New 360 dashboard and avatars in autumn

By Dan Pearson Published 14 July, 2008

Sexy new front-end with new functions.

Microsoft unveiled a total overhaul of the Xbox 360's dashboard at its E3 briefing today and said it would be rolled out for free in the autumn.

The new dashboard is a minimalist affair with a few menu items in the top-left and an iTunes-style carousel of "blades" in the centre, allowing you to flick between your gamercard and quick links to media collections.

The update will also introduce the rumoured "Avatars", which give you a Playmobil-style 3D character whose appearance you can customise by sculpting the face, playing with haircuts and updating it with new clothes representing, er, new fashion trends among other things. We expect this will evolve into custom outfits for games and other promotional purposes.

Avatars will be represented in several areas of the Vista-esque dashboard, with your friends list becoming a far more visual experience. Instead of the dry text list of old, avatars will hang around on a virtual street corner, asking passing adults to buy them Woodpecker and Embassy No. 1 no doubt.

Users will also be able to swap some media via this interface (presumably not MP3s and movies though - back off, Captain Hook) and group together to watch slideshows and movies and play games like the new UNO Rush.

Other perks of the new system include a partnership with Endemol on a new Xbox 360 quiz game called 1 vs. 100. This will be a live, online affair where every contestant is a real user, potentially winning real prizes.

Netflix is also onboard for your movie needs, allowing non-physical DVD rental similar to the current system, although presumably better. Somehow.

We're going to be speaking to the Xbox Live crew tomorrow, so we'll try and squeeze more details out of them about all of this.

Picture of Dan.

About Dan Pearson

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Pearson archive page.

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Comments (39) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • HoriZon #1 4 years ago

    MS is the new wannbe Nintendo it seems.

  • Beano #2 4 years ago

    I dare people scream "achievement rip-off now :)

  • penhalion #3 4 years ago

    Looks great to me. Much more friendly and useful. No more trying to find stuff under all those damned layered blades. Anf Final Fantasy 13 coming to the 360 ouch..I almost felt the kick in the teeth Sony must have gotten.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #4 4 years ago

    This was by far the most exciting new announcement of the speech.

    I'm not joking, but nore am I slagging this off - I really like how it looks. It's just a tiny bit disappointing there weren't any new games announced, if ya know what I mean

  • penhalion #5 4 years ago

    @banfoi

    You sound a lot like a disgruntled sony fan...seriously. For instance, I never mentioned anything about a sales boost or Japan or even that it was a good thing for 360 owners. I simply said that it was a kick in the teeth for sony from square enix.

  • stevencole7 #6 4 years ago

    Sounds abit gay.Just stick to doing your own thing MS!

  • Beano #7 4 years ago

    Hopefully the new dash is better that the picture indicates.. looks dull and boring IMO :(

  • penhalion #8 4 years ago

    @Banfoi

    Luckily for me I'm already know not to be an XBOT then isn't it.

    edit:can't spell as usual.
    Edited by 1 at 14/07/08 @ 20:45

  • daz_john_smith #9 4 years ago

    New dashboard: Excellent
    Mii Rip-off: I enjoy it on Wii, but it seems pointless on 360.

    As for FFXIII; I can tell you now that Sony have lost PS3 sales from my die-hard FF loving friends who already own 360's. The only reason they were going to buy PS3 was for FF, now they don't have to.

    P.S. Can anyone link to pics of the new Dashboard?
    Edited by 1 at 14/07/08 @ 20:44

  • Peew971 #10 4 years ago

    FYI, 1 vs 100 has a British version airing on BBC1 on Saturdays.

  • WinterSnowblind #11 4 years ago

    It looks a lot cleaner and more organised, and there's less adds and useless space, it's definitely a huge improvement. I also quite like the avatar system, it's more personal than the gamer pictures, and actually serves a purpose, unlike HOME which seems to have been designed to distract gamers from the lack of Sony's online service.

    For those critising MS for "copying" though, I think it's fair to point out that something like this would take a very long time to implement it, and they've clearly been working on it for a while. Windows Live Messenger/MSN has been using a very similar avatar system to use instead of display pictures since before even Nintendo had the Mii's, so there's little reason to point the finger for copying. I've said it before, but MS really needed something like this, even if for nothing else but to just to stop the "well, PS3 has home!" argument.

    And for those who hate it for whatever reason, I believe they've already said you still have the option to revert to the old one, just ignore all the avatar stuff and stick with the regular gamer pics. This makes things a little more personal though, while chatting to my friends, I can actually see little representations of them. I love the Mii system, but I've always felt it was horribly under used, you get a cheap laugh when you see them used in actual games, this just seems much better in general.

    I'm not looking forward to seeing how much they charge for all the extra clothing, etc though..

  • nufcfan123 #12 4 years ago

    Why they can't just have a dashboard based on the windows media centre look is beyond me >_>

  • Darren #13 4 years ago

    Are they any pictures of this new dashboard?

  • bad09 #14 4 years ago

    I am praying you can still use the old dashboard as I thought it was TERRIBLE!!

    (and so did the silent audience)

  • Daymare #15 4 years ago

    Current Xbox Live dash is efficient but I don't find it overly aesthetic - not at all, actually. I, for one, like the look of the new one.

  • SixFootHalfling #16 4 years ago

    I've got to say it looks like a bitch to use, so please God let you still use the old, user friendly dashboard

    New Dashboard Image (Sorry can't link, don't know how)

    http://ww w.joystiq.com/media/2008/07/msf...

    OK it auto linked, nice
    Edited by 1 at 14/07/08 @ 21:20

  • rowsdower #17 4 years ago

    Will this come with 1680x1050 support?

    Ah, a boy can dream...

    Update: It's nice when dreams come true.
    Edited by 1 at 14/07/08 @ 22:07

  • Daymare #18 4 years ago

    @rowsdower

    " New display support. Because you asked for it, we are adding 16X10 over VGA or HDMI, and support for 1440x900 or 1680x1050."

    From Major Nelson.

  • thefloogs #19 4 years ago

    I hate it, it looks like a kid's console. Urgh.

  • daz_john_smith #20 4 years ago

    hmmmmm, having seen that pic (thx for the link SixFootHalfling) its not what I was expecting, but I'm going to reserve judgement until I've been hands on with it.

  • monkie_king #21 4 years ago

    But I don't wanna be an avatar! This looks almost as embarrassing as Home =(

    Shame, because the actual list of new dashboard features is pretty impressive.

  • stonedben #22 4 years ago

    How about a section in account management where we can downgrade from Gold accounts, if we so wish?

  • onyxbox #23 4 years ago

    i think Sony will find it hard to keep up with MS on this sort of thing.,, afterall Software is what they do.

  • Rash' #24 4 years ago

    Agreed on Software. MS have upped the ante.

  • Xerx3s #25 4 years ago

    They can stuff that mii thing, gamerpics are good enough (as in, not fucking ruining games with their hideous looks) but the cross everything party is a good thing.

  • Xerx3s #26 4 years ago

    It's kinda ironic though, sony have been harping on about this for so long and along comes ms and beats them to it. I suppose some SW engineers will be gritting their teeth tonight.

    I suppose the good thing about it is that they didn't make it into an external component. I just hope they don't force us to use it. My Doom gamerpic rocks and I wouldn't trade it for anything. ;_;

  • TargetRenegade #27 4 years ago

    Welcome to last year Microsoft.

  • gruntboy #28 4 years ago

    I think this is a smart business move by MS. There are some good new features for the more hardcore player (according to the post on Major Nelson), but they make the whole system more attractive to the casual player at the same time (something the blade system doesn't achieve). The blade system is looking dated, particularly when compared to Wii and PSN experiences. When you're the leader in software, why not revamp the look and feel in order to be more competitive and comparable with the other consoles in the market?

    Embrace change!

  • TheJuriel #29 4 years ago

    Is THIS the new dashboard? [link url=http:/ /media.1up.com/media/03/5/7/4/lg/607.jpg
    ]http://me dia.1up.com/media/03/5/7/4/lg/6...[/link]

    I mean, what, ugly and kiddie? That's the new direction?

  • Darren #30 4 years ago

    I love it personally. I always found the original dashboard a little dull and cluttered and much preferred both Sony's XMB and Microsoft's own Media Centre interface so I'm happy with it. The new Avatar system looks cute and adds some personality to the Xbox 360 even if it is ripped off of Nintendo's Miis.

  • tobsen #31 4 years ago

    Endemol is a proper fit for Xbox 360. Whenever they try to make the platform more "mainstream", you can rely on them going for the lowest common denominator in the worst sense of the word.

  • Skooch #32 4 years ago

    I like the new dash; cleaner, smarter and simpler.

  • CannonAnBall #33 4 years ago

    Those avatar things are shite to be honest. I can't wait to see the Avatar parade! Seriously, M$, WTF?

    I never liked the dashboard on the 360. The blades looked awfully dated, so I'm glad they've looked to Apple for inspiration on that one.

    It'll be interesting to see what Sony come up with in their speech. The problem with Sony is that it takes ages for anything to happen (Home?) and I can't honestly see too many new games being mentioned that we don't already know about and what they've been discussing over the past 12 months. I hope to be proved wrong.

  • paulf #34 4 years ago

    ms marketing vid of it <a href = "http://www .gamersyde.com/news_6794_en.html">here</a> looks slick enough sort of a bastard hybrid of coverflow and wii

  • keyboardmonkey #35 4 years ago

    What happens with the Themes that you have bought already for the blades :-(

    Will they be re released in new formats. Or are they still used some how?

  • bitesize #36 4 years ago


    that looks fuckin awful. really hope the switch to this new interface is optional, i much prefer the current blades system...

  • Agent_Orange #37 4 years ago

    Apparantly the switch is mandatory - just read it on engadget. But ffs it looks crap. I dont want those crappy little playmobil avatars. I'm not 5.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #38 4 years ago

    "Apparantly the switch is mandatory - just read it on engadget. But ffs it looks crap. I dont want those crappy little playmobil avatars. I'm not 5."

    Maybe its to sell more 360s to Japanese adults.

  • prettyboytim #39 4 years ago

    I like it, although it's a shame the avatars are so similar to the Mii ones. You'd have thought they could come up with a styling that was a little more differentiated than that.