Where to start!

How about new Halo 2 maps out April 17th. These maps will be available for both the 360 users and Xbox users. They will cost $4 but who knows if they will eventually be free.

Halo 3 Beta will start May 18 through June 6th. This is 360 only and anyone with a copy of Crackdown can download the beta.

New multiplayer mode in Gears of War called annex. It's a king of the hill game with respawns. This is a free download and has drawn a few players back online.

Four new Gears maps are ready but Microsoft wants to charge for them and Epic doesn't so we have to wait while they fight it out. Microsoft published the game and Epic developed the game so MS paid a lot to market the game but still they've made millions on Gears. Bad move on Microsoft because it makes them look really bad and be ready to pay for every new map in Halo 3.

IM comes to the 360.via Windows Live Messenger. A nice plugin keyboard will be coming out this summer that jacks into the controller. I wonder if this will be usable by games? Definitely opens the 360 to more RTS games.

Spring update will be coming in May. The big change is the IM support and the Marketplace will get it's own blade on the 360 UI. This is a good move since this feature of the 360 is likely where the 360 is heading.