Xbox 360's overhauled Dashboard: the gallery
By Ryan Block 
posted Jul 15th 2008 3:12AM
posted Jul 15th 2008 3:12AM
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"They copied Miis!" posts in 3...
I agree, the style is just to much of a copy =(
Yeah, exactly I immediately thought customizable 3D people??? hmmmm
MII'S!!!
MS getting caught copying other companies' products? You don't say.
Seriously, is the concept of a n 3D avatar the exclusive property of Nintendo?
The Sims
2nd Live
WoW
These are all examples of this concept at work. The Mii(s) and the Thee(s) (yeah, I went there), are just different implementations of the same base concept.
No, they really dont look alike. The Miis are way more cartoon like, and in my opinion not very visually pleasing.
I haven't seen a video of how these operate, so who knows if the functionality is better.
But as far as the whole "OMG M$ copied!!!!!" stuff. Nintendo didn't invent it or patent it, so it is open for anyone to implement their own spin on it, as they should.
search feature: not found.
Hey just thought you guys might like to know that if you check out the E3 2008 coverage at gametrailers.com they have a few videos of the dashboard in action. Maybe some of you will find it interesting, personally I'm having a REAL problem warming up to these avatars. I hope MS does something to make them a more desirable addition for those of us not in 6th grade.
3 THING I WANT TO MENTION
1 it does look like a Mii avatar => not original
2 Im guess you would be limited with the number of friends online that are visible, but I like it
3 IS THAT CONAN O'BRIAN ON THE LEFT
i cannot believe what a blatant rip off of the Mii Channel this is!!!
Okay. We all know avatars are nothing new but the stylings of the facial features are just toooooooo similar.
Has Microsoft EVER come up with an original idea?
@eli
A: no
This new dashboard is fucking stupid. Why couldn't they just add netflix to the media dash. Twist was good. This is bad.
Remember, the avatars are optional, thank goodness... you can still just use a gamerpic if you want.
If they made the avatars more realistic-looking, instead of like bobble-heads, I'd be more welcome to the idea of avatars. But even though they have a step of more realism than the Mii's, it's still too kiddie for me.
As long as they've very customizable, I don't mind that much. I just expect more depth of realism, to make it more cooler. And I'm not sure, but maybe a little personal environment, like a virtual room/pad might be something. Where you can show your achievements and games you have and all that. Or browse through your movies, TV shows, and even music on your shelves. Just an idea.
Why is Scott Segregated????
You'd think they'd have learned their lesson from Microsoft Bob, 13 years ago. Avatars didn't work in GUIs then, and they dont work in GUIs now.
Wow, this looks truely terrible. Like a cartoon Apple Mac vs PC advert.
Yuk
More than just the UI, my concern is how much this update completely changes the 360 console.
Apple has to charge for adding non-advertised features to its systems through software updates, such as the 802.11n support to its MacBooks, and the new features that have been added over time to the iPod Touch. This is all because of their accounting practices as governed by the GAAP. Would Microsoft not get in the same trouble if they choose to give a large software update away for free?
Traditionally, Microsoft has been a software company, but with the Xbox products, they are much more like Apple and have become an end-to-end system company. I would imagine that they would be subject to many of the same restrictions as Apple.
Well the main reason that Apple charge for updates is not because they have to (simply by changing the way they account for the iPod's sales so that it was accounted for over a longer period and not on day of transaction would let them get round any legislation) but because they can.
MS on the other hand have a product in a very competitive market (and don't have the fanboy mass that apple has) so release these updates for free to try and gain market share and to appease current customers unlike Apple who like to spit on their oldest fans. If i sound bitter about be asked to pay for the wireless n and 2.0 firmware its because i am...
lol it looks gay cuase they are using the executives ppl.. therefore thay would wear what they look like and act like themselve. you know happy and corny.. im sure you be able to customize your own make it bad ass, mean, angry looking. like yah im ready to kick your ass on halo .. im not saying i agree with it but it helps in someway to recognize your friends.. it be funny to say to your party " hey where tha fatass? o is that ngga here yet? lol maybe with all the talking MS would update their dashboard just a little bit to make everyone feel good. but is great to see that you can have a party of 8 and share pic music and watch movies.. imagine you only need one subscriber to netflix to watch a movie 4 up to 8 ppl. the tv games would be awesome too.. 1 vs 100 and you could win money too. or maybe MS points. thats great.. so we all need to sacrifice just this once to enjoy more fun.. is not that bad. for sure ill be making fun of my friends and family everytime i see their avatar.. lol..
Ermmm!
Looks very Wii like
I like.
So basically,all those theme's that i bought/downloaded are basically gonna be useless in the fall?
yeah...looking forward to that.
No, they said your themes will look even better!
This is just royal. They look like Bratz Dolls. ahahahaha
it looks bad cuase the ppl in it are corny lol... with more attitude better clothing and maybe a kick ass backround of many choice.. it could look good. maybe also some customes, like the donuts for the fat ppl.. lol.. im sure MS is aiming at a humor dashboard rather than a cute dashboard.
I love how they combined Wii's and PS3's UI styles all over the same great features of the Xbox 360. They included the best of all worlds in one! I'm so excited to use this updated. Can't wait, AAAHHH... :D
Evolution is sexy. :)
You're right, they have taken bits from both the PS3 and the Wii - but IMO they've not implemented it very well - i think it sucks. I wish you could decline the update :(
Yeah, this is just about as cool as choosing your Avatar for Yahoo mail.
Nintendo started it, Sony copied it, M$ killed it.
Miis FTW!
dude.....i cant have this on my halo 3 edition xbox.....its too childish......can i opt out if i want?
yeah theyve said you can use your old gamerpics. themes too
You're worried about your Halo 3 edition 360 looking too childish...
No. You can't opt out. Microsoft knows what's best for you and you should listen and take what they give you, it'll be good for you.
or in non sarcastic terms, the update is mandatory.
W...T...F...is...that??
So we're going to go from the completely bad-ass Gears of War 2, with your mates, back to this dashboard "oh check out my character real quick"
NO, NO NO NO NON ONONONONONONONONONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
That doesn't look particularly user friendly.
Shame on Microsoft, shame on you!
So instead of a gamer pic that I think looks cool, I have to make an avatar that looks almost, but not quite, entirely unlike me?
Thanks, Microsoft.
Ohhh I can't wait to make my 350lbs Avatar.. It will sure look like me in real life :(
Naw.. How sad.. Here, have a cookie.
ur name ftw.
microsoft pwns all this e3
@ Jerk
You like to bleach your ass?
You can always take up exercise. lol
Here, have a chocolate bar.. the chocolate bar doesn't judge you.. that'll be $10.
A cartoon representation of yourself on your console. How is that NOT going to look similar if different consoles use it. Please stop whining.
I like it. It fortifies the side of the 360 that focuses on family/friends orientated gaming.
Can't wait.
lawl.
A cartoon representation of yourself on your console. How is that NOT going to look similar if different consoles use it. Please stop whining.
I like it. It fortifies the side of the 360 that focuses on family/friends orientated gaming.
Can't wait.
When the straight avatars are released give me a call.
haha, didn't see your comment before i posted my "THIS IS GAY" rant.
lawl.
maybe sony will get home out earlier now
yeah, i can't wait for home...
and the inevitable bricking that it will bring.
I couldn't disagree more. Sony's console has had the most timely software updates than any other console ever. If you want to talk about bricking a console, try playing a 360 for about 6 months and see what happens. I'll take Sony's somewhat glitchy software issues over hardware issues any day of the week.
"LuckLaster"...
You can say that again.
75% of the screen real estate is completely blank and wasted. What a fucking joke. Even with a nice picture for the background the UI's still going to look tiny and ridiculous. If you (few) guys with SDTVs thought Dead Rising and GTAIV were a pain, wait until you try and navigate this new dashboard. Not to mention the MSMiis which are pretty childish and not something i expect on the console that supposedly targets hardcore gamers.
wtf apple tv?
y do i have to have a crappy 3d avatar, i just wana play cod4!
Did anyone think the Dashboard needed changing or is this Microsoft going ahead with the changes to try and grab Wii users and people who didnt think the 360 'looked like a media player' and screwing over the 20 million worldwide current users who all seem to like it.
If it aint broke don't create a bastard child of interfaces. Nice to see the people paying for the service get a say in the dashboard :-)
However that bad news is offset by FF
Remind me again what was wrong with the dashboard before?
The fact that it was cool when it first came out, but eventually had so many features added to it that it became an awful labyrinth of blades, buttons, options, menus, submenus, lists and settings?
@Fred
I still think it's cool the way it is right now. As mentioned, it does need some tweaks, yes. But I think it's fine like it is.
Personally, I think the new design is horrible. I would hope that we would still have the option to keep the dashboard like it is now if we want. My kids would probably love the new design, but I think it s*cks.
I have said it before, I will likely say it again in the future.
The current dashboard is fine, and a small re-arrangement is all that was needed.
The new Aero Flip 3D MiiTar thing is just lame.
Why would I want half my screen to be empty and have to focus on a tiny section and enlarge it, and then back-up and do it again.
I don't like the PS XMB, but this new UI looks worse. I will hold full judgement until I use it, but I can't see it being any good.
There's something in those avatars that makes me want to punch them in the face.
Oh dear.
Sony must be laughing their ass off.
Don't get me wrong - I love my 360 but I have been looking at these Mii ripoffs all day and I gotta say even though I love Rare's work it's allready starting to shit me. It could be the oh so bland Grey backgroud swaying me but I dont think I'm going to enjoy this UI update. I am still open to avatars and although Home has been delayed on the PS3 I think Sony are probobly on the right track by choosing a level of realism and environments that back up their grapical claims. This move by MS may just shift the public perception of the 360 in line with the Wii as a kiddie/family console while clearing the air for PS3 (so to speak) too push exclusivly to the hard core gamer demographic. Interesting. Then again if I were in charge of the 360 division and was told from on high to claw back market share copying a console that is selling as fast as a Wii is not too hard to comprehend.
Let's just hope a lot more gets added in the coming weeks/months such as a web browser and MKV playback wouldn't go ass-tray.
I would go and buy an arcade system straight away for me and the wife to enjoy in the comfort of our own bed. Bung on the 20gb drive thats been a paper weight since upgrading to 120gb, grab my sons "spare" controller and it's fun times ahead.
Om
You might be right. The PS3 seems to be gaining momentum - and has a very stong brand. The Wii has captured the lower market - and they've done a great job of it. However, given the Wii's lack of power and games, maybe MS think they can reposition the 360, and go after Nintendo rather than Sony. If Nintendo dont do something soon, it will end up being one of the machines everyone owns - but stored under the stairs. Its already the case for mine :(
Yes, this is already shifting the public perception of the 360 from "Microsoft cares about hard-core gamers" to "screw hard-core gamers, we're chasing casual gamers now". The new dashboard has already angered much of the 360's core audience of hard-core gamers! If Microsoft spent any time browsing the internet, they'd see how hard-core gamers absolutely hate and/or feel threatened by anything "casual".
The whole avatar crap could have been left in the scrap book, and no one would have gotten hurt, Seems like the new UI might do some justice on its own. I believe MS figures that the hardcore gamers wont leave XB360 because of a UI change with added avatars, I myself Game pretty hard and could careless about my UI aslong as my CoD4 or GoW play. So MS knows that we wont leave with thew new change but infact attract a whole new crowed along with the HCG's. This is my opinion about this issue.
Me la pelan , hijos de su madres, serotes!!! Sorry Dont like the whole Avatar crap!
Why would harcore gamers even care? If their really a hardcore gamer they will be playing games not sitting in the dashboard all day.
I really don't see why people are whining so much about this. it's not going to stop you from playing games. If the dashboard upsets you that much, just make it so you never have to see it. It's not an integral part of your life...hopefully.
how can you say using the dashboard isn't integral to using a 360 - it's the menu system for god sake!
For me the interface and the 'blades' were integral of the xbox - when you looked at a screen you knew if the 360 was attached. Now it looks like Apple Tv, Wii Menu, Fisher Price (!!) etc, the interface had been in place for a good few years, refined with every update and now it's gone and this new 'minimalist' theme is here.
I actually like the new Dashboard look, but those avatars.. I don't know. They're lifeless and generic. I hope it'll be possible to make some more outrageous ones when this update comes out, so that I don't have to spend my online sessions as a semi-realistic egg-man with a lame smile on his face.
I wonder if the face of your avatar will replace your gamer pic, too. If I look at the top-right of that screenshot, I see a bunch of generic 3D models looking at me. With the current gamer pics, I see Penny Arcade's Twisp, a master chief, a Gears of War Logo, and some Ocean's 13 dice, and I know instantly who the people behind those pictures are.
With the 3D avatars, I'll have to check if it's the guy with the black hair and blue shirt. Ah, that's my friend. Oh wait, crap, this guy has the large eyes, and the guy I was looking for has the squinty ones. No, wait, this is the one with the squinty eyes, but the pursed lips instead of the wry smile.
Even on the Wii, I gave my Mii flaming red hair and a huge surprised expression just so I could pick him out of the crowd of identical playmobil people more easily. He looks like a dumbass, but at least I can tell which one it was.
It actually look like flip 3d more than coverflow...
Really don't understand why people say it's a ripoff of coverflow...
Because coverflow popularized the general idea.
I seriously hope this crap is optional. While I agree the dashboard needed changing.. this isn't what I had in mind. :\
I like it, and I also welcome a redesign of the terrible 'blade' interface.
People say they have copied the Miis of the Wii, but there is nothing wrong with taking an idea, refining it, improving it and delivering a better version of it.
Hey... thats what just about all tech companies do. Very few of them are 100% original otherwise they would go bust.
Look forward to true HD and hopefully very well animated avatars... unlike the low res, Wii Miis that dont actually do very much.
I like it. However, I don't like the avatars. They look like stuff a 7 year old would play with. I hope their optional.
i hope this is a joke, i want my blades
i always thought the nice thing about the blades was that it was sleek and right to the point, ppl who own xboxes talk to each other while playing shooting ppl in halo or cod (or just playing any game) not while bsing debating what color hair their miimick should have
didnt everyone who wanted this type of experience already buy a wii? i thought wii's were becoming a complement to the young gamers rather than a primary system.
its a cool change for some but pretty cheesy looking to me. as far as it being a miimick, obviously that inspired the idea but who really cares? it should be optional somehow, but overall i dont really care about the interface change, much more excited about having games load faster from the hard drive without loud disks spinning (which should in theory should reduce RROD claims no?)
I kind of like the simple design approach, but I completely dislike the avatars. Gamer pictures please?
I'm definitely still going to miss the old interface, though.
you have to be kidding me. Is this going to replace the existing dashboard or just be an addition to it? because if i have to turn my console on to that every time (and i know i can start it to whichever game is in the drive) to that shit then goodbye xbox.
Good riddance to you from the Live community then.
If your that explosive and simple minded to just drop a console with a great selection of games just because of an interface which you are yet to experience isn't to your liking, then get another one.
What a bunch of whiney cocks.
As of now, I truely appreciate my Carbon blades, even if I need a GPS in the Marketplace...
This new "3D-Cover-Flip-Flow" is going to give me motion sickness zomming in and out, back and forth a hundred layers just to get to what I want...
In one swift motion, Microsoft has destroyed the Xbox 360 GUI, which so far as been the single best Game Console GUI ever created. Now it seems to be trying really, really hard to be the worst.
I completely agree, my friend.
Hope the firmware hacks still work.
Hopefully someone is daring enough to update and see if it's optional... and if not, then let's all band together and not update our dashboards!
I agree! If this is the interface we're forced to use then I will simply not connect to Xbox Live! anymore. I also suggest that we start a web petition demanding that Micro$oft abandon this abomination of an interface!
I like the avatars....hopefully they sell clothing packs on the marketplace.....not to mention an optional codpiece so my MI60 looks like he ie ready for serious business....
"given the Wii's lack of power" I don't think so.
Okay, I really hope this is a beta ... let's see... the scrolling through of icons is going to get old really quickly... the Mii ripoff avatars is just unbelievable... the general dumbed-down look and feel really is a turn off... man, I expected more from Microsoft than this. Are they really so desperate to win Wii marketshare that they are going to redesign the dashboard to appeal to that market? Jeepers, try harder.
How come so many people are complaining about losing their precious shitty blade interface and avatar icons, when MS has already said you'll have the option of keeping them both?
Because this is the Internet! Where people a) don't RTFA and b) must whine! :P
They are referring to the concept of bringing a 3d avatar to a gaming console, Nintendo was the first to do that, and Microsoft is no implementing that into their system.... Think then write...
They are referring to the concept of bringing a 3d avatar to a gaming console, Nintendo was the first to do that, and Microsoft is no implementing that into their system.... Think then write...
OMG - it is unbelievably hideous. A cross between legos and Mii's - talk about idiotic. PLEASE PLEASE Microsoft do NOT do this to us!!
A 'classic' and 'new' option for the interface in the console settings would be a wise move.
Good grief, so many whiners! Ask yourself, what is the main purpose of a GAME console, isn't it to play games? So you have a new interface, does it stop you getting into your games? Watching your content, sending messages? Some people are acting like its the end of their 360, I really thought the purpose of a console was to have fun, I'm not one of those who thinks staring at a static theme for months on end is entertaining. These Avatars look infinitely more entertaining than themes that dont change at all. Sorry for those who spent money on themes but until we know for sure they will no longer be usable maybe we should put down the pitchforks? And why not focus on the positive parts of the upcoming update, like the party system, HDD installs and expanded resolution support.
The crybabies need to grow up, its just a game console. Worse case scenario, just close your eyes and ignore the fancy graphics and go straight to your game.
Looks like they are trying to tie in their Zune identity over to the Xbox. The navigation system and overall look reminds of it.
Im not really a big fan of avatars. Im curious to see how the interface will look when you have 20+ friends online.
I agree with everyone who thinks this should be optional, or somewhat customizable or whatever.
In the end all that matter is whether or not this new interface is better, in terms of getting the information you want, in a faster and easier way?
GAY GAY GAY, I'm not homophobic but everybody in the DC , MD and Northern Virginia area would call this gay.
do not want.
first thing that came to my mind was "a Red Ring of Death tshirt would be cool to wear on these Miis"
bill gates: "my son just got one of those wiis, i love the mii channel, lets make one of our own"
mindless worker: "but sir, we would just be copying them!"
gates: "i dont care, just do it"
To me this smacks of 'not ready for primetime release' and almost like they went to the dev staff and said "show me what cha got so far", looked at it and said, OK we want to include it as part of a presentation in this weeks conference. But they clearly didn't polish it at all NOR did they run it by marketing- otherwise they would let the potentially politically sensitive avatar naming conventions go out the way they did!
I find the overtly chinese name of the Asian avatar mildly amusing but would probably throw others off - ESPECIALLY the hispanic guy being named Don Juan- how stereotypicla is that- lol.
Oh , and let's not forget the token black guy off in the distance...