssey, Phantom Dust, and many others.
8. Xbox Live Arcade:
The last advice we have for Microsoft is to try and get more classic titles for the Xbox Live Arcade. We almost had GoldenEye 007 and there’s a high demand for The Simpsons’ Arcade game from Konami, so it’s not that complicated to see that gamers love their nostalgia. What games are a perfect fit for the Xbox Live? Well here are five games within a few genres that I’m heavily interested in seeing brought to the Xbox Live Arcade.
- Beat ‘Em Ups / Hack ‘N Slash: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, River City Ransom, Streets of Rage 3, Final Fight, Diablo
- Platformers: Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, Mega Man 1-8, Strider
- Fighting Games: Killer Instinct 1, Killer Instinct 2, Tekken, Guilty Gear series, Marvel vs. Capcom 2
- Sports & Racing Games: Daytona USA, Mutant League Football, NBA Jam, Outrun, Tecmo Super Bowl
- Role-playing games: Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy series, Shining Force, Dragon Quest series, Tactics Ogre
Having said all that, I hope Microsoft can push forward and keep Xbox Live on top as the best online service for any of the consoles. It’s evident to see that Microsoft still has a lot of room to improve and with the new Xbox Live experience coming this fall, maybe Microsoft has already spent time in researching many of the items brought forth today.
