Xbox Live Getting Cloud Storage Features

Microsoft announced a fairly large amount of new features coming to Xbox Live later this year during their E3 2011 press conference yesterday, but they left a little something out that is no less interesting: cloud storage is coming to Xbox Live.

After the press conference, Microsoft issued a press release that recapped all of the big announcements. Among the recap was an announcement that Xbox Live will be getting cloud storage features, enabling users to store their game saves in the cloud and access their gamertag from any Xbox 360 console.

“Cloud storage will allow you to enjoy the same great Xbox LIVE gaming experience even when you’re not in your own living room by giving you the option to store your ‘game saves’ securely in the Xbox LIVE cloud instead of on a portable memory unit or your console’s hard drive,” said Marc Whitten, VP of Xbox Live.

Additionally, the service will also get enhanced Facebook features and a new notification system called “Beacons”. Going by the press release, it appears that Beacons are a different way to get notified when your friends are playing titles you’re interested in. If you’re interested in playing Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, for instance, you can flag the game to receive notifications of when your friends start playing it, regardless of what you’re doing.

Both services are expected to go live along with all of the other new features this fall.

via vg247