The New York Times interviewed Microsoft's Shane Kim about what the company has in store for the Xbox 360 beyond just a gaming platform.

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With PlayStation 2 backward compatibility a thing of the past for PlayStation 3 owners, dreams of downloadable last-gen games may seem dashed. Or maybe not. Sony says it's "interested" in offering downloadable PS2 software.

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There was a problem last week when the New Xbox Experience rolled out - and Netflix support rolled out along with it - yet Sony's movies were unavailable. Boneheads made conspiratorial mutterings. Netflix were more sensible.

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The selection of movies that one can stream from Netflix to the Xbox 360 just got a bit smaller, as a batch of content distributed by Columbia Pictures — owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment (dun dun dunnnnn!) — is now listed as "currently unavailable for playback on the Xbox." That affects some big releases from the studio, including titles like Superbad, The Karate Kid and The Lives of Others but also thankfully saves us from becoming incredibly depressed by watching Spider-Man 3 while drunk.

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The streaming Netflix service that McWhertor was so very fond of will soon be available to Xbox 360 owners across the country, and Netflix wants to make sure gamers are ready when the New Xbox Experience officially launches. To that end, they've begun slipping in cards for 48-hour trials of the service into newly released 360 game titles, beginning with James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace.

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Epic Games president and connoisseur of "cool stuff" Mike Capps believes that Microsoft is winning the battle for online dominance, partly because of the soon-to-launch New Xbox Experience. Capps tells GamesIndustry.biz that the Xbox 360's expansion of the "Live presence" and, in particular, the streaming of Netflix content are what's putting Microsoft in the "winning" position.

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One of the more exciting additions to the Xbox 360 is the streaming of Netflix movies for subscribers of the video rental service and Xbox Live Gold. The service has been available to Netflix subscribers via their PCs or dedicated boxes like the Roku for some time now, but the Xbox 360 will be the first console to support the streaming of standard and high definition "Watch Instantly" content.

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Streaming Netflix movies to your Xbox 360 — which many of you will do when the New Xbox Experience hits Nov. 19 — just got a whole lot better. According to a report from Engadget, Xbox 360 owners will be among the first to experience Netflix streams in high def, something Netflix subscribers can't currently do with any other hardware platform. Should that boastful claim change by mid November, we'll not be surprised.

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A poster on the VGChartz forums (yes, I know) has posted alleged details of a rumoured Xbox 360 "relaunch", the specifics of which even the author writes are "batshit crazy". However, the supposed Fall marketing push is specific enough to the point where it could be grounded in reality — and makes some amount of sense in light of new price drops, the arrival of the "New Xbox Experience" and impending holiday purchases.

According to the forum posting, on September 25th, Microsoft will take over basic cable channel G4 with a five-hour infomercial, culminating in the launch of the New Xbox Experience at midnight. The arrival of the new look and feel for the Xbox 360's dashboard will also bring with it three totally new services, six free games and twelve new exclusives.

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Firstly, it's scheduled to kick off sometime "this holiday season". So, late November, early December. Secondly, if you're an Xbox Live Gold subscriber and a Netflix subscriber, this won't cost you an extra penny. You're already paid, and signed, up (though if you're without a Gold and/or Netflix subscription, you'll obviously need to get one/both). Thirdly, the deal covers both Netflix's movies and TV shows, giving 360 owners access to over 10,000 downloads once the service kicks off.

One more thing to keep in mind is that this deal is designed to complement the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, not supplant it. Everything that's in the XBL Video Marketplace will still be there, you'll just soon have the option of using Netflix instead. Presser follows.

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