The Console Software Wars

Remember all those fantastic features that Microsoft promised were in the works for its Xbox 360 back at E3? Get ready folks, because they're all arriving in five days. At an undisclosed time on November 17th, users will be able to login to Xbox LIVE and check out the totally bodacious new portals available to kill time and act social without actually combing your hair. As we'd heard, Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm (US and UK only) modules will all be featured, not to mention on-demand 1080p / 5.1-channel HD video through the Zune Video outlet. In case that's not enough (and be honest, it's never enough), users will also see a new "News and More" section in the "Inside Xbox" channel with streams from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert. Yeah, Dilbert. Hop on past the break for a few video demonstrations, and then get back to your Modern Warfare 2 binge before your teammates see you slacking off.

Okay, pretend to be surprised if you want, but Facebook and PlayStation 3 are coming together, sort of. We saw the tiniest bit of teaser last week via leaked photo, and now we've got details and a release date. Users will have the option of sending status updates for PSN purchases and Trophies whenever the user syncs up the account to the PlayStation servers, and developers can now integrate automatic updates when certain game events occur, similar to what we saw with the recent Uncharted sequel. Unfortunately, some of the very basic functions you'd come to expect from Facebook apps, such as writing your own status updates, aren't there yet. Hopefully we'll be seeing more integration sooner rather than later, as the company's noting this is just the beginning of the integration with the social network. Integration hits with firmware 3.10, which as we heard from a previous Sony Poland leak is this Thursday, just one day after Xbox Live's Facebook integration debuts (how very convenient, indeed). Also in the update? New photo navigation and PSN gamer card options. Video after the break.