Microsoft announced on Wednesday that Xbox Live users are in for a surprise, as a major update of the system’s interface is due “before Christmas.” The announcement was made during the Tokyo Game Show during which Microsoft revealed some of the new features the new Xbox interface will be capable of.

The Xbox Live Experience, as the update will be called, will be a major change for the console; the thing that stands out the most is the fact that the blade-like navigation from the current consoles will be replaced with full windows sliding horizontally, left-right or vice versa.

Apparently, the new interface will be easier to use and will be able to show more information than the old one. The Xbox Live Experience will also let players create avatars to represent them in the virtual world. The new update will present groups of avatars, eager to be chosen and customized by Xbox players. Microsoft hasn’t made it clear if the avatars will be incorporated into games and there is a lot of speculation regarding this subject.

Also, using avatars players will be able to create parties of maximum 7 users through which they can communicate using voice or text messages. Players will be able to see what other users are playing and if possible join multiplayer games. Another great feature Microsoft announced for the Xbox Live Experience is the fact that when surfing the Internet from a computer, a Xbox player can queue things that he wants to buy from Xbox.com and his console will download them automatically when turned on.

The Xbox Live Experience is a great idea and will definitely help Xbox consoles maintain the sales peak they’ve achieved after all versions of the Xbox had their prices lowered. The update will try to please both casual players and hardcore ones and, though some will be harder to please, this is a change Xbox had to make in order to keep up with the gaming market.