Xbox 360 Console Family Settings

Family Settings on Xbox 360 takes your family's entertainment experience to a whole new level. Family Settings are customizable tools that give you the power to create a family-friendly gaming and entertainment experience.

Family Settings perform two functions on the Xbox 360 console. When playing offline, they can be set to grant or restrict access to games based on the ESRB rating. When playing online, they can be used to restrict access to content and contacts based on the parent's choice.

Family Settings let you:

• Decide what your kids will play, both online and off.
• Set levels of protection for games, videos, and Xbox LIVE.
• Use a pass code to protect your own Family Settings.
• Set limits on console play time using the Family Timer.

Managing the Console

Once you determine Family Settings for your console, these settings come into play whenever the console is turned on. Console Controls help parents keep an eye on not only games but also movies and online access.

From the System area of the Xbox Dashboard, select Family Settings, Console Controls.

Console Controls settings include:

• Game Ratings: The Xbox 360 console reads from the game disc what ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) rating a given game has received. Select the games you want your child to play, from EC (Early Childhood) to M (Mature).
• Video Ratings: Xbox 360 recognizes ratings encoded into movies, TV shows, and other videos. (Not all DVD movies or TV shows encode their rating.) You can set the Xbox 360 console to play R, PG-13, PG, or G-rated movies. (This setting is not available in all markets.) Set your child's console to allow all rated TV shows or to play TV-MA, TV-14, TV-PG, or TV-G shows. You can also allow or block explicit or unrated video.
• Access to Xbox LIVE: Allow or prevent the console from connecting to Xbox LIVE.
• Xbox LIVE Membership Creation: Decide whether to allow or prevent the ability to create new Xbox LIVE memberships from the console.
• Xbox LIVE Marketplace Content. Decide whether you want to be able to see restricted content while browsing Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This setting also affects access to the Inside Xbox news feed from the Xbox Dashboard.
  
  By default, Marketplace shows the entire catalog to all shoppers—even if console game and video settings have been set to restrict content viewing. If your child tries to purchase game or video content above the rating set on the console, he or she is required to enter a pass code to proceed.
• Family Timer: Set the amount of time that the console can be used on a daily or weekly basis.
• Set Pass Code: Log in with your Windows Live ID to set a separate pass code that will keep your Family Settings protected and ensure that you are the only one that can access or change them.
• Turn off Family Settings: No kids? No problem! Shut down Family Settings!

Managing Activity on Xbox LIVE

Xbox LIVE Family Settings govern the online interaction with other users and access to the features of Xbox LIVE. See Xbox LIVE Family Settings for more information.

• Family friendly games.
• Healthy gaming guide.