Summer Update Hits XBL

Redmond, WA – As of today, the new Summer update for the Xbox 360 Dashboard is available. Notable features include on-demand games that were released on the Xbox 360, besides the original Xbox games that were already available through the service. Though prices of the Xbox 360 “Classics” now available for download varies per region and game, they are usually between 1600 and and 2400 Microsoft Points, roughly $20 or $30.

The following games are now available for download through Xbox Live:

Assassin’s Creed
Burnout Paradise
Call of Duty 2
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Fight Night Round 3
Kameo: Elements of Power
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Mass Effect
Meet The Robinsons
MX vs. ATV Untamed
Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Perfect Dark Zero
Prey
Rainbow Six: Vegas
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis
Sega Rally
Test Drive: Unlimited
Tomb Raider Legend
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise

Additionally, users of Xbox Live will be able to rate games they have played, using a traditional five-star system. Finally, a major overhaul was conducted with regard to the Avatar clothing system. Not only can players be rewarded with clothing items through Awards from games (most likely tied to Achievements), but they are also allowed to purchase many game or brand-related clothing items from a new store interface. Items usually cost between 40 and 100 Microsoft points, but some sets of clothing or accessories can cost up to 400.

An undocumented change that was noticed by users of the Beta version of the update is that games that are newly installed to the hard-drive now take up less space than before. Though results vary, some games have seen their requirements reduced by several gigabytes, while personal experience has shown that the installation for The Last Remnant (disc 1) now takes up around 200 MB less than before.

The update is available free of charge, and is mandatory for users who wish to connect to Xbox Live.