You can tell by the storm of games and the unending sounds of hype and easily breakable promises that the holiday rush has already begun. Everyone is carefully positioning themselves to be the number one, or at least number two, company for the next three months, which means that the whole year can be drafted as a success. It seems that Microsoft is making the biggest swipes at the top of the ladder this year, only recently announcing price-drops across all their console SKUs, and now with rumours flying around that the “New Xbox Experience” will officially launch later this month, it’s gotten the buzz for what Live may become in full swing again.

There has been a lot of criticism aimed at Live over the last year. With the PSN developing at a very steady rate, delivering quirky and interesting content, demos and trailers all for free (with the exception of their online magazine Qore) as well as online multiplayer that does not cost the player per month, it seems as if Live has to reevaluate their stance in the market. Live’s services for online have been nothing short of dominate since its launch, and continues to be so based on what they are able to deliver. However, three years in, it is starting to get a little crowded online, and the marketplace is becoming increasingly more difficult to navigate. Hence, the new experience.

The big rumour is that G4, a technology centric TV channel, will covering a five-hour special leading up to the launch of the new service. Obviously, this is not a small concept that Microsoft is trying to simply lead out the door, it is being forcefully pushed onto stage and into the spotlight for us to see right away. With a partnership with Netflix and the launch of their new Avatar system, it does seem to look like a whole new experience compared to the way the system looks now.

The big question is how will this positively effect gamers, and in what ways will this align them for success in the holidays. With the drop in price of their Arcade unit now putting it below the Wii, and the simultaneous launch of Avatars, there is an aesthetic that does seem to reach out to users more intimidated by the busier, more complex design of the Blade system. Very similar in design to the Windows Media Centre OS background, it seems to push functionality over categorization, and give users who may not be familiar with the system a good boost into the online world. Of course, not having any time to play around with the new experience, it’s hard to say how this will work for navigation and organization.

Based on Microsoft’s focus on hitting as many parts of the market as they can, the new experience should definitely work in their favour. It seems a bit more inviting and easier to negotiate for users accustomed to simpler interfaces like Media Centre and the like. While perhaps what we’ve seen so far has been a bit minimalistic, and the issue of themes and other content purchased for the current system not giving much of a demo on its integration, it seems that Microsoft does have a lot to introduce to its users. Perhaps, if the rumour holds true, giving gamers a good five-hour demo of what they’ll need to understand might be what they need to stop a torrent of confused and disgruntled gamers from clogging up forums with spite and vitriol. Although, it shouldn’t make all that much of a difference.

[UPDATE]: Turns out that Kotaku has gotten a response from G4 about the whole TV special and has denied the rumour. It was kind of expected it would be denied by both parties until an official announcement, but the rumour doesn’t seem to hold much water and is nothing to hold your breath over.