Dashboard Redesign Coming in November?

[Ironman273]

Dashboard Redesign Coming in November?

The Xbox 360 dashboard, the user interface for Microsoft's gaming console, looks like it may be getting a slight polish in November when the company launches their Xbox Live Gold Family plan.

The Family plan includes four one-year Xbox Live gold memberships for $100, as well as a new Family Center on the dashboard and the addition of more parental controls for the console.

A set of images that hit the Internet last night showing off a slightly reworked dashboard for the Xbox 360 seems to show the same changes seen in images Kotaku posted of the Family Center, due out in November. Those images, found here and here, were provided to Kotaku by Microsoft.

The changes seen in the images include slightly smaller text for the menu options and presenting the sub menu as a series of side-by-side images rather than images that drop away from the screen.

We've contacted Microsoft for clarification and will update this story once we hear back.

Source: Kotaku

[_neutrino Veteran]

I have not been around the 360 scene for rather some time could someone point out what exactly is different (when I last used a 360 it did not look like this) Still had the Vertical Bars navigation.

[Argi]

Just new backgrounds and minor UI tweaks from those screenshots - less space between items and the tiles look flatter.

[Ironman273]

I have not been around the 360 scene for rather some time could someone point out what exactly is different (when I last used a 360 it did not look like this) Still had the Vertical Bars navigation.

If you look at the first side-by-side picture, the NXE (current) version has the options stacked a little behind each other. The new version gets rid of the 3D space and lists them next to each other.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

This has been known since E3, but these screenshots show an older build as it still refers to Kinect as Natal.

Also it looks pretty rough, no doubt it'll be spruced up to watch the Kinect slides we've seen recently.

[Hylands]

Doesn't look like anything special. Not a total re-design, but I think it does look better than the current dashboard.

[Chasethebase Veteran]

Little tweaks that look good and effective. Kinda looks like it's following the Metro UI a little bit as well (Unless that's just me).

[what]

Looks boring :/ I wonder if we'll be able to have My Xbox as the default menu rather than Spotlight this time. Doubt it, so it looks like a backwards step.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

Kinda getting more and more similar to the XMB.

[Sethos]

Looks like a step back, hopefully it's just early shots and they have spruced it up a bit.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

I'd like it if it became more simplified (Y) (appears that way)

[Hedon]

Might be a step back removing the 3D appearance, but they might be looking at speeding it up by removing the fluff, which is the most important aspect.

[Sethos]

Might be a step back removing the 3D appearance, but they might be looking at speeding it up by removing the fluff, which is the most important aspect.

Yeah, speed boost would be a welcome change. Although with the above design, there's too many blocks and squares - Hopefully they could streamline it a bit more and still gain some speed.

[Hedon]

Yeah, speed boost would be a welcome change. Although with the above design, there's too many blocks and squares - Hopefully they could streamline it a bit more and still gain some speed.

Speed could be gained by letting us customize the damn thing too. It would be much faster to have My Xbox first (where I would want it), so I didn't have to scroll up to it. That alone would be a time saver. Oh, and a Zune Marketplace that loads instantly please.

[what]

Do you guys have problems with speed then? The NXE is still fine for me (apart from the stupid default menu selection when you connec to XBL). We don't have to think too hard to remember the old Blade design :p NXE is plenty fast enough and tbh I think the Xbox is more than capable of some simple 3D effects on the dashboard, making it more 2D won't make it any faster.

EDIT: actually the Zune Marketplace is a good case in point if I just want to watch a trailer, but that's why I removed it :p

[Hedon]

Do you guys have problems with speed then? The NXE is still fine for me (apart from the stupid default menu selection when you connec to XBL). We don't have to think too hard to remember the old Blade design :p NXE is plenty fast enough and tbh I think the Xbox is more than capable of some simple 3D effects on the dashboard, making it more 2D won't make it any faster.

I am fine with the speed of NXE going through each square (when I bother to use NXE). However, sometimes things are slow to load (such as friends when on NXE...their avatars take ages to load at times). Also, sometimes it takes a bit for content to appear when inside the marketplace when accessing the details for a game.

[Ironman273]

I am fine with the speed of NXE going through each square (when I bother to use NXE). However, sometimes things are slow to load (such as friends when on NXE...their avatars take ages to load at times). Also, sometimes it takes a bit for content to appear when inside the marketplace when accessing the details for a game.

Are you still on that megabit internet connection? You need to keep up and upgrade to gigabit!! :cool:

[Ayepecks]

This has been known since E3, but these screenshots show an older build as it still refers to Kinect as Natal.

Also it looks pretty rough, no doubt it'll be spruced up to watch the Kinect slides we've seen recently.

As Munky said, we've already had lengthy topics about this during E3. I'm amazed that Kotaku just now picked this up, since they had those screenshots published a month ago on their own Web site.

Edit: One of the topics -- https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/913462-new-kinect-dashboard-shown-in-action/

[LingeringSoul]

Little tweaks that look good and effective. Kinda looks like it's following the Metro UI a little bit as well (Unless that's just me).

I thought that way too. Like they're trying to establish a common aesthetic between Windows Phone 7 and the Xbox 360.

Definitely looks rough around the edges (figuratively speaking, that is), but I like the direction that they're going on. Though like Brian said, the ability to customize each section would be very nice.

[Hedon]

Are you still on that megabit internet connection? You need to keep up and upgrade to gigabit!! :cool:

Only 25mb for me :(

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Not a huge change, but looks decent.

[Livin in a box]

I like the current Dashboard and its 3D effect. I'm guessing that the Dashboard that was shown off at E3 is Kinect only, then? Everyone else will be getting a different version?

[mdtaUK]

It is taking on a more Metro UI style, from Windows Phone 7, Zune, and Media Center.

The custom made font for the Xbox has been replaced with the Segoe font, which Metro uses.

[+John. Subscriber¹]

Looks ok actually, bit flat but meh.

[Ironman273]

As Munky said, we've already had lengthy topics about this during E3. I'm amazed that Kotaku just now picked this up, since they had those screenshots published a month ago on their own Web site.

Edit: One of the topics -- https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/913462-new-kinect-dashboard-shown-in-action/

From what I remember from E3, you actually entered a special Kinect dashboard that had 6 boxes (per page) you could put your favorite applications on. The regular NXE dashboard shown at E3 seemed to be the same as the current. I thought this was new because it would extend it to the whole dashboard, or unify the look anyways.

Edit: Never mind. I went back to watch the E3 video and saw that the dashboard was new. Then from the new dashboard he entered the Kinect dashboard.