Topic: XBox 360 Dashboard Update

[W7RE]

Yea I know I'd probably run out of space on the 20GB so I woujldn't even consider it. I'm just wondering if it's worth dropping an extra $100 for the bigger drive on the elite package. I guess it also comes with a wireless controller, which is a plus (I've heard the other models come with wired controllers). It's also a black system.

[Cobra951]

Well, you can't argue with success, I guess.  Driving up sales is about as legitimate a motive as possible for a profit-seeking company.

[W7RE]

It might also be that the system is now coming with 2 free games. Not good games, but games. Parents and the unenlightened would see that deal and jump on it.

I just bought one, though not completely because of the new dashboard. It's cool and all, and I love how much stuff there is to download and check out, but I really bought it so I could play games over Live with friends who already have them. Oh and for Dead Rising. You can't get enough of zombie carnage.

[Cobra951]

I loved Dead Rising.  I despise the double-tap roll move, though.  Once that ability unlocked, the frustration of unintended rolling into hurt marred the enjoyment.  XBLA really is like a candy store to a new buyer.

Which SKU did you end up getting, Elite?  60 GB?

Edit:  There are several threads on our gamertags.  This is the latest.  Here is my compiled list of tags so far:

HypnoticCoqui (Me--yeah, what was I thinking?)
Quemaqua (just for completeness; he doesn't ever go online with the 360)
hxcEddie
Wizall
Mr Joshy (Scary Tooth)
Mr JiPPi (iPPi)
Xietoun (Xessive)
scottws
idolmindseye
beeeer (poomcgoo)
slothman82 (beo)
PyroMenace

I'm under siege from the kiddies playing B-K Nuts & Bolts wanting my vehicle designs.  So if you send me a message, warn me about it here just to make sure I don't ignore it.

[W7RE]

Wow, I'm never gonna know who I'm talking with/playing with rofl. As soon as I finish posting this I'll probbly just send everyone a friend request. My Gamertag is Wyre 0. That's a zero, and yes it does have a space (apparently that matters, because linking my gamercard on the net only works if I put the space in there).

I got the 60GB version, the one with LEGO Star Wars and Kung Fu Panda (haven't even tried KFP, LSW I gave about 10 minutes). I have Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, and The Orange Box, with Dead Rising on the way (it should have been here yesterday, grr).

[PyroMenace]

Well so its a been a year. I actually went into the dashboard recently after having barely used my 360 in a while. Its been updated with a bunch of new features and I've skimmed over them but once. I have to say the 360 dashboard has become a bloated wasteland of commercial synergy and advertising fluff, I feel I've been violated every time it loads up. Nothing is seamless about the interface anymore, anytime you want to go somewhere you have to load up some app like zune or netflix or facebook... its scaring the shit out of me. I now feel ashamed for being on facebook and twitter because it only makes my soul a target for business executives everywhere. Yes, I've developed old man syndrome. Shit what was that... those fucking kids are at it again outside with their racket, brb.

[scottws]

I personally don't agree with the organization.  After periods of disuse, I find myself spending extra minutes just trying to find where the game demos are that I can download or where the ones are that I can download.  It also took me forever to figure out where my active downloads were.  I do appreciate some of the updates though, like Windows Media Center is pretty awesome now since it supports a lot more codecs than it used to.

Edit:  Clarification.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah.  I didn't really care for the interface before (I know a lot of people did), but it sucks even harder now.  I just don't use my 360 anymore, period.  There are still a few games I'd like to play on it, but not a whole lot.  Next generation may be the first in which I actually just forgo a given console.  I know, I know... some awesome game might come out and tempt me, as I've caved on such issues before, but gaming and I aren't the good friends we once were.  I still love it, but not the same way I used to.  There are an awful lot of games that I pass by now.

[scottws]

Yeah.  I didn't really care for the interface before (I know a lot of people did), but it sucks even harder now.  I just don't use my 360 anymore, period.  There are still a few games I'd like to play on it, but not a whole lot.  Next generation may be the first in which I actually just forgo a given console.  I know, I know... some awesome game might come out and tempt me, as I've caved on such issues before, but gaming and I aren't the good friends we once were.  I still love it, but not the same way I used to.  There are an awful lot of games that I pass by now.

Before you know it, you'll find yourself in my shoes:  I don't follow game news.  I pass by games that others consider "AAA" titles.  I only get one or two games a year and even then they are usually gifts.  I sometimes don't play any games for weeks at a time, and not always because of time constraints, but because I just don't feel like it.  I generally don't even finish games I do get.

It's strange.  I posted on here about a year ago or so contemplating gaming habits as I grow older.  At the time, I was still actively playing, but had slowed some.  Since our generation is in undiscovered territory (growing up with video games and playing them as we aged), I asked myself if I would be playing when I was 50 and if others would look at it strangely or if it would be normal.

It seems as soon as I posted that I was less and less interested in gaming..  I guess I answered my own question.

Edit:  Wow, the search on here works really well, I found the thread.

[idolminds]

Heh, interestingly I may have to revise my "gaming when I'm 70" estimate. It will entirely depends on what gaming is at that point. DRM and DLC are both becoming huge turnoffs, as well as all the people predicting the death of physical media. I think those predictions are very premature but when we're talking some 40 years from now who can say?

Though I'll still totally be into tabletop gaming (board, card, and RPG). Not much they could do to ruin that. Its inherently physical and once you have it they can't tell you what you can or can't do with it. They also can't retroactively add advertisements into it.

[W7RE]

I use my 360 every day, so I always know where to find what I want. But yea, the damn thing is so cluttered with ads. It also reminds me of a bad term paper that uses wide margins and large font to make it look longer than it is. You could remove half the channels and chop down the rest and it'd be much, much better. Even among the ones I actually use, My Xbox and Friends are the only ones I use more than the first 1 or 2 options, and Friends could easily just be part of the Guide Button menu.

Actually, the main menu could even have all the My Xbox stuff, and then have one side menu for online shit with 2 sections, one for music/video/game marketplaces, and a second section for the social shit. Then get rid of the featured shit and ads. And what about the community events? Oh, it's Modern Warfare 2 night! We can play it online tonight! You know, because I couldn't do that any other night of the week.

[iPPi]

I hate the NXE dashboard.  It's too bloated with ads and trying to find things is quite challenging nowadays.