New features coming for Marketplace, and statistics about downloads

At the Games Convention Developers Conference, Microsoft third-party account manager Steven Blackburn had some stuff to say about Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Gamespot has the rundown of his presentation, and here are some of the things he said:
First, the numbers (There are a few statistics in the article I have not included, because I've already wrote about them. Also, Elle from Xbox.com stated earlier that there have been "more than 8 million Xbox Live Arcade downloads since launch", while the Gamespot article says "5 million total downloads so far" of Xbox Live Arcade games. I geuss Blackburn's information must have been a little older). 60% of the people with Xbox 360 consoles are connected to Live, sending an average of 900,000 voice and text messages a day. Over 2 billion hours have been logged on Live, which is around 228,000 years. 30% of users have bought Microsoft Points, spending over 1 billion points (almost $12.5 million), with about 45 million total downloads. On average, there have been around 25 downloads per user.
Next Blackburn spoke about Xbox Live Marketplace, and what new features are coming. In some games you will be able to browse and download content from in the game, instead of having to quit and work from the dashboard. An example he gave was for a combat flight simulator, where you would be able to look through planes and weapons in a hangar, and without ever leaving the game download the content you wanted. Another thing to be added to Xbox Live Marketplace will be the ability to preview Premium content before purchasing it. Pictures will be added, so you will know more about what you're buying before spending your money.

Those are some impressive numbers, and it looks like what Microsoft has in store for Marketplace just keeps getting better.