New Xbox Experience

By Tom Bramwell Published 1 November, 2008

Xbox 720 in all but name.

Needs change, and for this reason, six months ago, Xbox Live was in trouble. Once the brave, slick and - yes - innovative centrepiece of Xbox 360, it began by offering so much that developers struggled to do it justice. After three years, they had caught up and, in some cases, overtaken it, and the Live team was forced to start making concessions. Rock Band was allowed its own Music Store. Halo 3 was allowed its own matchmaking and party systems. Major Nelson's catalogue of notifications was no longer a hobby, it was a corporate imperative. The plasters and stitches of biannual dashboard updates were unable to contain a once-brilliant interface, voluntarily haemorrhaging uniformity to satisfy developers and gamers for whom it had crossed over from an obstacle overcome to an impediment to fun.

Time for a reboot, then, and following a brief download, that's all it takes to get up and running with New Xbox Experience. Five minutes after being shovelled the download and watching an attract sequence, you're staring at a new horizon - the curved plateau of the new dashboard, home to a series of rectangular panels showcasing new content and expected functionality, with simple menus, prompts and widgets sprinkled over the screen.

It's new, but it's familiar: there's your gamercard in the top-right, flashing up the number of messages and friends you have online, and then your gamerscore, while a rolodex of stick-activated options in the top-left explains what's on the central panels, and your new Avatar stands to one side, tilting his head and waving as your thumb brushes against the right stick. You have no choice but to make an Avatar. It's the first thing New Xbox Experience does. You can pick from any of ten pre-rolled models, or flush them for another ten randoms, or start customising. We picked the first one that didn't look like it had stumbled in from a Gap advert and vowed to come back to him later.

'New Xbox Experience' Screenshot 1

My Xbox replicates most of the old dashboard functionality.

We were more interested in the interface, and anticipating this the New Xbox Experience includes a series of introductory panels under the Welcome banner, showcasing each new feature in brief: the Avatars, the Party system, Community Games, installing games to the hard disk, and accessing Marketplace through your PC web-browser. This What's Hot screen will be used to explain future dashboard updates, too, and elsewhere on the Welcome pages you can view basic information about Xbox Live's existing features (the Guide button, online play, family safety, profile, games, movies, wireless peripherals, privacy), review the flashy intro movie and, thankfully, tell the channel to go away until it changes again.

Do that, and the main entry point until that day - the new Xbox Live homepage, if you like - is Spotlight. Spotlight shows you what's in the disc tray, and provides access to your gamercard, while your Avatar steps closer and emits your motto through a speech bubble. Dig further into this and you can explore Achievements in a manner similar to the boxy Games Library panels of the old dashboard, hovering over each for an explanation rather than having to click through, and each game's panel is topped with bars illustrating your Achievement progress. Spotlight also does as its name suggests, and advertises content like the recent Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 demo and Age of Booty. Xbox Live product unit manager Jerry Johnson told Eurogamer that these will be a mixture of paid-for and extra-curricular placements designed to show you around (you can hear more from Johnson in a separate interview).

'New Xbox Experience' Screenshot 2

The new Marketplaces are a bit ad-heavy, but definitely improve browsing.

Moving up the rolodex with the d-pad brings you back onto the familiar ground of the Game and Video Marketplaces, and both have been reorganised to fit the NXE framework. Most agreeably, you can now browse by alphabet, genre and collections (Arcade, Demos, Originals, etc.) and move between these options, and the well of content beyond each stab of the A-button, at a pace that the old dashboard never matched. Head to a specific game and a series of panels allows you to try, buy, visit the full per-product content catalogue, or flit between featured downloads, a screenshot slideshow and Xbox.com-style product information. It won't be possible to access Marketplace via the internet (presumably) until launch, but when you can you will also be able to remotely instruct your Xbox to start downloading the content - free or premium - that you want.

Jerry Johnson insisted that a central tenet of the New Xbox Experience is "serendipitous discovery of content" - in other words, giving you stuff to do rather than expecting you to fire up the box with a plan already in mind - but after a few hours' use it's hard to shake the feeling that, among the more useful rows of panels showcasing the latest and most popular downloads, the new channels are simply a new wave of adverts that push beyond the old dashboard's capacity.

Then again, the conflict between paid placement and promotional altruism is a difficult ethical balance for any entertainment service to strike, and smooth, intuitive navigation negates some of the criticism; you can slide on by if you don't need to be told what to do. The new Community Games area of the Game Marketplace is another weight on the right side of the scale. Although pre-launch it hosts just three basic games (Culture, Netters and Net Rumble) that feel like placeholders, it's clear that the fruits of all those amateur codeshops' toil with XNA Game Studio aren't being shunted aside. Each enjoys a healthy profile, with artwork and options equivalent to full-price product, and while the lack of standards-body ratings is firmly disclaimed, the product description explains the peer-review verdict that preceded each upload. In Netters' case, it's Violence 0/3, Sex 0/3, Mature Content 0/3 (which seems like a missed opportunity to us, but okay).

Away from the Marketplaces, there's the My Xbox series of panels, which is a more comprehensive suite of personalised panels closer to the old dashboard functions than Spotlight. There's tray management and your gamercard again, the game library (with its recent games list and options for deeper browsing), video, music and picture libraries (with a photo-sharing application scheduled for launch later), and Windows Media Center and System Settings access. Johnson (him again!) told us that NXE supports all the same video and audio codecs as its predecessor.

'New Xbox Experience' Screenshot 3

The Friends street is likely to upset a few people, but the old Friends list is replicated in the new Guide.

Viewing your gamercard and the profile options accessed within, you can head into the Avatar customisation suite (designed by Rare, remember), and it's about time to head that way before we move on to the new Friends street channel. Avatars have arguably overcome the "Mii too" stigma of their introduction at E3 this summer, and accusations of commercialisation are wide of the mark so far. Wardrobe options are relatively limited (for instance, you can't change the colour of clothing items), but if the goal there is to force you to go shopping with Microsoft Points then the shops are currently closed. Instead you can pick from reasonably varied options (and save off the ensemble), and play around with your face. Our experience here was mixed: Eurogamer designer Martin Taylor managed to capture his own likeness pretty quickly, but struggled to find the right combination of sleepy, crushed eyes, thick sloping brows and boring extremities that tell the story of my own decaying bonce, complaining that it's not possible to move individual facial features around (thanks), bemoaning the absence of stubble in the binary beards and wondering aloud whether the unisex catalogue of androgyny was the right call.

Then we settled upon some scary warpaint and all was well, and agreed there are some nice touches throughout. As well as previewing each option on the main character model - which takes up half the screen and can be spun and tilted with the right stick - as you manoeuvre through the catalogue of options for each feature the individual choices show how that crook of nose or bushiness of brow would appear on the face you've already composed. As you're probably tired of hearing, it's all very slick, and there's a breezy, affectionate sense of fun that these tools demand to evade sterility; taking a picture of your Avatar for a new gamerpic involves posing him or her for the camera, panning, zooming and snapping, and perhaps bonking its head on the lens or dizzying it with a few too many rotations beforehand. It's a pleasant experience.

'New Xbox Experience' Screenshot 4

Old themes are supported, but it's only worth resurrecting a few of them.

The new dedicated Friends channel, though, is more likely to divide opinion, as individual friends appear in Avatar form in front of a 3D-esque background diorama informed by your choice of NXE Theme. The problem is that, while you can view and interact with friends easily enough, the immediacy of the old list format is lost and you're expected to gauge status based on physical demeanour, and navigate miles down to the road to reach those at the poor man's end of the alphabet.

Themes are also responsible for the graphical background to the whole NXE, with a few gentle starter themes to choose between along with the more imposing "Night". NXE is also compatible with existing themes, although their implementation varies. Some - generally those with a big, graphic centrepiece like Lara - are a satisfying presence beyond the main dash horizon, and their other graphics are pleasantly arranged around the various deep menus like the Marketplaces. Others, though, just look crap, as they struggle to wrap around interface decisions they were never designed to anticipate. We've been told by Microsoft that the old themes' original creators have the option of retrofitting them with appropriate updates, but how many publishers will agree to finance that when they can just churn out some new NXE themes instead and charge for them all over again remains to be seen. Although you can probably guess.

One thing developers and publishers won't have to worry about is compatibility with the new Party or install-to-HD options. The latter allows you to copy the contents of a disc to your drive, hopefully to speed up load times, although you will need the disc in the drive to authenticate. We haven't had long enough with NXE to gauge how much of an improvement installation is over playing off the disc, but we'll take a look in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we can say that installing Quantum of Solace (look how we sacrifice ourselves) took 12 minutes. Fortunately it's optional, and excellently, this doesn't preclude you from accessing the Guide.

You'd almost forgotten about the Guide, hadn't you? Jerry Johnson told us that getting new gamers to understand the Guide button was one of the most difficult challenges the designers of Xbox 360 faced, but for those of us in the know - and particularly for anyone who has yet to be sold on the New Xbox Experience as a whole - the Guide is a lifeline. Hit it and instead of a grey layer on the left, a navy rectangle pops up and dominates the screen. And as far as you'll be concerned, it's the old dashboard.

It's got blades. It's got the old Friends list, and the old Achievements lists. It shows you Active Downloads and allows you to redeem product codes without leaving your game. Heading off to Marketplace, or game or media libraries, system settings or account management, means navigating away from whatever the Guide currently overlays, but thanks to a Quick Launch page, it's also a gateway to other games, allowing you to hotswap Xbox Live Arcade titles and even disc-based games. You'll have to put discs in the tray if they're not already, but otherwise it's a couple of clicks and you're suddenly skipping through the new game's intro screens to your destination. There are none of the old dashboard interstitials, either - those flashes of green between hitting "Play" on a finished download and getting into the game. NXE never seems to be confused about what you want to do; it's been designed, not hacked, to do the things it offers.

'New Xbox Experience' Screenshot 5

Community Games is one of the most interesting ideas in the NXE.

The Guide is also your access point to the new Party system, where you can gather eight of your friends together in a voice-chat channel and move the group between games. You don't even have to be doing the same thing: you can just chat along regardless. And because it's a service layer, it automatically works with all your existing games. Gears of War treats it like it's always been there. Instead of inviting a player, you invite the group; instead of ending a session and having to reassemble for another, you stay together. You can open it up to friends or set it to be invite-only, and while it's one of NXE's quieter additions, it's also its most authoritative statement: this is Microsoft saying, "We figured we might need to do something like this, so we made sure we could."

It's a fitting place to end our tour of the New Xbox Experience, because, as a whole, it demonstrates that while Microsoft did not anticipate the demand for platform-level grouping, visual social features like Avatars, nor the sheer volume of content Xbox Live Marketplace would come to host, it set in place foundations as best it could, and is now reaping the rewards. By compartmentalising common functionality, it's been able to introduce features that not only improve future Xbox games, but improve old ones too.

"Serendipitous discovery of content" rings a little hollow - right, thanks for all the new ads - but, as Parties demonstrate, there will be headroom into which to manoeuvre, and we wouldn't be surprised if one of next year's iterations introduces something like Digg spliced with Major Nelson's blog to really empower the community Microsoft professes to love and live up to the serendipity mantra. As Community Games shower from the XNA heavens (or bedrooms), it'll be interesting to see how the Marketplace functionality evolves.

For now though it's smoother and easier than ever, and concerns we had beforehand about that 90MB first-in-first-out cache and the chances of staring at screens waiting for stuff to load in prove to have been misplaced. The background downloads are quick, quiet and have no impact on performance, which is brisk throughout, and whichever of the Live team's programmers spent weeks optimising the new Guide to make the most of its slender resource deserves a pat on the back.

'New Xbox Experience' Screenshot 6

Individual games' shopfronts are better organised, more descriptive and certainly impactful.

If the Party system is NXE's biggest chest-puff, then the Guide is its smartest flourish, replicating the old dash almost to the word, and thereby giving hardcore users with no need for a flashy UI the means to resist NXE's charms almost permanently, and giving those who find it all slightly overwhelming a stable, familiar core around which to plan their forays into the new functionality. And once they get past that initial feeling of a world turned upside down, the Guide panel resumes its periphery role.

It's a great progression, topping off a great dashboard reboot, and in light of Sony's recent struggles - endless Trophy patches with no retroaction, most notably - it reinforces the widely held view that Microsoft is winning in software and will continue to do so. All that remains, following NXE's 19th November launch, is whether the Xbox 360 hardware now holds up for as long as the guts of Kutaragi's swansong, and how much of the New Xbox Experience's progressive thinking Sony will discover it needs to incorporate in the months and years to come. By then, expect Microsoft's software engineers to be well into the next New Xbox Experience, because as this one demonstrates, they're well aware that needs change and how to prepare for them.

New Xbox Experience launches on 19th November as a free download.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (117) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • garethsmith #1 3 years ago

    *Begin Rant*

    I bet it doesn't have the ability to downgrade a gold monthly subscription to silver...

    *End Rant*

  • The-Bodybuilder #2 3 years ago

    The move from re-invention with hardware, to re-invention to software is different. But it most certainly plays into MS' hands, as they'll be doing battle in their territory.

  • Penguinzoot #3 3 years ago

    I was fortunate enough to get on the NXE preview, and I have to say I really like it. The install to HDD feature works great and is, for me, the best bit of the whole NXE. Tried it on a few games - notably Mass Effect and Fable II. Obviously, those with 20GB HDD are not going to be able to install more than one game, but on my 120GB Elite, it's great. And very quiet when playing those installed disc-based games.

  • eepic #4 3 years ago

    wow ps3 is done for, confirmed

    good luck with ps4, jap fags haha

  • Xerx3s #5 3 years ago

    "There are none of the old dashboard interstitials, either - those flashes of green between hitting "Play" on a finished download and getting into the game."

    Eh? Dunno what you are talking about. A faulty machine perhaps?

  • BadBoyBonner #6 3 years ago

    Penguinzoot - assuming you had already played Mass Effect on 360 prior to install - did it improve the texture popping (hard te belive it wouldn;t) and if so to what degree? Not expecting it to vanish as it even seems to happen on my PC for some UE3 powered games.

  • carrotcake #7 3 years ago

    Great article. Hm, little over 2 weeks until launch. Would have been nice to get the upgrade before Gears of War 2.

  • Penguinzoot #8 3 years ago

    @BadBoyBonner

    I finished ME when it was released, so all I did after installing the game was start a new game and play the first mission, and I didn't notice TBH - I was too busy being distracted by the sound of silence coming from the DVD drive!

    I've read elsewhere though that texture pop-in for ME has not been greatly improved, and cannot be since that is a "feature" of the Unreal engine, unfortunately.
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/08 @ 01:35

  • Dizzy #9 3 years ago

    "Some games run like absolute garbage on my system due to the slow speeds of the dvd drive. "

    Slow?????? You been drinking????

  • buggrit #10 3 years ago

    Shame the hardware is still crap. Going to buy number 3 tomorrow - the previous two have had disk-read errors at amost bang-on a year after I first got them.
    Extended warranty for the new one, methinks.

  • RESIDENT_nEVILe #11 3 years ago

    Woo! it's like getting a new console for free!
    It won't produce as much heat or noise, and DVD drive's life could be prolonged for ages. Yay HD installs!

    This is what the 360 was made for.

    /cries

  • RESIDENT_nEVILe #12 3 years ago

    Although, the avatars can fuck right off.

  • TheRealBadabing #13 3 years ago

    HDD installs are very nice but what could transform existing games is the party feature.

    Setting up a room with 7 friends and joining a BF:BC server with full voice comms and a sturdy squad system would be great. Not going to happen though, is it?

  • space_ace #14 3 years ago

    hey i have a new xbox experience- it broke and is away being repaired for the first time :)

  • bad09 #15 3 years ago

    I really dislike it - sorry. Since they announced it all I've seen just looks bad (to me) and I think when it does arrive my 360 will be used less

    The installs would be nice but so far far I can't bring myself to be ripped off with a 120GB HDD at that price....

  • Daikon #16 3 years ago

    Jerry Johnson insisted that a central tenet of the New Xbox Experience is "serendipitous discovery of content"

    Goody. Does that mean that Asian gamers get to download another movie next to "Pirates of the Carribean"?
    No wonder the 360 is a flop in Japan (excepting these past couple of weeks due to the drop in price).

    Edit: PS: What's making all that noise in my 360 is not the DVD Drive but that bloody fan. It's like having a jet engine underneath the telly!
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/08 @ 07:12

  • Raz76 #17 3 years ago

    @ badboybonner

    The pop-in in Mass Effect doesn't completely vanish but it is reduced greatly. It also depends on the state of your dvd drive though; mine is in a pretty bad state and sometimes some textures would barely even load in some cutscenes. I watched a friend play it on his 360 and for him it wasn't nearly as bad, so obviously for him, the difference will be smaller. But if you feel it disturbs your experience of the game now, I have no doubt you'll feel an improvement after the install.

  • The-Bodybuilder #18 3 years ago

    I see your moaning whinge vacancy, and I insert bad09's comments in there.

  • bdaggers #19 3 years ago

    I for one welcome our new NXE overlords

    "What, you don`t want MONEY for this upgrade ? Have you heard of a little company called Apple ?"

  • smurphs #20 3 years ago

    why no internet browser? Why, oh why??

  • t8yman #21 3 years ago

    looking forward to it, and I really dont see what everyone's problem is with the avatars?
    the feature I think I will like most is the install to hdd.

  • Eraysor #22 3 years ago

    I like the new guide, but avatars and the extra adverts seem like a massive pain in the arse.

  • t8yman #23 3 years ago

    @smurphs

    agree 100%, I know gamepad browsing isnt the easiest thing to do well, but an attempt would be nice.

  • Stormflood #24 3 years ago

    Emporers new clothes. It look nice-ish, but I play games on my 360 - I don't spend my evenings in the dashboard.

  • jonsaan #25 3 years ago

    It's so good that its best feature is the ability to use the old dash:)

    /facepalms EG
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/08 @ 09:43

  • rhubarbandcustard #26 3 years ago

    Looking forward to this update. Got 6GB left on my 20GB HDD with around 25 XBLA games. When I call up the XBLA blade it takes almost a minute for the icons and titles of all the games to be fully displayed. Very annoying and if I've read this preview correctly, this delay should become a thing of the past.

  • Inquisitor #27 3 years ago

    It really is excellent.

    The Avatar is a bit...well, pointless but I appreciate the effort they've put in with trying to 'mimic' wii's. I installed Fable to the HDD and it makes a massive difference to my experience simply because the drive doesn't have to spin at a million miles an hour now. There seems to be a small improvement in loading times and things like the menu screen pop up quicker now but the main benefit to installing is the huge reduction in noise.

    The new dashboard is so much better than the blades, the ads are there, but they seem less pervasive to me, less in your face than they were with the blades. The new guide system is actually a lot better than the old too so it's not a contradiction for EG to see it's the best thing about the update. It pops up much quicker, looks nicer and includes more functionality.

  • jonsaan #28 3 years ago

    Does this mean that EG will stop beating the PS3 install options up now?

  • Widge #29 3 years ago

    Well no, thats "optional" innit.
    Still, roll on next gen when HDDs are mandatory. Console installations a gogo!

  • metalangel #30 3 years ago

    Making the hard drive an optional extra with the 360 was a colossal mistake. Bad though console browsers are, I am posting this from my N95...

  • Tiel #31 3 years ago

    Looks good. Right now I use my ps3 for cross-platform games for three reasons. Noise. Free multiplayer (Gold will never be worth it to me..just don't play online enough.) The interface on the ps3 is cleaner.

    This may fix the interface issue, and may help with the noise--but only installing one game at a time onmy lowly 20gb drive is an irritation.

    Wish I'd picked up the super cheap 60gb premium with fable and pes in ASDA now--but keep holding back as I hear contradictory reports on the fan noise from new machines.

    I read somewhere that they use three different fan types, and one in particular (delta?) is still noisy.

    I would be gutted to get home and find that the box still whined.

    The blowing noise of the dvd drive is ridiculously loud, but without it I hear the buzzing whine of the fan all the more.

    So, anyone got any news on when a new new chipset will be out (Jasper?) as I think I'll wait for a truly solid pice of hardware before splashing out on a replacement.

  • Tiel #32 3 years ago

    Oh--is jasper the 65nm version? I heard of a 45nm in the pipeline--so less heat and therefore less power and hopefully need for whining cooling fans (though tbh I think it could already be cooled quietly, they just use shoddy parts.)

    Much as I respect the power of xbox on the screen, the hardware itself feel like it's been bolted together as a prototype!

  • rob76 #33 3 years ago

    What this gen has thought us is that Sony is primarily a hardware company and Microsoft is a software one. If they learn from their mistakes, then the PS4 and the Xbox whatever should be brilliant toys. If anything I feel that Sony has a bit of a longer road.

  • BartonFink #34 3 years ago

    Great preview.

    Sounds absolutely brilliant. The 19th can't come soon enough.

  • BartonFink #35 3 years ago

    @rob76

    Definitely but Sony are learning. Love the XMB but this is going to kick it into oblivion by the looks of it.

  • #36 3 years ago

    See the problem with the install thing is the word optional. Probably everyone with a large HDD will install games now but thats okay, cos its optional...init?

  • miiiguel #37 3 years ago

    OMG!


    /is emotional.../

    edit: would even kiss (if they are girls as I suspect), bitter ppl like coufonder, and minions. It's ok..., it doesn't matter anymore...
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/08 @ 11:35

  • Mr_Dodger #38 3 years ago

    NXE supports all the same video and audio codecs as its predecessor.

    Cool. But will we finally, FINALLY be abble to ff/rw music? Honestly, I can't understand how after multiple dashboard updates this highly requested feature remains absent. At this point it appears to be a deliberate decision to NOt do it, for some bizarre reason.

    Maybe with NXE they'll finally sort it.

    Also:

    I see there's no bleating about the hard-disk install (which Microsoft are finally including) from Eurogamer, something they do in every article about PS3 installs. So much for honest and independent reporting.

    How hard is it to understand? Optional is not the same as Mandatory.
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/08 @ 11:39

  • Spydy #39 3 years ago

    Can't believe people are excited for a fucking dashboard update. Yay, we can install games. Great for single player but absolutely useless for multiplayer because all users in your lobby would have to have the same game installed. "Here, install a game and it's quieter because the hardware is a piece of shit and breaks, like , A LOT!"

    And I see Eurogamer couldn't resist a dig at Sony for 'endless patches'...

    MS = Innovative? Fuck that.

  • Penguinzoot #40 3 years ago

    but absolutely useless for multiplayer because all users in your lobby would have to have the same game installed.

    ... erm, wouldn't all participants in a multiplayer game have to have a copy of the game anyway?

    /is puzzled

  • miiiguel #41 3 years ago

    D@spydy: dude..., maybe you should try another hobby, it is ok to be excited with this.

    And we - xbots - are now cool,and chilled out ppl - can't you see the Mii's shit ? - so take your agressive whines elsewhere.
    And maybe a Valium.
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/08 @ 11:52

  • IronGiant #42 3 years ago

    Got bored reading through the article :)

    Can anyone just list bullet points of what has been changed/improved/is new.

  • Stu #43 3 years ago

    What are the odds that this will RRoD vast swathes of consoles?

    /end cynicism

    Looks really good, the old dashboard is really creaking at the seams...

  • Collymilad #44 3 years ago

    I love the way EG get shit for praising MS and ripping Sony on occasion.

    NEWS FLASH: SONY ARE NOT THE BEST ANYMORE. Microsoft have done a shitload for console gaming, whatever their motives, and they have trounced Sony software wise this gen and pretty much kept an even footing hardware wise on a console thats a year older and less than half the price.

    Just because EG tell it like it is and aren't part of the Sony fanboy bandwagon that millions of people STILL haven't jumped from.

    It's literally amazing to me that a brand name (that is, Playstation) has managed to support a clearly inferior console for 2 years. But I suppose, sheep follow what they know.

  • monkeywithnoeyes #45 3 years ago

    forget all the cosmetic stuff. I'd rather Microsoft incorparate an optional regional filter as standard. P2P gaming benefits the americans alone.. and we all know come 3-5pm they host dominate all games. A optional regional filter would fix all that.. and theres no reason why it could not be easily implimented considering they have no trouble placing on regional pricing for dlc.
    Plus, a filter would allow the live community to grow alot more..as we all want to play and talk to people from our own communitys..strike up friendships there through playing on purely UK hosted games, rather than put up with endless race bashing between americans and english.

    Ofcourse this is all dream land stuff.. Microsoft will never do it, they dont care enough. So whilst the americans host our every game, and enjoy p2p gaming with their bigger better connections, those of us who arent in the states will always have the slight disadvantage. An easy example of this is cod4. UK hosted games will easily leave you with 5 green ping bars. As soon as the americans host dominate you'll be easily looking a 3.

    Best thing is? Microsoft charges us 2 as much for live rrp than they do the americans.

  • rotmm #46 3 years ago

    @monkeywithnoeyes, "Best thing is? Microsoft charges us 2 as much for live rrp than they do the americans."

    Not quite twice as much. MS actually charges £3 more (for a 12 month subscription) RRP when taking into account the exchange rate and VAT. Sorry, but that's not exactly a rip off.

    Also, MS charges UK gamers less for consoles than US ones. So (again taking into account exchange rates and deducting VAT)

    360 Arcade is £3 cheaper in the UK than the US
    360 Pro is £24 cheaper in the UK than the US
    360 Elite is £31 cheaper in the UK than the US

    So at the very least, that £3 more we pay for Live here is covered by the first years saving on the Arcade. If we are looking at the Elite, then it would take 10 years of Live purchases to match what they would pay overall in the US.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #47 3 years ago

    Is there going to be a Mii parade thingy, that's full of Adolf Hitlers?
    Edited by 1 at 01/11/08 @ 12:40

  • septimus #48 3 years ago

    XBOX Wii in all but name.

  • curtlikesmeat #49 3 years ago

    Can you plug in a USB hard drive to the 360 (aka a massive one for £20) or must it be one of Microsoft's own 120gb hard drives for £599.99?

  • NotSoSlim #50 3 years ago

    Update looks good to be fair.

    People need to get of this fanboy crap. Both consoles have merits despite what some morons think. I prefer the PS3 and thats my choice but i enjoy the 360. I really dont think the avatars were needed but the rest is a welcome addition.

    MS are really desperate for the PS2 owners who are undecided.

  • Zomoniac #51 3 years ago

    All looks great except the fucking ridiculous new friends list thing. Yes, that would be great if you only had 3 friends. Most people have about 98. It's impractical and won't work.

  • Penguinzoot #52 3 years ago

    You can access the old style friends list from the guide.

  • chris_ace #53 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • Lexx87 #54 3 years ago

    but absolutely useless for multiplayer because all users in your lobby would have to have the same game installed.

    FAIL

  • asphaltcowboy #55 3 years ago

    Sounds brilliant! Can't wait for the 19th. I will probably carry on using the old friends list though - we'll see what happens!

  • T4RG4 #56 3 years ago

    Hmm, I dont like anything that'll take me longer to see what my friends are doing/playing on Live. I hate all this avatar rubbish, I like text and numbers not stupid chracters; instant view versus bling. It feels so bandwagon and marketing driven arghhh! Why cant I turn that shit off. Hopefully I will eventually forget its even there. Will I be able to stick pins in mine?

    The noise from the DVD drive is just as bad as the bloody fan, unless you're playing something like Hitman where the drive goes crazy for the duration of the game.

    Installs? I can see some value there, but I have to have the disc in the tray to validate anyhow so its not the same as no-cd patched PC games (which I own). I dont have any problem with the Xbox loading times, I think its pretty quick... sure, it could be a little faster but its quick enough to live with. I wouldnt bother with a larger drive just to install unless the next batch of games have serious loading issues (any bets loading times will increase as devs realise we can install?).

    I love the group invite/lobby and hop game-to-game functionality. Should be good with the co-op games soon launching.

    Overall it looks to present information a little slower... but we shall see come the 19th... at least there is the ability to use the old Friends list. I think.

    Facking Avatars...
    Edited by 2 at 01/11/08 @ 14:17

  • Fatnick #57 3 years ago

    "XBOX Wii in all but name."

    Xbox Mii-Pod, surely

  • subtlesnake #58 3 years ago

    "So all those people with the idiots pack can forget about the update unless they fork out the extortionate price for the custom hard-disk."

    Or opt for a free 512 memory card. That is if £13 is too much of a financial burden to bear.

    "I see there's no bleating about the hard-disk install (which Microsoft are finally including) from Eurogamer, something they do in every article about PS3 installs. So much for honest and independent reporting."

    It's rather simple: 360 installs are optional, PS3 installs are not (in many cases). It's hard to see why Eurogamer would complain about being given the option to improve load times and decrease the console's noise level.

    "Users need to keep paying more for the Xbox 'experience'. The ability to have every thing working out of the box is great on PS3."

    Somehow being given a massive improvement in functionality for free, represents "paying more"? And this small (in size), yearly update is more of an inconvenience than the myriad of PS3 patches that come with a lengthy download/install process?

  • Xerx3s #59 3 years ago

    "Edit: PS: What's making all that noise in my 360 is not the DVD Drive but that bloody fan. It's like having a jet engine underneath the telly!"

    No, it really isn't. It's the DVD. When you play an xbox 1 game or something like the cod5 beta, you hardly hear it.

    "unreliable maybe but shit no.. it's very powerful and produced great results.. far from shit. It is unreliable though yes."

    I think that that sentiment is becoming outdated rather rapidly but you might want to check with psychotext as he has been one of the few people on the net that is actively keeping independent records.

    "So all those people with the idiots pack can forget about the update unless they fork out the extortionate price for the custom hard-disk. "

    Those people can either get a free memory card or a 20gb HDD for a very small price. But you already knew that as you where ranting in that thread as well.

    "I see there's no bleating about the hard-disk install (which Microsoft are finally including) from Eurogamer, something they do in every article about PS3 installs. So much for honest and independent reporting."

    The difference is that HDD installs are not mandatory on the 360. But you knew that as well.

    "Users need to keep paying more for the Xbox 'experience'. The ability to have every thing working out of the box is great on PS3."

    Except the ps3 had barely anything out of the box. Enjoying trophies i.e.? This update is free for everyone. But you knew that as well.

  • onezeonx #60 3 years ago

    cant wait

    looks good and peeps need to stop crying :p

  • JHuxley #61 3 years ago

    This looks like a big improvement, and one that was sorely needed IMO. The blades interface was absolutely horrible in terms of design and functionality, and I honestly think MS should have spent more time getting this right in the first place. It's not as if they don't have much experience in that area!

    However HD installs I couldn't care for considering I only have a 20GB HD and I'm not paying for an upgrade at MS prices. Same with those dumb avatar things which I'll probably care about as much as I do Miis.

    Also lol @ the Xbox 720 in all but name hyperbole. Sigh.

  • buggrit #62 3 years ago

    "What are the odds that this will RRoD vast swathes of consoles? "

    I hope it kills my old one so I can get a replacement. The new one is much quieter and seems to run cooler anyway.

  • dryden555 #63 3 years ago

    i'm wondering what the CPU over head is on this new GUI when playing a game. Sounds like they figured this out in any case.

  • migasUK #64 3 years ago

    "Doubt it. I think the problem there is, some installs are compulsory on the ps3.
    Despite this awesome looking new dashboard thing, I am still happy that i traded my 360 for a PS3, this update won't stop me from having to send back my 360 for repair once a month. Which is a shame, because i have no fanboy attitude towards either consoles, and really liked some of the games on my 360... its just the hardware is shit. Plus that whole gold account thing annoys me.

    Anyway looks like the new look is pretty good, a much needed update?"


    Always one in a million!

  • migasUK #65 3 years ago

    "Can't believe people are excited for a fucking dashboard update. Yay, we can install games. Great for single player but absolutely useless for multiplayer because all users in your lobby would have to have the same game installed. "Here, install a game and it's quieter because the hardware is a piece of shit and breaks, like , A LOT!"

    And I see Eurogamer couldn't resist a dig at Sony for 'endless patches'...

    MS = Innovative? Fuck that."


    Another frustrated fanboy LOL

  • snick #66 3 years ago

    Any idea if mkv's are supported?

  • DarkBytes #67 3 years ago

    copying a game to hard drive is less about load times for me & more about the 360 not being sobBLoody niosy , I have read elsewhere the console is a lot quieter with HD installed games

    Edited by 1 at 01/11/08 @ 17:43

  • byron_hinson #68 3 years ago

    @DarkBytes - agree there, the one plus for me is the lesser noise so for me it feels like a bit of a mixed blessing, on one hand the machine shouldn't be as loud as it is, but i'm pleased the installs are just an option.

  • Penguinzoot #69 3 years ago

    I have read elsewhere the console is a lot quieter with HD installed games

    It is. A lot quieter. Virtually silent in fact.

  • Ryze #70 3 years ago

    Fan-bloody-tastic.

    New interface for XBLA will have me browsing and playing the games more.

    Install to HDD - hopefully they'll patch it within 12 months to allow the game to be played just once without the disc in.

    That'd be great for 120Gb HDD users, as it'd make the 360 Elite into a fantastic games jukebox, where we can switch around on the fly.

    I like when I make good decisions. Roll on the 19th.

  • Zomoniac #71 3 years ago

    Xbox Mii-Pod, surely

    How do you work that one out? It looks a lot more like WMC than anything Apple have done. And while we're on the subject, why has iTunes 8 replaced the view I used, which I loved very much, with an uglified WMC ripoff?

  • Ryze #72 3 years ago

    @Confounder

    You're a 1st class fucking retard idiot.

  • Ryze #73 3 years ago

    @migasUK

    You need one of the hardware revision 360s that have been out for a year now.

  • shotgun44 #74 3 years ago

    Got an xbox yesterday but no built in wireless is a pain in the ass! Gotta rig up about 90 metres of ethernet cable from my router! Amazing machine though looks cool next to my PS3 ;) New dash looks cool, installs never bothered me on PS3 so this could be an awesome feature.

  • Amoebalove #75 3 years ago

    @Confounder

    Dear God what are you on about????? The installs are optional you idiot! if you don't want to install a game guess what you don't have to do? thats right you don't have to install it. Give the fanboy bollox a rest ffs!

  • Xerx3s #76 3 years ago

    "Install to HDD - hopefully they'll patch it within 12 months to allow the game to be played just once without the disc in. "

    Never going to happen. The reason that you need a disc at boot is because they want to make sure that you don't install the game and then pass on the disc.

  • shotgun44 #77 3 years ago

    blockbuster would make about 7 bajillion quid if you could install games and then not need the disk! Ah, the days of the PS1.

  • CB.Gamestation #78 3 years ago

    I wonder:
    Do you need to keep the disk in while playing a game or can you take it out once verified?
    I would like to pop the disc in for verification, then take it out and boot up next game after I've played the current one??
    Sounds weird but hey..

  • DjFlex52 #79 3 years ago

    @Confounder
    You're a 1st class fucking retard idiot.

    Here, Here ;)

    But really he's just a diehard PS3 fanboy in denial...it's sad.
    The fact is that all 3 consoles have their pluses and minuses.

  • CB.Gamestation #80 3 years ago

    "Why are people complaining that you have to put the disc in to play off the HDD?

    You are either a cheap cunt or a lazy fuck"

    This just in :

    Not everyone can afford to buy every game they want...

    (Ps the internet is no place for offensive language, it might well sound good to your mates in the playground but not to grown-ups :) )

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #81 3 years ago

    I'm really exited about this

  • AnimaOnline #82 3 years ago

    Hmmm. Microsoft may always beat Sony in software for now but I'll never forgive Microsoft for their crappy hardware work. I've had to have my console repaired so many times for so many different reasons it's unreal.

  • SilentScream #83 3 years ago

    Looks good, hopefully not a massive install.

    Apparently the Xbox's won'tbe able to handle it, so may me a massive sign of breaking?

    Sorry to hear that FalloutZombie, unlucky for you, as it's probably the same for many others, is that I thought that this was the norm:

    Couple of first posts that are relevant; someone makes a remark; rest of comments are flaming.

  • Darren #84 3 years ago

    While I'm looking forward to the NXE the same as many others are I was surprised to read that the cache is only 90 MB in size. So because most people have HDDs of 20 GB and 120 GB sizes, the cache has to be small for those minority of people using memory units? Gee, thanks! :?

  • BOFH_UK #85 3 years ago

    *sigh* - look about the install to hard drive option, the reason this is a vast improvement over the PS3 and its required installs for some games is very simple:

    I, like many gamers, have a fairly wide range of games sitting on my shelf. The older ones in particular are really not worth trading in or selling now so I hang onto 'em. Say I find myself with an hour to kill and fancy sticking in an older game that I've completed but just fancy blasting through a couple of levels again. In fact I did just that this week by revisiting Crackdown but let's assume for a moment it's a multi-platform game with a mandatory PS3 install. Let's further assume that to save space on the hard drive I delete old install files (but not save games naturally) every so often so this title isn't already installed on the consoles.

    If I stick it in the PS3 I have to wait for the game to install itself which, if I've only got or want a short time with the game is a major pain. On the 360 I stick the disc in the drive and start playing. Ergo the 360 is the more user-friendly and flexible console with regards game installs and is, in this regard, better than the PS3. Simple. And before anyone starts banging on I have both a 360 and a PS3.

  • Ryze #86 3 years ago

    @Xerx3s

    One play without the DVD would be a positive thing for everyone.

    Encourages rentals and future purchases.

  • technofranki #87 3 years ago

    I like the new NXE. HDD install is very nice. Gives you faster loading times and less noise than before. I also found out that you now can have 29 items in you download-list, the old 6 was a bit limited I think.

    I've posted some pictures and videoes on my blog.

  • abject_rage #88 3 years ago

    Great irony moaning about the new ads in NXE, when Eurogamer's sporting a swanky, paid-for Fallout 3 re-skin ;-)

  • Darren #89 3 years ago

    technofranki - "I like the new NXE. HDD install is very nice. Gives you faster loading times and less noise than before. I also found out that you now can have 29 items in you download-list, the old 6 was a bit limited I think."

    The old limit was ludicrous anyway since items are only queued not downloaded simultaneously as they would on a PC. Thus there should be *no* limit on the number of items you want to download IMO. Still 29 is more than sufficient for me as I've rarely wanted to download more than 10 things in one go (so the old 6 limit was annoying).

  • WinterSnowblind #90 3 years ago

    It's a bit ridiculous that we still have ads, but who really takes that much notice of them anyway? I've never found them particularly intrusive as they only advertise for games. If they start putting up ads for other products and crap, I would be pretty annoyed. But the fact they only have ones to tell us that there's a demo for Lego Batman up, or free Max Payne gamerpics, I could care less, I just don't take any notice of them.

  • barnard666 #91 3 years ago

    I have it, and after initial skepticism, I like it. And yes as someone else said, the avatars can fuck right off.

  • CB.Gamestation #92 3 years ago

    ^^^
    lolol!!!11!1
    /sarcasm

    a) I have a job...in Gamestation if you didn't notice...
    b) I was referring to people in general not myself
    c) Just having a job doesn't mean you can afford everything...
    d) I wasn't promoting piracy was I??

    Try growing up before spouting flaming comments eh?
    Edited by 2 at 02/11/08 @ 14:00

  • Vice.Destroyer #93 3 years ago

    @Technofranki

    Great blog.

  • ISmoke #94 3 years ago

    Looks nicer than the blades. Maybe i can give my PS3 a rest and finally start playing on my X360. and try and get my Gamerscore of
    that pathetic 55 that it's been on for the past 2 months. infact i think i've only used it for about 3 days out of the 2 months i've owned
    it. Lol.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #95 3 years ago

    @CB.Gamestation

    Why are people complaining that you have to put the disc in to play off the HDD?

    You are either a cheap cunt or a lazy fuck.

    Evilfoxhound was making the following points IN REFERENCE TO HAVING TO KEEP THE DISC IN FOR A HDD INSTALLED GAME:

    Cheap Cunt - You don't want the disc in so you can pirate software.
    Lazy Fuck - You don't want the disc in because you can't be bothered to go and get it.

    So your comment of "Not everyone can afford to buy every game they want" has NOTHING to do with his original comment, which is why he assumed you must be talking about his piracy comment of 'Cheap Cunt'.

    You may well be more mature than everyone here and don't have to resort to swearing or insults, however, I can now see why you work in Gamestation.

    Edit: Spelling
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/08 @ 17:56

  • CB.Gamestation #96 3 years ago

    lol.
    I don't ride a skateboard nor do I have spots.

    I wasn't saying what he said was wrong...I agree that you shouldnt be able to install the disk then never have to put it in again...as everyone would buy games then return them after installing...
    I don't mind putting the disk in to verify...I just wanted to know if you have to keep it in all the time while playing or you can take it out and put another one in for later...

    :)

    (ps what's wrong with working at Gamestation anyways...dont hate the player hate the game my friend :) )

  • citizenHUNTER #97 3 years ago

    For those with the NXE, does the HD install option cause the disc still to be spun on a low speed continually while it's in the drive?? This is what my Xbox does when I'm not playing a game and I'm in the dashboard or playing an arcade game, but this spinning causes a very deep low rumble that's rather annoying (forcing me to remove the game when I'm not playing it). I REALLY hope the disc isn't continually spun and that the Xbox just checks it initially then completely stops the drive from spinning after that.. can anyone say what happens?? Cheers!

    Also, anyone else with experience of the new 1680x1050 monitor support, is it as good as I'm hoping (my PC connected to this monitor in it's native resolution is fantastic, I'm hoping my Xbox picture will look as good now with the update)...

  • Troopa3k #98 3 years ago

    Looking forward to the NXE, and even the installs - just wish it didn't need to disc in the drive.

    Perhaps MS could compromise and make it you only need the disc in the drive the first time you play a game. So if I play GoW2 I put the disc in the first time but then each consecutive time I play it after that I don't need the disc (as long as I don't play a different disc-based game in between). If I then play a different disc game (e.g., Mass Effect), then when I put GoW2 back in it needs the disc for the first play again, but not each consecutive time after that.

    I don't know about anyone else but this would fit my gaming habbits as I flit between XBLA games, but tend to keep a retail game in the drive until I'm done with it - at least this way I could keep playing one game, and keep the disc to another game in the drive (such as a multiplayer game for if friends suddenly came online - I could switch game without disc-swapping).

    Alternatively, maybe you only need the disc 1-in-10 plays, or something like that? Or even if each copy of a game comes with a unique serial number, you could register the serial number online, proving you have bought it, and Microsoft could blacklist rental copies, so you could never install it? I'm probably just babbling, but there has to be a way to allow you to play without the discs?

  • The_Game_Guy #99 3 years ago

    "Xbox 720 in all but name."
    What bollocks.
    Everyone knows that the Xbox 720 will have 15 CPU's, 8 GPU's, 16GB of RAM, a 10TB HDD and cost £720.

  • cyber_nicco #100 3 years ago

    All you folks blaming the fans for the noise, I think you'll find you're mistaken. The DVD drive running at full speed constantly does, indeed, sound like a fan, but it is not. There is a hack where one can slow down the DVD drive to 1x while playing games and if you try it (as i did) you will see that it is in fact the DVD drive making that constant whooshing noise.

    *Of course, this is just on my console, so I suppose results could vary...
    Edited by 1 at 03/11/08 @ 18:07

  • Grayvern #101 3 years ago

    A) The disk in drive thing will never change, and for good reason microsoft makes most of its 360 profits off the back of game sales.
    B) The group friends update is the most important and the only feature that id like to see on the ps3, whos interface i like because its simple.
    Edited by 1 at 04/11/08 @ 04:17

  • Xerx3s #102 3 years ago

    "All you folks blaming the fans for the noise, I think you'll find you're mistaken. The DVD drive running at full speed constantly does, indeed, sound like a fan, but it is not. There is a hack where one can slow down the DVD drive to 1x while playing games and if you try it (as i did) you will see that it is in fact the DVD drive making that constant whooshing noise.

    *Of course, this is just on my console, so I suppose results could vary... "

    Or you could just play a dvd, xbox 1 game or HDD beta. No noise whatsoever as the drive spins at much lower rates.

  • homerramone #103 3 years ago

    Wonder if there will be a new revision to the XMBC to mirror this little lot :-)

  • loop7 #104 3 years ago

    new xbox experience = blu ray on ps3

  • Amoebalove #105 3 years ago

    new xbox experience = blu ray on ps3

    My god what a stupid comment by a stupid person. Why do these idiots bother?

  • Decap #106 3 years ago

    Nice, I truly like the way they are taking the XO to. Nice to be able to play games with much quieter console, thats the best part about this upgrade.

    BUT - I must say that the avatars look damn ridiculous and I wish that they would either get rid off them or just change them overall, but I doubt that happens anytime soon. Who really thinks that they look good and on par with everything else on XO? I mean why make them these childish-looking-Wii-Mii-wannabes?

    I really dont want a retarded comic-character to represent me on the gaming-world. Either make them more realistic (or something like spore where u have total control) or just make them optional for those that want to play sims and giggle at their newly gotten hat for their avatar.

    Stupid. :/

  • gagsie #107 3 years ago

    At what point will it actually become available? Been on a few times this morning expecting the usual "There is an update available" message but so far nada. Being far to excited about this update, I would like it sooner than later.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #108 3 years ago

    LOL you can even pick up the Mii360 and its legs wiggle.

    NXE is as slick as fuck, but would have prefered to see all my content like with Channels. The irony that Nintendo have the more Windows like interface.
    HD installes are great to cut down on noise and preserve the life of DVD unit, but serve no other purpose it seems. Load times are neglible, I swear Fable 2 has a voice bug now.

  • bad09 #109 3 years ago

    I've had a play I think it's pretty terrible TBH (please no angry tearful xbot posts berating me as usual, it's just my own opinion on the interface).

    Seems to me it's actually MORE cluttered and confusing than before! A simple task such as checking out what your friend are doing from the dash is now a joke for anyone over 5. I can't even choose not to have a crappy Mii because of a gaping silhouette where the thing goes.

    HUGE amounts of advertising, you've gone too far MS the little ads before were OK - just, but I'm bombarded with advertising now! Here's a tip MS, turn on a PS3 or Wii and see if they plaster games, movies, demos, music or crappy inside Xbox which no one reads anyway all over the interface.

    I wonder MS, you gonna give me my money back for all the "half" themes I have now? If you think I'll waste money on that sort of thing with you ever again you're wrong!

    I am so happy it's used for games and nothing else (except for my modest HD DVD collection) I couldn't bear to be on the dash for too long! TBH my 360 is on the way out (or so it sounds!) and if it does die I may think real hard if I want to replace it or just go it alone with my super slick interface (ad and Avatar free) PS3 - god I sound like the SDF!

    Was never not really sold on the "NXE" and now I've had a look I was right (about MY OWN view!!!!!) on the new interface. Oh well the installs might impress...

  • citizenHUNTER #110 3 years ago

    @Zero Cool, the 1680x1050 resolution isn't 16:9, it's more like 16:10, and since ALL Xbox360 games are displayed at 16:9 then it's either going to display it with the sides cut off, or squeezed in horizontally (a skewed and innaccurate image) or else as it is now, with borders at the top and bottom preserving the aspect ratio of the games AND allowing you to see the whole image being output by your games/DVD's. What do you want them to do, send you a new monitor that's in the right 16:9 resolution for you?! I personally like it because before I had to seriously stretch my image out to get the right aspect ratio (i.e. cirlces actually being circles and not ovals on the screen) but that meant I lost quite a lot of the sides of the image off my monitor.

    It's now in native resolution and you can see the full image that's present with no compromises. The only one being that it shows up the fact that our 16:10 ratio monitors are just that and that we should be richer and have got full on 1080p TV's. Sorry, mini rant over but your post annoyed me some.

    As for the NXE I only had a little play around on it this morning and will be going on it again soon, but it looks alright, works pretty quickly and the avatars aren't really present all that much anyways, fortunately cos my make-shift one looked a bit shit. Need to spend endless hours getting mine just right... Also got to test out HD installs but as long as it works can only be a good thing to reduce that awful drive spinning hurricane that's ever present in a game.

    I can't really say anything negative really, it's got a few improvements, no big downsides that I can see (you can get access to the old blades anyway now with the guide and it looks a hundred times better than what the old guide button used to bring up..) so I'm pretty happy. Now to go play with it.

    PLUS woot at the proper aspect ratio for me with my stupid 16:10 monitor, I can watch DVD's without being annoyed I'm not getting the best picture! :)

  • captainrentboy #111 3 years ago

    Seems cool enough, but it's nothing too exciting to be honest.
    My 360 has frozen twice since installing it, and from doing the same thing to, looking at what one of my friends are doing and then exiting out, BAM! Frozen. :/
    Avatars are alright, nowhere near as customisable as the Wii ones.
    I think it all looks a lot nicer, there's no doubt about that. But it doesn't seem any easier to navigate, infact to look at what friends are online it's far easier to push the guide button and revert back to the old style :/

  • bad09 #112 3 years ago

    Ah I get it, no wonder EG have been promoting the the NXE.

    What's that EurogamerTV, on inside Xbox channel you say.... ;)

    / starts an EG conspiracy theory "they're running it all in secret you know!!!!"

    / puts on tin foil hat and sits quietly with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix on the couch.....

  • danodynamo #113 3 years ago

    Been messing around with it for a while and its bang on.

  • GamesConnoisseur #114 3 years ago

    Always the 'OH my god its STUNK' luddite crowd around.

    Sure you cant get a from b without getting c and the unforeseen side effect you also would get d.

    Overall its a great improvement, a few mates on XBL have been very positive, avatar is not really a necessity but would counter Wii and Home and so XBL does not look stark naked next to them! Avatar would have some uses but the real change are party lobby and the interface.

    I loved the installs, I already used up almost 80 gbs to install the recent new games! A pain to put in the disk for verification but great that I can put in disk and option not to boot up when tray closed. So a pretty good update.

  • DrDamn #115 3 years ago

    Aside from not liking the clutter of the advertising pretending to be information it's a massively good update with many, many improvements on the original. If you are having trouble finding stuff then the mini guide (press guide button) works a lot like the old system only less cluttered and easier to use. so you can use this to get a list of what your friends are playing or cruicially quick launch stuff with ease.

    What I'm also impressed with is that there isn't just the big features, there are loads of cool little features in there too.

  • Velios #116 3 years ago

    This is better and more fun to use that the playstation 3 front end in my opinion.

  • suj #117 3 years ago

    New update is fucking FAIL. Now when browsing for demo's I have to siv through a fucking list of Arcade Trial's and proper Demo's mixed together. Before I could filter between "Arcade" and "Demos". FAIL.

    They had it spot on before with the old dash: New, however, is a horizontal sorting menu, broken down by filters like "All Games," "Arcade," "Demos," and "Recent Downloads." (This new horizontal and vertical organization is not unlike Sony's XMB design -- Microsoft calls it "twist" navigation, the same UI used for Zune.)

    So why the fuck did they get rid of the "Demos" filter and make it "Demos + Arcade trials" or whatever the fuck it's called in the new dash. They kept the arcade only filter, but got rid of the demos only one. I can't even go back to the old one which is even worse.

  • juho #118 3 years ago

    nxe = xmb + miis + coverflow. hooray for progressive thinking.