[Dark Drakan]

This week, Microsoft launched a new virtual missile in the ongoing console wars!

They have loaded up on improvements to its Xbox Live roster, just ahead of the onset of the much-anticipated battle with Sony and Nintendo over dominance in the next-gen console wars.

Jostling for position

The updates represent a move on the part of Microsoft to reach out to more mainstream audiences with a wider offering of media services pumped through the console. "It is an opportunity to unify media, music, and pictures with a system already connected to the largest screen in the home,".

In this latest update, Microsoft concentrated on support for 1080p-capable TV sets, a better interface for the Xbox Live service, and new options for streaming video from Windows PCs running either Windows Media Player 11 or Windows Media Connect.

Altogether, more than 80 updates are available for free to gold and silver Xbox Live members. A complete list is located on the Xbox site.

They pointed out that the gaming industry has rapidly grown into a massive business as the consoles and their games generate billions of dollars worth of revenue each year and companies are increasingly viewing gaming products as an opportunity to leverage more and more entertainment services.

Getting Ready

"Going forward, mainstream consumers will be an important equation," they said. "It's not just the hardcore they are after. The goal is to get more members of the family using these consoles."

The update to Xbox Live comes as gaming kingpin Sony is readying the launch of the highly anticipated PlayStation 3. The third-place console maker, Nintendo, is launching its own next-generation platform, called the Wii, on November 19. Analysts expect that console, which will cost significantly less than the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, will be a hot seller.

Earlier this month, Sony revealed new details about the PlayStation 3, announcing the roster of games that will be available in November.

The consumer electronics firm said that at least 21 new games will be available when it launches the new platform on November 17, easing some gamers' concerns that many of the titles weren't going to be ready for the debut.

Although each of the big three gaming companies continues to push hardware and software to the limits developing consoles that have the power to subsume the functionality of PCs it doesn't necessarily mean that people want game systems to assume that role, said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research.

Still, he said, video games are not just for the hardcore either.