Netflix is gearing up to offer HD streaming of their content for the Xbox 360 platform. They currently offer streaming on PCs and Macs but the service is not in high definition. The service will be available when the new Xbox dashboard hits on November 19th. HD streaming will be available to Xbox Live Gold members only.

This is, however, only a "soft launch." Only 300 titles or so will be available at the launch of the service. That number will ramp up before too long, however.

According to Gamestop and a leaked Circuit City ad, a $99 60GB Xbox Live upgrade will be available starting next week. The bundle will include three months of Live Gold, a headset and a 60GB hard drive. The hard drive is perfect for the coming 128MB storage requirement of the new Xbox 360 UI. The company has offered no word on any other promotions that would coincide with the holiday season.

Activision has released the newest iteration of their popular Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero World Tour. The brand has evolved past simple guitar strumming and now features a "Rock Band" approach that allows users to play guitar, drums or sing. There’s a variety of bundles out there ranging from the game alone ($49.99 to $59.99), the game and a guitar ($89.99 to $99.99) and the full-on band kit ($179.99 to $189.99). It’s available for all three major gaming consoles. Click the link for a press release.

Microsoft is looking "for a few thousand" participants to try out their new Xbox 360 UI early. All you have to do is click here to be considered for the Preview Update. The offer is limited to Gold and Silver Xbox Live members with preference given to the Gold members. If Microsoft chooses you, your account will receive notice within a week.Then you can gloat as you gaze longingly at your new dashboard.

For those unaware, the update reconfigures the dashboard, allowing for fully customizable avatars and simplified group chats. The official release is scheduled for the end of November.

Microsoft has inadvertently announced that the "New Xbox Experience", meaning the upcoming system update, will be hitting this November. While not quite a "fall" update (though I guess ’Winter Update’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it), the update is set to completely redefine how the Xbox Dashboard works, and will have a slew of new features attached to it. While we haven’t had a chance to try it out firsthand, it looks prettier, but also a bit more complicated. And after two years on the 360’s design, it will take some time to adjust, which may or may not be a bad thing.