Microsoft talks up future of DLC

With Xbox Live usage at record levels, Microsoft has been talking to developers about how it plans to move the service forward - revealing that it wants to create another layer of premium downloadable content that covers "consumables" like in-game currency, as well as integrating purchases into game worlds.

1UP reports that the company outlined the new technology during its Gamefest event in Seattle this week, and said it would go into an autumn developer-kit update. In other words, we could be going up to item shops in RPGs and forking over real cash for rare weapons before too long.

Elsewhere in the Xbox Live sessions, Microsoft offered advice on when best to target demos and post-release downloadable content to maximise interest, and revealed some interesting stats to back up its points. Fight Night Round 3, for example, saw a 40 per cent demo-to-purchase conversion rate following the release of a popular trial version - one of the service's first downloadable demos - while nine of the ten most popular demos are pre-release offerings.

Earlier this week Microsoft said that 80 per cent of users had downloaded content from Xbox Live, and reiterated that it plans to ship its ten-millionth Xbox 360 by the end of the year. For a point by point account of the Xbox Live session, head to 1UP.