Microsoft just announced at E3 that they'll be giving the Xbox 360 a total software overhaul this fall. "When people turn on their Xbox 360s this fall, they'll get an entirely new interface and Dashboard, an entirely new Xbox through the magic of software," said John Schappert, head of Live services. New features will include those
fancy new Mii-like 3D Avatars, a new emphasis on community with IM, video chat, and photo sharing, along with a brand new 3D slide interface for the main Dashboard screen. Avatars will be integrated into your GamerCard, but you can also create a "Live party" and invite your friends, with as many as 8 of your three dimensional homies hanging out at once -- though you're not hanging out in an actual 3D environment. You can use your avatar in certain Live Arcade games like Uno, and even in third party titles such as the upcoming Scene It? title. It sounds like Microsoft is taking cues from the Wii, Sony's Home and Facebook all in one fell swoop, not bad at all.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
o29 @ Jul 14th 2008 2:15PM
My dashboard could use a bit of a makeover...
tyler @ Jul 14th 2008 3:14PM
Those avatars are such a Wiipoff.
ExcaliburXVII @ Jul 26th 2008 9:32PM
Does anyone know if the 60GB 360 will have an HDMI output? Personally, I think all of these hardware revisions are bullsh*t. Build it once. Making people buy the same thing over and over is ridiculous.
Darren @ Jul 14th 2008 4:59PM
Dear Nintendo,
Welcome to the wonderful world of competing with Microsoft.
Sincerely,
Apple
Ridgecity @ Jul 14th 2008 6:03PM
they didn't just copy Nintendo, it works using a Coverflow interface "an innovating experience" they say. Thanks god they didn't call their new music player "walking man", I bet they mentioned it during meetings...
Can you believe people have spent 1 Billion dollars on XBL?? that's a lot of horse armor!
Ridgecity @ Jul 14th 2008 6:04PM
they didn't just copy Nintendo, it works using a Coverflow interface "an innovating experience" they say. Thanks god they didn't call their new music player "walking man", I bet they mentioned it during meetings...
Can you believe people have spent 1 Billion dollars on XBL?? that's a lot of horse armor!
Georges @ Jul 14th 2008 7:48PM
WAt i do hope dat Xbox Live does do is somethin facebook did wit da Im and let us use Aim or have a choice to choose between aim and msn messenger cause no one uses msn compared to aim That to Me would be awesome
Samuel Wat @ Jul 14th 2008 7:55PM
@Darren
LMFAO!!!!!
Chris Macdonald @ Jul 14th 2008 9:08PM
Innovation brought to you by microsoft..
jimmyink @ Jul 15th 2008 6:11AM
I can't believe my eyes, that is such poor quality as far as UI design goes. Blades were much better. Can't beat the elegance of the xmb.
Pochi @ Jul 14th 2008 2:15PM
"..an entirely new Xbox through the magic of software."
They're fixing RRODs via software updates now? Because that's the only "entirely new Xbox" most people REALLY need...
: )
kal326 @ Jul 14th 2008 2:32PM
To bad Engadget's comment system never gets any new things through "the magic of software". Like Edit or Delete buttons and the even more needed feature of "Block dumbass comments".
Then you would just need a little script like Pochi.BlockDumbassComments=True;
mike @ Jul 14th 2008 2:50PM
They have already tried addressed the rrodz with a hardware update, i.e. the falcon chips.
Regardless, I think this new dashboard likes like it belongs on a wii and I hope I have the option NOT to download it. Personally I prefer the original xbox's dashboard concept. Why is xbox getting steadily less badass?
L @ Jul 14th 2008 2:57PM
Yeah. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Engadget, add an "Ignore" feature. A blog post without having to read the endless crap coming from oceans/claks/Steffen Jobs/etc would be soooo much nicer. And who knows, maybe people would actually start to comment sensibly again because they get the idea that nobody listens to them if they're just constantly PITA'ing...
Pochi @ Jul 14th 2008 3:01PM
I don't know what you guys are talking about, Clak is a genius.
GadgetNut @ Jul 14th 2008 4:03PM
I'm a Clak groupie :-)
Pochi @ Jul 14th 2008 5:03PM
@GadgetNut
We need to support his every word from this day forward.
nxtiak @ Jul 14th 2008 2:17PM
About time.
BigDaddyM @ Jul 14th 2008 3:38PM
Change for teh sake of change is bad.
There is nothing wrong with the old style.
Now don't get me wrong, an update is nice, but I really hope it is really thought out to improve usability...
M
Goldaar @ Jul 14th 2008 7:34PM
I don't think they will do something to decrease the usability of the 360 interface, look at the MCE interface, where the XBox gets a lot of its design queues. I think if anything this will improve the usability and provide more streamlined access to things, like playing games, or streaming your media, or connecting to a media center.
Kinger @ Jul 21st 2008 2:12PM
That better be really you in that pic
Fernando G. @ Jul 14th 2008 2:17PM
i still need to get it hooked up to my router =/
Sarig @ Jul 14th 2008 2:49PM
Yeah, same here. I quite like the current dashboard though :) Don't know too many people with xbox 360's, so I never got around to hooking it up before.
While the new dashboard doesn't appeal to me, the avatar thing seems cool enough.
tiuk @ Jul 14th 2008 2:20PM
I hope they give us the option of using the old dash. Something tells me they won't, though.
Oh well, hope I like the new one.
tiuk @ Jul 14th 2008 2:24PM
I just read one part from the keynote that I liked:
"You can chat with or send messages to your friends, but there's something new: create a Live party, private groups of up to 8 people, always connected and chatting as a party."
That's awesome news and about damned time. It's ridiculously hard to get a group of friends all together to play something, and actually keep the group together as you change matches (let alone games). If they do this right I'll be one happy guy.
Oskin @ Jul 15th 2008 1:17AM
They said you wouldn't have a choice... I personally loved the Xbox 360 Dashboard, I always get frustrated with the Playstation 3 interface and I don't know why but I got the impression it will feel a lot alike! Anyway I do like the group thing too, if well implemented it could make it a lot easier manage a group of friends!
John @ Jul 14th 2008 2:24PM
New Dashboard: Combination of Apple's Cover Flow and Nintendo Channels
New Avatars: Combination of distorted Nintendo Miis and PS3's SL clone "Home"
More middle-of-the-road, please-everyone "innovation" from the world's most notorious intellectual property thieves.
The Dude @ Jul 14th 2008 2:36PM
If anything it looks like Flip 3D. Cover Flow has a centered image, with additional images facing each other from both sides. They also essentially sit at the same/close (x,y) coordinates. The new dashboard has tiles progressing into the distance. Like Flip 3D.
But plz, TROLL MOAR. Long live teh flame warz.
Taylor @ Jul 14th 2008 3:16PM
@ John
Actually, this is really similar to one of their original ideas for the dashboard, long before coverflow came out. I saw it on some video somewhere.
So, do the world a favor and swallow a knife? I'm sooo sick of people claiming someone copied someone else...
-Taylor
chickenator @ Jul 14th 2008 3:44PM
no matter from who they rip it off, it's still a ripoff nonetheless.
Eric @ Jul 14th 2008 4:53PM
Reading the description, I thought exactly the same thing - CoverFlow and the Mii Channel combined.
Hawkman @ Jul 14th 2008 6:01PM
There's definitely a dash (geddit?) of AppleTV 1.0 in there too.
Actually, I thought one of the better features of the 360 was its dashboard. Maybe it wasn't awesome, but it was distinctive and different. They just needed to fix the terrible music playback interface, and the networking (getting that set up reliably is, frankly, voodoo). Whether this is a copy or not (it happens so many times, "coincidence" is pushing the limits of belief a bit), it *looks* like a rip-off of everything popular, and it's the perception that counts...
Ridgecity @ Jul 14th 2008 6:09PM
"If anything it looks like Flip 3D. Cover Flow has a centered image, with additional images facing each other from both sides. They also essentially sit at the same/close (x,y) coordinates. The new dashboard has tiles progressing into the distance. Like Flip 3D."
That's reaching. Of course this is a copy. That's like saying "Hey dude you are wearing the same clothes as me!!" "not really, I'm wearing an XL while you are wearing an L size, that's not copying!"
FoxHoundADAM @ Jul 14th 2008 2:24PM
I like that they are re-doing teh dashboard and adding what sound like cool features but cenetering all this around that boring avatar makes me scared.
kal326 @ Jul 14th 2008 2:36PM
@FoxHoundADAM
Hey, look on the bright side its not like the Avatar is going to pop up and say "Hey, its looks like you're writing a letter."
Alareth @ Jul 14th 2008 3:33PM
Clippy says, "It looks like you are having trouble with this level n00b. Would you like me to complete it for you?"
SeeScottRock @ Jul 14th 2008 3:58PM
holy freaking wow
I'm at work and i literally laughed quite loudly
Clippy FTW
coffee @ Jul 14th 2008 4:28PM
lol Alareth wins
Sith Lord 24 @ Jul 14th 2008 2:28PM
so when is the BS3's HOME coming out... oh wait its delayed till 2014
Biomech @ Jul 14th 2008 2:30PM
Xbox and PS3 were (are) much cooler without avatars. =(
Rambler @ Jul 14th 2008 2:44PM
I agree... If i want to play little kids games, ill buy a Wii.
Derek @ Jul 14th 2008 2:32PM
How incredibly boring.
I can't wait to see how much I have to pay monthly to have an Avatar.
But wait, maybe I can buy a Platinum Live account®™ and have up to 5* custom made XbileMee®™ for free*!
The Dude @ Jul 14th 2008 2:45PM
You registered today just to troll.
How incredibly pathetic.
Hawkman @ Jul 14th 2008 5:54PM
The Dude: You checked. Mr Pot, meet Mr Kettle?
redrox @ Jul 14th 2008 2:35PM
Coverflow.
Nitecrawlah2 @ Jul 14th 2008 2:36PM
Can't wait to see it in motion!
phinnvr6 @ Jul 14th 2008 2:38PM
What is that a "Mii" on the dashboard? Lol.
genesic @ Jul 14th 2008 2:39PM
ehhh...I'll have to reserve judgment till it drops.
I was never a big fan of the current dashboard, (thought it was too "cluttered" and had too many blades) but it serves the purpose. I am however always looking for new GUI's and really dig the whole Aero/Coverflow look. XBl is (imho) the best game network service out there fright now, so heres hoping MS doesnt drop the ball on this one!
KingofallBrats. @ Jul 14th 2008 2:42PM
Some of you guys are major drama queens. Jeez, if you don't like it then don't buy it. No one really cares about your "review" of Microsoft's business model or having "avatars". Don't like it don't use it, Paula...
All the talk about stealing intellectual property is ridiculous and should stay with 16 year old gamestop employees. There are laws.
Sarig @ Jul 14th 2008 3:10PM
If you already have an xbox 360 and want to continue playing online, there's no don't buy it don't use it option. You have to upgrade if you want to keep doing what you already were doing.