New Kinectified XMB Today - Your Thoughts?

Do you like the new XMB issued with today's system update?

  • Yes! I like it!

    Votes: 37 43.0%

  • Maybe, maybe not. I'm still on the fence.

    Votes: 15 17.4%

  • No. I don't like it.

    Votes: 14 16.3%

  • I could give a rat's ass less.

    Votes: 20 23.3%
  • Total voters
    86
Mr. Bluntman

Mr. Bluntman

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
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As many of you know, MS has issued a mandatory system update with offers fixes and "improvements", as well as a new NXE (interface) built with Kinect in mind. Personally, I hate the new look but that's my thought. What do you think, [H]ard|Forum? And why?
 
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/me shrugs. I guess MS is really gonna try their best to shove kinect down peoples throats. But i dont care one way or another about the XMB now.
 
XMB is the name for PS3's interface. MS just calls theirs the "dashboard" I believe.
 
Seems to be a lot quicker. Not sure about the actual design, but I'm pleased with the performance.

@P_I: What do you mean "locked out"?
 
I guess this would explain all of the XBL errors I kept getting last night. I was thinking this wasn't due until the 19th for some reason.
 
4saken said:
/me shrugs. I guess MS is really gonna try their best to shove kinect down peoples throats. But i dont care one way or another about the XMB now.
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Of course they want to shove it down everyone's throat, just like Windows. Both "high-end" console makers want to drag out this generation for 10-15 years at the least, so the best they came up with was a "Mii-too" motion control scheme to compete with the Wii in the casual market?

You betcha.

The XBox 360 is already being pushed to the limit in Halo: Reach. Seriously, how much left is in that old hardware? I think it's time MS. Many will agree. Time to cap Old Yeller behind the shed.

Developers say the RSX in the PS3 is already tapped out, but Cell is what is giving that console longer legs. But again, how soon is it before games are maxing out both the RSX and Cell? Not very long, I'd assume (maybe another 2-3 years?).

Do graphics stagnate, or do developers venture forth with new rendering techniques, but start dropping the resolution further towards SD resolutions? FFS, the majority of games are 1024x576 with 2x AA already, some even 960x540. There are exceptions, but few games actually run at 1280x720 natively, and far fewer with more than 2x AA.


However, in these "HD" (*laughs*) consoles are one redeeming factor. They still have more GPU power than 90%+ of the computers and laptops people buy. Thanks, Intel.

This gulf is shrinking though, but nowhere near fast enough.


Basically, the average joe gamer is still very pleased with these arcane architectures and the results they provide, studios and publishers are bitching and moaning about rising development costs and PC piracy, blah, blah, fucking blah. This makes the console manufacturers very happy. Milk the enconomies of scale that the casual market will bring through Move and Kinect, pull the wool over consumers' eyes by saying these systems have a long life ahead, and laugh all the way to the bank.


My forecast? More of the same crap until 2013-14. I would like to be wrong, but then, I'd have to buy a new console!
 
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I have a gaming-level PC hooked up to my TV and while it's obviously better looking than the consoles, they're still holding up pretty well in terms of horsepower.
The issue I have with Kinect is the same one I have the the PlayStation Move.
They're both add-ons, and throughout history add-ons tend to fail. They split your audience into haves/have-nots and the have-nots are always the bigger group by more than 20-fold. Hence developers are stuck in a chicken and egg scenario. Why develop for an item nobody has? Why buy something nobody is seriously developing for?
The Wii worked because everyone had the same stuff, and extra control options were cheap add-ons, legacy pads, or in some cases even included with the game.
Kinect and Move don't have that luxury and I wonder if they're both either knee-jerk reactions to "Nintendo is doing really well!" or just trial runs for whatever their next gen systems are.
Kinect and Move need to be part of new hardware - not because the current ones can't run 'em, but because only a tiny % of gamers are going to buy them separately.
 
Domingo said:
I have a gaming-level PC hooked up to my TV and while it's obviously better looking than the consoles, they're still holding up pretty well in terms of horsepower.
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Agreed to a point, but would it kill them to use anisotropic filtering on some games? And this doesn't resolve the fact that the hardware is still woefully out of date.


Domingo said:
The issue I have with Kinect is the same one I have the the PlayStation Move.
They're both add-ons, and throughout history add-ons tend to fail. They split your audience into haves/have-nots and the have-nots are always the bigger group by more than 20-fold. Hence developers are stuck in a chicken and egg scenario. Why develop for an item nobody has? Why buy something nobody is seriously developing for?
Click to expand...

I'm totally with you here. I remember the Sega CD/32X debacle in 1994-5. Didn't work out to well for Sega, did it? Neither did hiring Bernie Stolar.

Domingo said:
The Wii worked because everyone had the same stuff, and extra control options were cheap add-ons, legacy pads, or in some cases even included with the game.
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Not to mention it was $150-350 cheaper that their compeditors' SKUs. (I know the XBox 360 Core system was initially $300, but seriously. Why?) And it has Wii Sports. A big sell for most everyone that bought it.

Domingo said:
Kinect and Move don't have that luxury and I wonder if they're both either knee-jerk reactions to "Nintendo is doing really well!" or just trial runs for whatever their next gen systems are.
Kinect and Move need to be part of new hardware - not because the current ones can't run 'em, but because only a tiny % of gamers are going to buy them separately.
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Again, I agree. :)
 
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How long does this take to update? I started the update, left to get a snack and came back to a "No video connection" screen on my TV and the xbox has no green lights on the ring.

Did something get borked?
 
RobotChild said:
How long does this take to update? I started the update, left to get a snack and came back to a "No video connection" screen on my TV and the xbox has no green lights on the ring.

Did something get borked?
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Looks like it. My system took about 3-4 minutes to update (on 16Mbps cable) and was up and running. I'd call XBox support immediately. You may have to return it if it won't un-brick on its own.
 
Domingo said:
I guess this would explain all of the XBL errors I kept getting last night. I was thinking this wasn't due until the 19th for some reason.
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I was getting errors the past few days up until Saturday and then they went away as mysteriously as they came. I turned on my 360 at 6am and bam! Auto-update.
 
It's giving me a lot of grief right now, unable to update.

Assuming server is just hammered.
 
Mr. Bluntman said:
Looks like it. My system took about 3-4 minutes to update (on 16Mbps cable) and was up and running. I'd call XBox support immediately. You may have to return it if it won't un-brick on its own.
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I got it working, second time trying to update went smoothly
 
I think it looks better than the older one. The tiles do not disappear into the background and the netflix app is nice than the last one was. I still hate all the ads.
 
I think it looks a bit more polished if nothing else.

OTOH, I was playing a Netflix (Matchstick Men in HD great movie btw), and noticed a few audio cutouts that I have never had before. Hopefully, it's just due to the servers being overloaded today (there's a mandatory Netflix update too).
 
XBL was getting hammered last night. I installed it off a flash drive to finally get it up and running.
Seems about 95% the same to me. There's a new intro screen, but the actual interface felt more like a skin than anything else.
No complaints, but I wasn't exactly impressed either. The Netflix and ESPN apps were dandy, but I didn't see any reason they couldn't have been updated on the older interface either.
 
its faster... thats really the only thing i noticed. looks about the same.
 
I am not pleased that they buried the Indy Games section in "Specialty Shops" now. Why couldn't they keep it in the *GAMES* category? Now they just use Specialty Shops to cover things up with dirt when they want them to go away (example: Game Room)

Other than that, the new dashboard seems much faster at loading up a huge list of "All Games" compared with the previous version.
 
I don't know that it seems any faster to me, but it definitely feels smoother. The old dashboard would hiccup sometimes when you were scrolling through the menus. I haven't had that happen on the new dash.
 
I couldn't care less what it looks like. I can start my game and get to the videos on my USB drive.
 
I thought Hulu plus was supposed to be in this thing. Am I missing something or did they announce it and it never came out?
 
It might start take a while to grow on me but right now I'm not a fan alot more "scrolling" through menus now than before since it doesn't have that 3d look to it. Though i do like the speed improvement and I'm not a big fan of the price hike with these new features that its supposed to justify but thats another topic altogether.
 
I think its good. Looks a lot cleaner. Also they FINALLY added the ability to use QWERTY style when typing from the virtual keyboard! Took them long enough! You have to change it from the system settings first though.
 
For anyone outside the US the update is pretty shallow.

I dont know why they had to change it all again. The movie selection for the UK is very poor and very expensive (it was better two years ago with the old original dashboard). It kept hassling me to resubscribe my gold membership even though its not due for another 6 weeks.

MS wont allow us to have iPlayer (the BBC TV service) and we dont get access to all the other online movie/TV services you get in the US.

Pretty poor deal really. Nothing new for us, other than maybe some more crappy avatar mods for the 12 year olds.

I agree, its time for a new console. This hardware is tapped out. the PS3/360 were an interesting transition in how the console is developing but we need more definative machines.

At the moment we have the 360 being a game console but trying to be a media player and the PS3 being a media player but trying to be games console. Neither excels at both as the tech just wasnt mature enough 6 years ago.

Time to properly be both or just very good at one aspect and drop the other.


Oh and when did ANYONE ever pay for a music video? Why would you pay for what is in effect just a promotional freebie? Pay for a movie sure or the music track...but the video...which is probably on YouTube already by the record company?
 
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I like the new interface, its fast and clean, but I still much prefere the 3d look of the old one.
Pay for music videos, I thought only good djs and bars did that!?
 
I checked Hulu.com and it will indeed be available on the Xbox however it says coming in 6 months. The only mobile devices it is on right now are Apple devices.

Guess I won't be trying out a subscription any time soon.
 
daglesj said:
For anyone outside the US the update is pretty shallow.

I dont know why they had to change it all again. The movie selection for the UK is very poor and very expensive (it was better two years ago with the old original dashboard). It kept hassling me to resubscribe my gold membership even though its not due for another 6 weeks.

MS wont allow us to have iPlayer (the BBC TV service) and we dont get access to all the other online movie/TV services you get in the US.

Pretty poor deal really. Nothing new for us, other than maybe some more crappy avatar mods for the 12 year olds.

I agree, its time for a new console. This hardware is tapped out. the PS3/360 were an interesting transition in how the console is developing but we need more definative machines.

At the moment we have the 360 being a game console but trying to be a media player and the PS3 being a media player but trying to be games console. Neither excels at both as the tech just wasnt mature enough 6 years ago.

Time to properly be both or just very good at one aspect and drop the other.


Oh and when did ANYONE ever pay for a music video? Why would you pay for what is in effect just a promotional freebie? Pay for a movie sure or the music track...but the video...which is probably on YouTube already by the record company?
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they changed it again so you could use kinect to get through the screens easier.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
The only problem i have with it is that it is too white in the guide menu. Is it too hard for MS to give us basic colour options for the guide?
 
Does ESPN3 have to supported by your ISP in order for it work?
 
I like it a lot actually.

It's leaner, has a cleaner look to it and does what it's supposed to do. I couldn't stand the NXE UI after a while. It would be nice if you could choose which version you wanted (blade, NXE or the newest)
 
daglesj said:
For anyone outside the US the update is pretty shallow.
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Pretty much sadly. It's just a face lift from what I saw here in Canada. No ESPN anything (I was hoping for at least last nights highlight clips or something!) The Zune section still has lots of expensive stuff (we still have Blockbuster, still a lot cheaper) and not really worth it with bandwidth caps the way they are.

Also the last time I was forced to upgrade to a huge dashboard update my Day 1 360 RROD'ed so I'm waiting to see if history repeats itself.
 
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