One of the numerous complaints made by local gamers when Microsoft launched the South African Xbox Live service late last year, was that it lacked certain features which are available on US and UK Xbox Live. A more pressing issue is the fact that local MS Points cost quite a bit more than US MS Points, and furthermore, our Xbox Live Market Place is a shadow of the US and UK equivalents.
Well, Microsoft has obviously been paying attention, and, oh wait…
No, our Live Marketplace is still not fully populated, and the stuff that is on there will still cost you more if you buy local MS Points.
However, we can now access Twitter and Facebook from local Xbox Live, which is something at least.
Official press release: Facebook and Twitter now available on Xbox LIVE in South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa – 26 January 2011 – Just months after the launch of Xbox LIVE in South Africa, we’re pleased to let you know that Facebook and Twitter will be available on Xbox LIVE from the 26th of January. At the same time, a ‘My Community’ channel will also be added to the LIVE Dash and will launch on both the Standard and Family Dashboards. This is part of our ongoing commitment to providing quality gaming and entertainment in the living room.
The launch of Facebook and Twitter adds to the depth of experience the Xbox LIVE service has to offer. Xbox LIVE launched less than three months ago in six new EMEA countries, making a total of 35 LIVE enabled countries globally. In this short time, members from the newly added countries have spent over 3.5 million hours using the LIVE service, which is unprecedented pick up.
Over 630,000 hours of multiplayer gameplay have been accumulated across all six launch countries in that time.
Xbox LIVE now has over 30 million members across the world, each spending on average 40 hours a month, meaning that in total members are logging over 1 billion hours a month worldwide. We’re excited that you are now part of this.
We’ve listed some of the exciting new Facebook and Twitter features below. The Xbox LIVE community is expected to grow over the coming months, look out for more news as we continue to add to the Xbox LIVE experience.
Facebook on Xbox LIVE
Facebook and Xbox LIVE join forces to connect you with your friends as you interact with the largest entertainment and gaming network on TV. Share real-time status updates and photos with your friends, check out photo galleries on the big screen or share your favourite gaming moments on Facebook right from your television. Take bragging rights to a completely new level by sharing updates on your achievements and success in upcoming games available on Xbox 360. All from the comfort of your living room!
Facebook on Xbox LIVE features:
• Connect with friends using Facebook
• Explore news feeds from friends and family
• Post, read, and respond to comments on status updates and photos
• View photos using the Xbox 360 built-in scaler for great-looking pictures
• With Friend Linker, find friends on Facebook that also have Gamertags and invite them to your Xbox LIVE Friends List
• Update your status with achievements in-game
Twitter, the service that helps you to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages, comes to Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE. Thanks to the app, you can now stay in touch with your friends and family by reading and posting “Tweets” from the comfort of your living room, via your Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE. If you want to let your friends know that you’re firing up a multiplayer match, you can quickly and easily read, reply, and post updates online without having to move from your spot on the couch, right from your console.
Twitter features:
• Read Tweets from people you follow, post new messages and reply to existing ones
• Automatically sign into Twitter when you sign into Xbox LIVE
• Link your Gamertag to your Twitter username
• Connect with Xbox LIVE friends who you follow on Twitter, view user lists and favourite Tweets
Facebook, Twitter, video chat features and Xbox LIVE Party require an Xbox LIVE Gold membership.
Follow South Africa’s local Xbox 360 Twitter page @Xbox360ZA and on the Facebook page Xbox 360 South Africa.
Discuss local Xbox Live in the MyGaming forums
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