[Opinion] Dreaming of Dashboard 2.0

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

When I came home with my shiny new Xbox 360 waaaaaay back in 2005, one of my favorite features of the console was the dashboard. The blades were an amazing leap from the clumsy interface of the original Xbox, offering all sorts of expanded control, options, and content that I didn?t even imagine in the previous generation?s hardware.

But nothing lasts forever, and after a few years of noble service, the Xbox 360 dashboard is really starting to show its age and, worse, its limitations. You can find hints of these shortcomings in Microsoft?s recent actions. The back-to-back May announcements of no Spring update and the delisting of selected Xbox Live Arcade titles suggested larger issues. Even the comments made by Microsoft executives on the topic were telling?like when Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten said of the decision not to offer a Spring dashboard update that they were instead:

?building the proper infrastructure and scale for the service.?

Or when Aaron Greenberg commented on the delisting of Xbox Live Arcade games:

?I think that we are not, I would say?happy with the ability to find and discover content as easily as we?d like for consumers to be able to do that.?

So, Microsoft acknowledges the problem. Is there a solution? I think so. Lots of them, actually. We?ve spent some time on our recent podcasts talking about the need for a dashboard 2.0. I decided to take it a step further, look at what exists currently, and suggest some ways to improve things?yes, for Microsoft?but prima*note: I?m in no way imagining that what I propose below is the solution, or even necessarily a solution. My point, instead, is that solutions exist?and we need ?em.* exist?and we need ?em.*

Is that all you got?[/size]

Not exactly. I haven?t given extensive thought to every blade (I question my sanity for doing this much mucking about, fer chrissakes), but I did also spend some time thinking about what features the Marketplace needs to serve me better. Here?s a peek:

Some of the added elements here that would make shopping much more handy are

* user ratings?Microsoft has often talked about XBLA (and XNA) becoming ?the YouTube of gaming.? Content on YouTube lives or dies based on user ratings. That same law should be applied to XBLA?anyone who has purchased the full game should have the chance to rate it. Frankly, I?d be more comfortable seeing a game get delisted as a result of lousy user ratings than I would as a result of lousy Metacritic scores.

* better sorting?I think a number of sorting options would aid my shopping experience immensely. Let me sort by date, user rating, alphabetically, etc. Also, make it easy for me to see what?s free on the Marketplace.

* show me the money?I want to know what a game costs without clicking to its page to find out. Similarly, I?d like to have my points balance on the screen at all times, not just when I?m preparing to buy something.

* ok, NOW advertise?once I?m in the store, I?m fair game. You wanna load up the Marketplace with a wall of ads? Do your worst. Just keep it away from the other blades.

With E3 only a couple weeks away, I?m keeping my fingers crossed that we?ll see a revamped dashboard from Microsoft for the Xbox 360?one that is more focused on me, and less on them. What would you want from ?dashboard 2.0″? Drop us a comment and let us know. And if you want to spread the word (and the love), digg it.

Source: http://www.platformnation.com/2008/07/01/d...f-dashboard-20/

Feelings?

I think it's a fair guess to assume something is cooking in the MS camp.

[popisdead uk]

Looks good, the Dashboard on the 360 at present is dated and clunky.

[Smigit]

so the dashboard theme counts as "unused space" but in his mock up a single image taking up 2/3 of the screen suddenly becomes "user content". Seems a bit dodgy to inconsistently treat theming in such a manner that benefits your arguement.

That said, I like the idea of his implementation more to be honest minus a few issues. I find the current dash to be a bit heavy and clunky, especially the fact you have to scroll through successive screens to get to the one you want.

[Unimatrix Xero]

personally i like the dashboard how it is

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

so the dashboard theme counts as "unused space" but in his mock up a single image taking up 2/3 of the screen suddenly becomes "user content". Seems a bit dodgy to inconsistently treat theming in such a manner that benefits your arguement.

That said, I like the idea of his implementation more to be honest minus a few issues.

I think it's the idea that instead of the blades, you just have a large portion dedicated to a picture of your own.

Like a wallpaper on your PC. It takes up the majority of your desktop.

I do think we could debate the scaling though, of how much space goes to the background/wallpaper.

[Pajter]

so the dashboard theme counts as "unused space" but in his mock up a single image taking up 2/3 of the screen suddenly becomes "user content". Seems a bit dodgy to inconsistently treat theming in such a manner that benefits your arguement.

That said, I like the idea of his implementation more to be honest minus a few issues. I find the current dash to be a bit heavy and clunky, especially the fact you have to scroll through successive screens to get to the one you want.

That's what I thought as well. :rofl: He kinda switches things around to get it how he likes it.

But, I totally agree on the fact that the dashboard can use a big update.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

One thing is for sure, I'm glad he's not working on the GUI for the 360 :x

I like the 360 dashboard as it is tbh. Adding a search feature would be a great addition though as it makes finding your content and marketplace content easier.

However..

“building the proper infrastructure and scale for the service.”

has absolutely nothing to do with the frontend GUI for gamers :blink:

[PiracyX]

Looks good, the Dashboard on the 360 at present is dated and clunky.

Haha.....

I'd say the PS3 XMB is dated in terms of its look. Xbox360 dash is far more of a step up than XMB.

[Ricardo Gil]

especially the fact you have to scroll through successive screens to get to the one you want.

There's really no way around that, unless of course you have a blade with bookmarks to your favorite options.

[Dick Montage]

While I don't agree with what constitutes "used space" in the mockup - I 100% like it.

However, I do not represent the average gamer. I don't like big clunky "obvious" layouts - I prefer clear representation of information.

[WooSH]

Haha.....

I'd say the PS3 XMB is dated in terms of its look. Xbox360 dash is far more of a step up than XMB.

really? each to his own i guess.

i think they are both quite matched, yet one of them has an upperhand.

1. You're paying for a service and there is advertisements? A really cheap way to screw you over twice.

2. Scalability. XMB looks really nice on widescreens (the majority of the demograph who have a highend console also tend to have an hd system) yet still proves to be functional for 4:3 users. 360 proves to be optimized for the 4:3 users, yet leaves the HDTVers with a version that isnt fully taking advantage of the real estate.

3. Light. Fast. Accessible. XMB (as of tommorow) will be fully accessible from anywhere, in game, out of game, in a movie, listening to music, browsing the web. I can jump into my music scroll through a list of a thousand songs, jump out and browse some movies in my network, play it and stream it. Then jump out and see whose online and send a messgage all while the movie is playing with full audio/video in the background. XMB feels slow and clunky with their animations. Sometimes you just want to get the job done, with the nice and subtle effects yet still keep that speed and performance.

4. Customization Paying for themes? Really? All PS3 themes developed by Sony are free for the users to download. They are some pretty top notch ones may i add. Also a devkit has been released to the public so an end user can create his own theme to his tastes...for free. And not only that there are multiple online communities where people upload and share them for free...all at no cost, and no tampering with the system.

This is all what it has as of now. The System Firmware is constantly updating, and improving as it runs along. You can just take a look at the PSP and how darastically it has evolved from the time it was launched. And this is a far bigger product which recieves far greater attention. This will only get better as things such as Home are released and other products that may come in the future.

Conclusion

With all the future benefits aside, looking at the two system software setups, both are matched up quite evenly, with give and take here and there. One more visually pleasing(?) and one with more tasking capabilities(?) yet one comes at a price and advertisements, and the other with no cost and no advertisements. Is there anything that one console has at this point which the other is clearly lacking? Please weigh in your thoughts.

[.KICK]

I do like some aspects of that mock up they did but the current Xbox Dashboard is fine for the moment. Only wish it was slightly quicker and had a search function.

[Ricardo Gil]

1. You're paying for a service and there is advertisements? A really cheap way to screw you over twice.

Pay? It's free, and also the advertisements are about content of Live itself. I don't really see how you're getting screwed.

2. Scalability. XMB looks really nice on widescreens (the majority of the demograph who have a highend console also tend to have an hd system) yet still proves to be functional for 4:3 users. 360 proves to be optimized for the 4:3 users, yet leaves the HDTVers with a version that isnt fully taking advantage of the real estate.

.

XMB is really good, I've liked it since I got my PSP back in '05. Unfortunately, Sony is getting really messy organizing PS3 menus. Some are so long that it's really hard to find the item you're looking for. They could use some "house cleaning" over there.

The Dashboard looks the same to me SD/HD, may not be the best way, but I have no problem using it

3. Light. Fast. Accessible. XMB (as of tommorow) will be fully accessible from anywhere, in game, out of game, in a movie, listening to music, browsing the web. I can jump into my music scroll through a list of a thousand songs, jump out and browse some movies in my network, play it and stream it. Then jump out and see whose online and send a messgage all while the movie is playing with full audio/video in the background. XMB feels slow and clunky with their animations. Sometimes you just want to get the job done, with the nice and subtle effects yet still keep that speed and performance.

Fixed

4. Customization Paying for themes? Really? All PS3 themes developed by Sony are free for the users to download. They are some pretty top notch ones may i add. Also a devkit has been released to the public so an end user can create his own theme to his tastes...for free. And not only that there are multiple online communities where people upload and share them for free...all at no cost, and no tampering with the system.

The Dashboard allows you to customize it for free. Some themes (although ugly :laugh: ) are free too.

Conclusion

With all the future benefits aside, looking at the two system software setups, both are matched up quite evenly, with give and take here and there. One more visually pleasing(?) and one with more tasking capabilities(?) yet one comes at a price for free and advertisements, and the other with no cost and no advertisements. Is there anything that one console has at this point which the other is clearly lacking? Please weigh in your thoughts.

Fixed a bit.

--

While comparisons are made between XMB and Dashboard, people tend to forget about the Wii, which in my opinion serves its purpose really nicely, maybe better than the other two. It focuses on content by putting it right in front of you, just like the iPhone, letting you decide what you want and where you want it.

Edited July 1, 2008 by Ricardo Gil

[Sethos]

God that mock-up is horrible, I'll just keep my Dashboard just the way it is, thanks (Y)

Works perfectly, has since day 1.

[Smigit]

There's really no way around that, unless of course you have a blade with bookmarks to your favorite options.

well the one he has there where the menu divisions are presented on the side would mean you wouldnt have to scroll through each screen (something I find a tad cumbersome). They could just have you press a button to bring the selection from the left hand side up. Theres certainly ways around it, just not in the current implementation.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Pay? It's free, and also the advertisements are about content of Live itself. I don't really see how you're getting screwed.

.

XMB is really good, I've liked it since I got my PSP back in '05. Unfortunately, Sony is getting really messy organizing PS3 menus. Some are so long that it's really hard to find the item you're looking for. They could use some "house cleaning" over there.

The Dashboard looks the same to me SD/HD, may not be the best way, but I have no problem using it

Fixed

The Dashboard allows you to customize it for free. Some themes (although ugly :laugh: ) are free too.

Fixed a bit.

--

While comparisons are made between XMB and Dashboard, people tend to forget about the Wii, which in my opinion serves it's purpose really nicely, maybe better than the other two. It focuses on content by putting it right in front of you, just like the iPhone, letting you decide what you want and where you want it.

True, you don't pay for the dashboard you pay for online play.

FYI XMB works on movies on your hard drive/streaming movies - It actually works with them right now. It's BR discs/DVD discs it won't work with tomorrow.

I don't think we need to buy into the exact pictures that guy made, just that changes are probably happening, even if it's just adding a search bar.

[Cormier6083]

the mockup makes my head hurt.

[Smigit]

the mockup makes my head hurt.

Yeah having another look his has some issues. Firstly theres too many colours. As with web page design I'd say a good UI shouldn't have too many colours going on. It look too much like a rainbow. Maybe making inactive menu items to the left greyscale/shaded out would help.

The other big issue he introduces is that theres no primary focus, especially when the marketplace tab opens up. You have the sidebar displaying a good amount of information while the main area is trying to do the same, all in some sort of odd 1/3 to 2/3 division of screen realestate. The content isnt centred horizontally. Not a huge issue but as soon as the side bar starts displaying vital information and taking up as much space as it does I think you get a bit of a conflict as both divisions are fighting for the users attention.

Basically in that shot where the market place is open my eyes are still drawn to the top left corner with the friends online counter and messages ect. Thats partly due to the brighter colour yellow vs red but also due to the larger text. It takes up a good amount of the screen and being on the left I guess it's natural for me to focus there 1st and theres nothing that compelling in the marketplaces window that draws me away from the menu.

Not sure what you could do about that....I'd be half tempted to try a mock up where those menu items ran horizontally accross the top (or bottom) and you had your gamer pic and a couple of relevant items up in the top right corner, almost like the xbox website in a way. I like the idea of the nav menus all being on one screen as opposed to having to go through many to get to where you want, but his implementation also loses focus on content what with the amount thrown into the navigation area.

[Ricardo Gil]

If enough of you get interested, how about creating a thread (or one for each platform) with mock-ups of their respective interfaces. Nothing too professional, just enough to show some of the flaws people find, and their own ideas on how to fix them. Could be fun... anyone else interested?

[Ayepecks]

Just IMO, but his ideas are pretty crap.

I prefer the Dashboard to what I've seen of XMB. XMB just looks like a cheap imitation, but it is definitely something PS3 users need. Just my personal preference.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Just IMO, but his ideas are pretty crap.

I prefer the Dashboard to what I've seen of XMB. XMB just looks like a cheap imitation, but it is definitely something PS3 users need. Just my personal preference.

How can the XMB be an imitation of the dashboard when they couldn't look any more different? :/

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

He, "as a graphic designer" no doubt sucks. No wonder he has spare time to make a mock-up of the Dashboard. Seriously, I want improvements to the Dashboard like anyone else, but this guy hasn't got a clue :no:

[PL_ Veteran]

I'm going to try to not sound like a "stupid fanboy" here, but after switching to a Mac I realise how cleaner borderless designs look. The XMB, IMO looks much nicer because it's more simple. I don't have a PS3, however, and like with the 360 my views may change when I use it day-to-day.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

i wouldn't exactly call all that yellow "User space" as if has nothing to do with the user. if anything, it should be purple, for Unused space.

I like what he did with the right hand side marketplace.. sure does look better then the current design

but as for his dashboard mockup, it just doesn't look nice. Everything is so... square, and blocky

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

^

It's userspace essentially because it's your wallpaper area. The pic has a Halo wallpaper as an example. You could have a GOW picture there instead if you wanted.