Xbox 360 facelift live now

You might have noticed your 360 asking you to download a console update this morning – that’s because Microsoft’s revamp of the interface is now live.

We’ve already had a play with the new facelift and are happy to report that everything appears to be working fine. We headed straight over to the Marketplace to have a gander, where things have been renamed somewhat.

Video Marketplace is now the Video Store, a new Game Store option has been added, clips are now Shorts and there are new categories inside: Spotlight and New Arrivals. The way you navigate inside the categories is slightly different too, where you scroll through the options horizontally rather than vertically.

Much more exciting is the fact that Xbox Originals have made an appearance, so now you can download full versions of classic Xbox games, like Halo: Combat Evolved and Psychonauts.

Also of note is the Inside Xbox feature, where you’ll find a message from Acey Bongos, Xbox Europe’s community manager. There’s nothing of interest there now, but he asks you to check back every Thursday for news updates relating to your 360.

Friends and messages have been combined to make way for Inside Xbox. You’ve also got some new options to play around with in your profile, including adding bio details, your real name and locations.

Another nice feature is being able to see your friends’ friends lists, making everything feel very Facebook. Let the stalking begin.

Although you might not have time to stalk anyone, since the update brings with it a new family timer. Here your parents can set a daily or weekly time limit for your playtime. We can’t begin to imagine how annoying this will turn out to be for some gamers.

There are over 300 changes in this new update, so we won’t pour over all of them here. But, if you’re having a slow morning at work or school, you can check out the fine details over at Xbox.com.