[E3] Xbox 360 gets avatar system, new dashboard

[Ricardo Gil]

Yea it does look like the old dashboard will be going away now that I think about it. But what's going to happen to all those themes everyone (else) bought??

Haha, suckers.

[magik]

:rofl: That does suck...

[Ayepecks]

Well, I'm glad I never bought any themes.

FYI, too, if you bought any gamer pictures they'll still work. Microsoft would just prefer you use avatars. It was in a recent Joystiq FAQ.

[funkyjunky]

Finally they came out with this! :)

I've been waiting so long for it to happen.

[TJenkins]

To shoot down the "It says press Y to go to the Dashboard...that means the old Dashboard is still there!" rumors...in the current UI if you press the guide button while on the dash you get the same option, press Y for Xbox Dashboard.

Well, I'm glad I never bought any themes.

FYI, too, if you bought any gamer pictures they'll still work. Microsoft would just prefer you use avatars. It was in a recent Joystiq FAQ.

http://kotaku.com/5025143/the-new-xbox-exp...some-conjecture

Your Old Stuff...

...will still work in the new interface. The gamerpics and themes you downloaded will work with NXE. And while we didn't get to see it in action, Marc Whitten swears they look "beautiful" on the new interface.

[magik]

^ Ah okay, that is all the confirmation we needed.

I'd imagine that the background will inherit the background used in the current themes and will scale accordingly on the new Guide. Great news and even though I didn't buy any themes, there were some nice free ones that I enjoyed. :)

[Smigit]

edit: beaten with the same quote. haha. I should pay more attention...

Yea it does look like the old dashboard will be going away now that I think about it. But what's going to happen to all those themes everyone (else) bought??

according to Kotaku

Your Old Stuff...

...will still work in the new interface. The gamerpics and themes you downloaded will work with NXE. And while we didn't get to see it in action, Marc Whitten swears they look "beautiful" on the new interface.

http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2008/07/the...njecture-2.html

So they may still work. How they will look I don't know. It could be that just the background is used as a wallpaper, hopefully not because I'd like to see that being a free option for users to change. I'd guess that maybe it will apply the background and then apply colours from the previous themes interactive bits like buttons to those interactive bits now in the new themes such as the floating panels background or whatever. Duno, but I'm sure they will think of something.

An interesting note from that kotaku article is "where do the ads go". I really hope they drop them completely, at least for paying customers. The new UI's nice and clean and I think they would do a dis-service by adding ads. I know the ads are always for XBox content but hopefully the new layout will be intuitive enough to help users find new content without the need for an ad banner.

[magik]

An interesting note from that kotaku article is "where do the ads go". I really hope they drop them completely, at least for paying customers. The new UI's nice and clean and I think they would do a dis-service by adding ads. I know the ads are always for XBox content but hopefully the new layout will be intuitive enough to help users find new content without the need for an ad banner.

I actually enjoy those "ads" (in quotes because they really aren't ads in the traditional sense, most of the time) because it usually lets me know relatively quickly what is new on the Marketplace. If it weren't for these ads, I would need to go on forums and follow various blogs such as Major Nelson's to really know what is out there (and even then there are several times when things are missed). So I welcome the ads unless they can find some other sort of way to introduce new content relatively easily.

[mail]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36411.html

Longer HD walkthrough of dashboard 2.0.

[Ayepecks]

I never had any problem with the ads because they alerted me of new games and new game downloads, as well as other content that I might have not known about otherwise.

I have a hard time seeing where they fit into the new interface, but I don't mind either way, personally.

[Corris Veteran]

I've updated the first post with info from the thread.

[Smigit]

I actually enjoy those "ads" (in quotes because they really aren't ads in the traditional sense, most of the time) because it usually lets me know relatively quickly what is new on the Marketplace. If it weren't for these ads, I would need to go on forums and follow various blogs such as Major Nelson's to really know what is out there (and even then there are several times when things are missed). So I welcome the ads unless they can find some other sort of way to introduce new content relatively easily.

I'd much rather one of the panes was a news pane that had releases, scheduled down time and update info ect. That way it's less invasive than the ads in that they don't appear on panels that aren't suited to the content (say gamercard panel) while likely being something users will more readily want to see. A News panel can also serve as a more subtle advertisement for like 10+ items where the ads can only really hit a single product.

So yeah, I'd love to see a news pane. They can still use it to put new products out there but at the same time it feels more user centric than ad banners do.

I have a hard time seeing where they fit into the new interface, but I don't mind either way, personally.

Yeah thats my concern...which is why I'd just shoot for one of those panes to be dedicated to news and the like. I do like hearing about new products, but the ad banners IMHO aren't the best way to do it and don't hit enough products.

[magik]

^ Yea, I think a dedicated News panel is a great idea. That is kinda like what Microsoft did with the "Inside Xbox" feature on the current dash but taking it one step further. Hopefully they have thought of a good solution to this. We'll see...

[Ayepecks]

To see how the dashboard looks with previously released themes, click here:

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/40152/Xb...ade-Screenshots

Looks better than before, IMO :) (Better than on the old Dashboard, I mean. I never found the point of buying themes on it. They show up nice now, though.)

[GuJu]

FINALLY

happy to see the stupid dashboard GO!!!!

and i also like that its like browsing the PS3

[magik]

To see how the dashboard looks with previously released themes, click here:

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/40152/Xb...ade-Screenshots

Looks better than before, IMO :) (Better than on the old Dashboard, I mean. I never found the point of buying themes on it. They show up nice now, though.)

Woah, that actually looks pretty freaking cool. :D

[spenser.d]

Woah, that actually looks pretty freaking cool. :D

Definitely agree. I can't wait for this!

I believe when we were talking about the Spring Update (that didn't come) I said...

I have nothing in particular [i'd like to see in the update], personally, but if past updates are anything to go by, I'd like to think we'll get quite a few decent things out of it.

...and I think, albeit quite a few months late, they're giving us something surpassing just decent :woot:

-Spenser

[TJenkins]

Looks better than I imagined with the themes applied. Hopefully there is an option to change the gray area on the bottom to another color.

[Trong]

I'm pretty excited for this update but Fall 08 is a really long time period. The overall cleaner look is what gets me.

Here's to hoping that it comes out in September.

[HawkMan]

^ Yea, I think a dedicated News panel is a great idea. That is kinda like what Microsoft did with the "Inside Xbox" feature on the current dash but taking it one step further. Hopefully they have thought of a good solution to this. We'll see...

Well on of the "channels" showed on the video was a "featured" panel, and since the ads did this purpose, and not just showing new stuff but also cool featured stuf you might have mised, it seems this channel is there to replace the ads. Don't remember what they called the channel right now though, too early in the morning, going to work and the video is slow to buffer up :)

ah yeah, the spotlight channel

[+Mystic MVC]

To see how the dashboard looks with previously released themes, click here:

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/40152/Xb...ade-Screenshots

Looks better than before, IMO :) (Better than on the old Dashboard, I mean. I never found the point of buying themes on it. They show up nice now, though.)

The themes look great. Instead of having to make 5 separate ones for blades, they can focus their work on a superior and cleaner look.

[tehmemories]

I really ****ing hate the new interface. Words cannot describe how much I hate it, the avatar system and everything else (Did I buy an Apple product?) The blade system is great and easy to use. Why change it? By the looks of the new dashboard, it looks confusing as hell. The average gamer does NOT need it. I really hope they make it, so you can use the blade system, even after this horrible update.

The only feature I love, is the Netflix integration.

Edited July 17, 2008 by tehmemories

[XiXora]

I honestly don't know why everyone is calling it an apple product?

Possibly because of the off-white/grey? But the colour of the Xbox is off-white! (well, not the elites but still)

IMO it's just a simplified cleaner experience. The blades at the moment are quite cluttered and I cannot find a theme (which is free) which I like except the GTA4 one.

[Guest]

wow... the themes look really nice.

Cant wait until the update... The blades were getting too cluttered in my opinion.

Hope they show more soon. Pictures dont do this update justice

Dont know why they are comparing it to apple either.

Looks more like Flip 3D ( invented by microsoft ) than Coverflow ( purchaced by apple )

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Nice, the themes look awesome on the new daskboard :woot: