also @ TechSpot: AT&T unleashes solar-powered phone chargers into New York parks

› ›

Microsoft announces Xbox 360 "Parental Timer"

By

On November 7, 2007, 4:14 PM

Microsoft today officially announced the long-rumored parental timer for the Xbox 360, which will let parents restrict their children’s time playing games or watching movies on the console on a per-day or per-week basis. When a child nears the maximum playtime, a notice will appear to warn the player to save the game and once the clock hits zero, the console will turn off automatically.

The feature is part of a joint effort between Microsoft and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to encourage a healthy balance between work and fun, as Microsoft attempts to portray the Xbox 360 as a family friendly console. The Family Timer feature will be available for download via Xbox LIVE in early December. More details on xbox.com.

No tags on this story

3 comments

User Comments: 3

Got something to say? Post a comment
  1. November 7, 2007 4:16 PM
    bushwhacker said:
    It should auto-save the game before shutting it down, regardless the children's decision.
    Reply
  2. November 8, 2007 4:06 AM
    Mictlantecuhtli said:
    My 360's clock reverts to 2005 if I unplug it from mains for a while. I wonder how this will affect such timers?
    Reply
  3. November 9, 2007 4:16 PM
    skip9494 said:
    I agree with bushwhacker. What if they accidentally chose Do Not Save or whatever it says. I wonder how'd they save in an online game?They say you can download it via Xbox LIVE, which means its probably going to cost money, and if it does then I doubt parents will get it. Then again, it's not a HUGE feature, so we'll just have to see.
    Reply

Recently commented stories

Add New Comment

TechSpot Members
Login or sign up for free,
it takes about 30 seconds.
You may also...
Get complete access to the TechSpot community. Join thousands of technology enthusiasts that contribute and share knowledge in our forum. Get a private inbox, upload your own photo gallery and more.
TechSpot on:

Most Popular

Trending Featured
More Trending Topics

Downloads and Drivers

Downloads   Drivers  

Snapchat 2.1.0

Light Alloy 4.7.0

Speccy 1.21.491

Tweak-SSD 1.0.20

EZ CD Audio Converter 1.2.2

More Downloads

From the Forums

Apple Mac Tower 64 replies on The Alternative OS

Getting packet loss on only one computer on the same network 12 replies on Storage and Networking

Building PCs for video editing class and have a question 103 replies on Other Hardware

Have DOTA 2 keys to give (steam requiered) 23 replies on Gaming

Driver Help For Windows XP 12 replies on Device Drivers

More Recent Discussion

Subscribe to TechSpot

Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.