Xbox 360 system software

Xbox 360 system software is the updatable software and operating system for the Xbox 360. It resides on a 16 MB file system and has access to a maximum of 32 MB of the system's memory. While the System Software updates may sometimes provide updates to the system's firmware, it is unlikely that this occurs with many, if any, updates. The updates can be downloaded from the Xbox Live service directly to the Xbox 360 and subsequently installed. Microsoft has also provided the ability to download system software updates from their respective official Xbox website to their PCs and then storage media, from which the update can be installed to the system. The current public version of the Xbox 360 system software is : 2.0.12625.0.

Version	Release Date	Availability	Description
2.0.13150.0	May 9,2011	Public	Adds multi-language voice commands for Kinect. (French confirmed) Adds Hulu Plus as an app download via Xbox Live. Avatar Kinect. Allowing players to scan their face in real-time to match with their avatar. Adds the new anti-piracy AP 3.0 Scheme Officiely for advanced anti-piracy protection and ban all the anti-piracy gold user.
2.0.13145.0	April 18, 2011	Closed Beta	Minor Bugfix.
2.0.13142.0	April 14, 2011	Closed Beta	Updates Netflix to include partial Kinect capabilities.
2.0.13141.0	April 6, 2011	Closed Beta	Minor Bugfix.
2.0.13140.0	April 5, 2011	Closed Beta	Reflashes the DVD drives : PLDS DG-16D4S, PBDS VAD6038 and PLDS DG-16D2S, to a new stock firmware : 0272, 04421C, 02510C. Table and anti-piracy 2.5 scheme updated. Support for new XGD3 disk format for games, adds 1GB of usable disk space and extra anti-piracy features to new games.
2.0.12625.0	January 19, 2011	Public	Adds further anti-piracy 2.5 scheme to more popular games Halo Reach, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Fixes ‘Boot to Disc’ option.
2.0.12611.0	November 1, 2010	Public	Kinect Dashboard Adds the ability to install game updates to the HDD. (select games only) Adds the new anti-piracy 2.5 scheme to newly released games Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Fable III and Assassins Creed Brotherhood Adds a visual refresh to incorporate elements of Microsoft's Metro design style. Adds a motion menu specialized for Kinect under system settings. Adds ESPN as an app download via Xbox Live. Certain ISPs do not support the service. ESPN can be limited or blocked entirely. Adds Kinect Functionality for Zune, Last.fm, Sky Player. Adds Video Kinect as an app download via Xbox Live. This app lets players video chat with the Kinect sensor bar. Updates Zune adding Zune Music and ZunePass functionality. Updates Game Marketplace with a Metro-style redesign and easier navigation. New codec for Xbox Live voice chat that improves communication quality. New boot screen animation with redesigned Xbox 360 orb and ribbons. Better connection when using a wireless network adapter. Improved Netflix integration by enabling to search the entire Netflix catalog from within the console. Added Netflix support for Canada. Improved Avatars to 2.0 version with human-like proportions. Improved HDD load time. Improved "toast" notifications. One example being "Friends using this app" now shows when a friend uses Facebook instead of it referred to as a "game" when you start it.
2.0.12609.0	October 27, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12607.0	October 25, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12606.0	October 22, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12603.0	October 20, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12597.0	October 15, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12595.0	October 13, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12590.0	October 09, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12583.0	October 01, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12581.0	September 30, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12567.0	September 29, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12413.0	September 04, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12408.0	August 26, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12379.0	August 06, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.12209.0	July XX, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.11510.0	June XX, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.11025.0	June XX, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.9199.0	April 6, 2010	Public	Allows up to two USB flash drives or external hard drives to be used for storing profiles, game saves, demos and more up to 16 GB each, 32GB combined. Allows content transfer to another attached storage device. Content transfer does not copy installed games. Restores to banned consoles the ability to install games to hard drive, which decreases load times and eliminates noise due to disc spin.
2.0.9195.0	March XX, 2010	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.8966.0	November XX, 2009	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.8955.0	October 23, 2009	Public	Enables (previously inactive) WPA2 support for the official Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adapter. Disables support for 3rd-party memory cards (e.g. Datel Max Memory). Enabled Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and Zune Marketplace on November 17, 2009. Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm are only available to Xbox Live Gold Members. Detects all consoles with any firmware version of Xtreme or iXtreme until 1.61. Disables hard drive installs for banned consoles, can no longer be used as a media center, and user information, such as profiles and game saves, appear corrupted when used on another console.
2.0.8507.0	September 23, 2009	Public	Mandatory update that prepared for subsequent growth of the Xbox 360 console and/or Xbox Live. Specifically, preparations for the additions of Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm to the dashboard.
2.0.8498.0	August 11, 2009	Public	Update that fixes issues with limited games and with dashboard. Adds Display Discovery to allow console to override factory settings for HDTV resolutions and refresh rates. Also discovers the best possible resolution and refresh rates that your HDTV is capable of displaying (Selected HDTVs). Adds HDMI Reference Levels Adds the Avatar Marketplace. Adds Games on Demand to the Game Marketplace. Community Games rebranded to Indie Games. Adds the ability to rate content (Uses a 5-star rating system). Introduces Xbox Live Gold Member Veteran Status. Improves Netflix. Users can now change the instant queue from the console. Adds Netflix movie parties. Ability to eject tray even when a disc is already inserted. Improves Xbox Guide performance. Reduces hard drive game installation sizes. Adds a Clear Cache option to the storage units. Adds a "Prizes" area to Xbox LIVE Primetime. Xbox Live Primetime (Summer 2009). Play game shows with friends over Xbox Live to win Microsoft Points and Themes (For example: 1 vs 100). Fixes a vulnerability used to run arbitrary code.
2.0.8496.0	July 31, 2009	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.8495.0	July 30, 2009	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.7371.0	April 2, 2009	Public	Update that fixes issues with limited games.
2.0.7363.0	February 3, 2009	Public	Mandatory update that fixed HDMI audio issues caused by the New Xbox Experience update.
2.0.7357.0	November 19, 2008	Public	NXE: New Xbox Experience User interface changes Completely redesigned GUI with a navigation system similar to that of Windows Media Center. New pop-up/in-game Live Guide, using a redesigned version of the blades interface. New sound effects (menus only, notification sounds remain the same). Ability to preview your own themes before setting them. Ability to disable notifications (new messages, chat requests, etc.) or mute the notification sound. Support for 1440×900 and 1680×1050 16:10 resolutions (letterboxed) over VGA, HDMI and when using DVI. Ability to change to QWERTY keyboard in place of alphabetical keyboard. Xbox Live changes Xbox Live Party allowing for eight-person chat and image sharing. Fully customizable Avatars for use in upcoming games and on Xbox Live. (Some current games also received an update on November 19 to support the new Avatars). Access Xbox Live Marketplace on a PC via Xbox.com with the ability to queue downloads to the Xbox 360. Ability to watch Netflix movies on an Xbox 360. (User must be in the US, a Gold Xbox Live member, and a Netflix Unlimited subscriber) Increases the Active Downloads queue limit from 6 to 40. Game changes Option to install games to hard drive in order to decrease load times and to make the hardware quieter. The disc must still be present for the game to load. Information from Xbox Live regarding the game in the disc tray. Quick Launch for launching games on your console. Ability to remove games with 0 gamerscore from your profiles played games list. Upon starting any Xbox 360 game, you will be notified if any of your friends and/or party are playing the same game. Auto Start - Option to set whether you want the disc to run/or stay idle when the disc tray closes with a game or media disc inside, by default it's set to run. NOTE: Update requires 128 MB of free memory Microsoft has stated that the NXE will be released to non Xbox Live members (e.g.: on DVD in OXM) at a later date. It is now also available with certain games on the disc itself.
2.0.7356.0	October 30, 2008	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.7258.0	July XX, 2008	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.7159.0	June XX, 2008	Closed Beta	?????
2.0.6717.0	August 6, 2008	Public	Mandatory update that prepared for subsequent growth of the service.
2.0.6690.0	April 18, 2008	Public	Mandatory update that prepared for subsequent growth of the Xbox 360 console and/or Xbox Live.
2.0.6683.0	December 4, 2007	Public	Support for MPEG-4 Part 2 video playback and AC3 audio. (With Optional Media Update) Xbox Live Arcade trial games are no longer written to Gamercard. Original Xbox games played now appear in the user's played games list. Parental Timer. Xbox Guide opens significantly faster. Inside Xbox news feed. Game gameplay fades out when console is turned off. Social Networking features. Redesigned user interface. Improved performance. The ability to view your friends' friends list (Friends of Friends). You can now put your name, city of residence and a biography under your gamertag. The marketplace has been redesigned and is now more organized. The user's downloaded videos are now organized by TV show and season.
2.0.5787.0	September 20, 2007	Public	Prepared the system for communication with the Xbox 360 Big Button Controller (bundled with Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action).
2.0.5766.0	August 7, 2007	Public	Prepared the system for communication with the Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Les Paul wireless guitar controller.
2.0.5759.0	May 9, 2007	Public	Added: A separate, fifth blade for the Marketplace. A more consistent interface for the Marketplace. Windows Live Messenger integration with the Dashboard. Switchable aspect ratio during video playback (Auto to Letterbox, Zoom, Stretch, Native). Support for "Reference Levels" to video. The information bar that turns on via the On-Screen Display (OSD) now shows exactly how much time has lapsed in the playback of the video file. The ability to see the percentage of downloaded Video Marketplace content and where the ‘chapters’ exist for the said file. Support for MPEG-4 videos. Low-power background download function. The storage device, one core of the CPU, the fans, and any other components required for downloading remain powered, but rest of the system, such as the GPU and the disc drive, is shut off. System completely powers off once downloads are complete. Download blocks to prevent a download from starting if it will not fit onto a storage device, without deducting any points associated with the content item. Title of a game (when inserted into system) appears in the tray icon on the Dashboard menu. When highlighted, achievements and Gamerscore are displayed for that game based on the signed-in user. More specific “Achievement Unlocked” message, detailing the achievement unlocked and how many points it is worth. Windows Media protected content (WM-DRM), which can now be streamed from the PC to the console. If the WM-DRM license is missing or corrupted, then a specific error message is displayed to the user. Bookmarking is also stored for protected content. Two new languages, Russian and Polish. Option to boot straight into Media Center Extender mode (as well as changing the MC logo to the Vista version). Option to automatically download all free Xbox Live Arcade games.
2.0.4552.0	January 9, 2007	Public	Fixed a Privilege escalation vulnerability in the Hypervisor that allowed non-signed code (such as Linux) to run on the Xbox 360, with direct hardware access.
2.0.4548.0	November 30, 2006	Public	Improved performance on wired headsets when used with a wireless controller. Video output issues on VGA connections fixed.
2.0.4532.0	October 31, 2006	Public	Added: Support for 1080p video output. Support for Zune. Support for the external HD DVD drive attachment. Streaming of WMV files from a computer through the use of Windows Media Connect, connected USB device, CD or a DVD. Windows Media Player 11 as a supported streaming program. Audio and video streaming for Macintosh systems using Connect360. Option for automatic downloading of trial versions of newly released titles in Xbox Live Arcade. Cosmetic changes to the Dashboard.
2.0.2858.0	June 13, 2006	Public	Improved character recognition for users with the localized Chinese language version of the dashboard on their Xbox 360(s).
2.0.2857.0	June 6, 2006	Public	Added: Option to resume DVD playback from where it was last stopped. Option to boot to either a disc or the dashboard when system is turned on. New slideshow options for Photo Viewing, which can save folder layouts between sessions. Concurrent downloads, allowing multiple downloads as background tasks. Other: Xbox Live Marketplace was reorganized.
2.0.2258.0	March 2, 2006	Public	Prepared console for subsequent system and title updates.
2.0.2255.0	January 30, 2006	Public	Improvements to the Xbox Guide. Option to retain saved games when a profile is deleted. Increased accuracy of "last time played". Network configuration improvements for Xbox Live members in the Netherlands. More detailed messaging for unreadable disk or region errors.
2.0.2241.0	November 22, 2005	Public	Update available at product launch.
2.0.1888.0	November 22, 2005	Public	Original shipped version (The backup of 2.0.1888.0 remains in the backup kernel storage).

Downloadable apps

The Xbox 360 game system allows users to download applications that add to the functionality of the dashboard. Most apps require that the user be signed into a valid Xbox Live Gold account in order to use the features advertised for the given app. With the exception of a few early apps, Microsoft has continually added more partners to develop more apps for the Xbox 360 system since the NXE Dashboard update in 2008 and more so in the Kinect Dashboard in 2010.

Application limitations

Many of the downloadable apps on the Xbox 360 have regional and subscription requirement restrictions. The most prominent of which is that not all apps are available in all markets where Xbox Live is available.

• Hulu Plus is a subscription-based service (like Netflix) and is a separate fee from Xbox LIVE. This service is only available to residents of the United States.
• Netflix is only available for US and Canada users only.
• The Sky Player application is available for UK and Ireland users only.
• ESPN is only available in the US and requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription. ESPN3 access also depends on your internet provider.
• Foxtel is only available for Australia.

Hulu Plus

Release Date: 4/29/2011

Netflix

Release Date: 11/19/2008

Instantly stream Netflix movies from your instant queue, browse Netflix's library and add movies to your DVD queue. The 11/1/2010 update added search to Netflix and an improved interface.The 04/14/11 Updates Netflix to include Kinect capabilities.

ESPN

Release Date: 11/1/2010

Allows users to view select on demand or live sporting events from ESPN.

last.fm

Release Date: 11/18/2008

Instantly stream audio from last.fm's music discovery and internet radio service.

Zune

Release Date: 11/18/2008

Twitter

Allows users to access the micro blogging service Twitter. The Twitter app is built into the system software of the Xbox and therefore, no app download is required on the users part.

Video Kinect

Release Date: November 1, 2010

Use Video Kinect to talk with friends and family between 2 Xbox 360 consoles, or between your Xbox 360 and Windows Live Messenger.

Halo Waypoint

Release Date: 11/5/2009

File Size: 163.8MB

Halo Waypoint is a new destination for Halo fans on Xbox LIVE. Stay current with the latest Halo news and activities, and access to content ranging from interviews and trailers to exclusive video footage and community content. Halo gamers can also progress through an all-new Career path tied to in-game accomplishments across multiple Halo games. Waypoint is a dynamic experience that grows and expands as new content gets added regularly. The Halo Waypoint app is technically an Xbox 360 video game according to the Xbox 360 Dashboard.

Foxtel

Release Date: 11/08/2010

Offers 30 live channels and Video on demand content for television and movies (Available in Australia Only).

Backwards compatibility

The Xbox 360 system software includes built in software emulation support for the Xbox original game system. Software emulation is achieved with downloadable emulation profiles. The last reported update to the list was in 2008 and Microsoft has discontinued support for adding any new titles. The current list of supported titles is located in this article: List of Xbox games compatible with Xbox 360

See also

• PlayStation 3 system software
• PlayStation Portable system software
• Wii system software
• Nintendo DSi system software
• Nintendo 3DS system software

References

en: Xbox 360 system software