Q: if you download the update from MS website, you can use the update for UC console only, or it works on Asian/JP set as well?

Beginning the week of May 7, 2007, the Xbox 360 Spring Update will provide Xbox 360 owners worldwide with access to Windows Live Messenger features, broadening the communication options on the Xbox LIVE social network.

oww.. man.. my subscription gonna end on May 10... 

omg piracy talk galore. huhuhuhu. cmon yall, lets break the rules, cuss like theres no tomorrow! wooohaaa. waiting for syuji's combo.

WRT to the Dash update...we don't have final date this week, but I am hoping to get more solid information tomorrow.

Just reading through the comments on the last post, and I want to say that we appreciate the feedback.  We're all taking a look at the comments here, and in other places online.

I really wish there was an easy answer (i.e., exactly when new content is coming to your country), but in the end, we're doing this so we have the ability to do even more digital distribution of content worldwide in the future.  Bottom line is that if we can't honor our commitments to content publishers, they won't release any content to us.

Graeme Boyd, from the UK Xbox Team, says this in a blog post he put up earlier:

    I understand that there's often great content that you, me and my cats want on the US Marketplace that isn't on any of the European Marketplaces - but if people are able to download content in countries that it's not licensed for, people get upset, content gets pulled, cool new content doesn't get uploaded to Marketplace, and everyone ends up unhappy. [...]
    One important thing to note - if you have in the past downloaded content from an Xbox Live Marketplace in a country different to that in which you live, that content WILL remain on your hard drive. It's yours for keeps. But you will not be able to download any more.
   
    And another important point: If you do have an Xbox Live account registered in a country other to that in which you live, that account will not be closed down. It will continue to exist and work and you will need to keep paying any pending subscription fees. The only difference is that you will no longer be able to download licensed content from that country's Xbox Live Marketplace.

In addition, Graeme interviews Michael Newey, Group Product Marketing Manager for Xbox Europe, in a blog post he put up today.  Worth a read:

    Q: Some of these Xbox Live users are just keen to get cool content that is not available in the country where they live. Why are we stopping them from doing that?
   
    Michael Newey: We understand that, but unfortunately we are legally required to ensure that all content on Xbox Live is only available for download in the country in which it is licensed. If we don't we may not be able to continue providing quality content. We're not trying to stop people getting the content they want - we're trying to ensure that we can continue to provide great content on Xbox Live, and bring that content to other countries in the future. I should also point out that licensing agreements like this are standard practice in the entertainment industry.
   
    Q: So when will Xbox Live members in Europe get the chance to download the kind of cool content that is, for example, available to US Xbox Live members on Video Marketplace?
   
    Michael Newey: At the moment we have made no announcements about Xbox Live Video Marketplace for Europe. However, Europe is very important for us, and we will be making announcements in the future. Stay tuned...