Showing posts with label Xbox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xbox. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Microsoft’s Xbox 720 may have touchscreen controllers
Friday, February 10, 2012
Kinect Star Wars bundle arriving on April 3rd
Last year it was announced that the Kinect Star Wars bundle was going to arrive in April 2012, and it looks like Microsoft will be keeping its promise. According to a recent announcement on the Major Nelson website, we now have a definite release date for the game and console bundle. The Kinect Star Wars bundle has been confirmed to be arriving on April 3rd 2012. The bundle which consists of an Xbox 360 styled to look like R2-D2 and a gamepad that is customized after C-3PO, a white Kinect and of course the Kinect Star Wars game. In the meantime while you wait for the bundle to arrive, check out a video demo of the game after the break:
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Motorola Goes After Microsoft For Patents On Xbox 360 And Windows 7
Yesterday we heard that Motorola wanted 2.5 percent of all iPhone sales from Apple, the information was revealed after Motorola obtained an injunction of sales of 3G enabled devices from Apple in Germany, although the devices were back on sale the same day after Apple appealed the decision.
Now it seem Motorola has another target, Microsoft, as they are seeking to obtain 2.25 percent of sales on certain Microsoft products, and the products in question are the Xbox 360, Windows 7, Internet Explorer 9 and Window Media Player, which Motorola claims infringe on two of their patents.
The news comes from Florian Muller from Foss Patents who had the following to say about the dispute.
This afternoon I attended a trial in Mannheim at which General Instrument Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Motorola Mobility, asserted two FRAND-pledged patents that it declared (and still considers) essential to the H.264 video codec standard against three different Microsoft companies (the U.S. parent company, an Ireland-based entity, and the German subsidiary).
Both Apple and Microsoft have been taking action against a number of Android manufacturersover the last year, with Microsoft now reported to receive royalty fees from around 70 percent of all Android devices manufacturers.
It should come as no surprise that Motorola, which is in the process being taken over by Google, is using it large patent portfolio against the two companies.
Kinect Star Wars Xbox Bundle Launching 3rd April
Microsoft has announced that its Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 bundle will go on sale in the US on the 3rd of April, and the console will cost you $449, which includes an R2-D2 themed console, a C-3PO themed controller and a white Microsoft Kinect sensor, plus the Kinect Star Wars Game.
With five dynamic modes – Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, Podracing, Rancor Rampage, Galactic Dance Off and Duels of Fate – “Kinect Star Wars” makes it possible for Star Wars fans of all ages to delve into immersive Star Wars experiences. In addition to the previously announced Jedi, Podracing and Rancor modes, Xbox 360 and LucasArts have today unveiled new additions to the game, including:
You can find out more information about the Star Wars Kinect Xbox 360 bundle over atMicrosoft.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Xbox Live no Longer Exclusive to WP?
Microsofts heavily rumored plan to bring Xbox Live games to platforms other than Windows Phone is a reality.
While the company would not reveal specific plans, a Microsoft spokesperson all but confirmed them by telling Inside Mobile Apps while the Xbox Live experiences and games always work best on the Windows platform, we understand that some Xbox fans may be using other types of devices. To satisfy that need, we are working to extend a few of our Xbox experiences and titles to other platforms.
Rumors Xbox Live games would no longer be a Windows phone exclusive began to pick up steam in early January, when LiveSide and Business Insider spotted a job description for a developers with iOS and Android experience to bring the latest and greatest gaming and entertainment experience to mobile platforms including Windows Phone, iOS and other mobile platforms.
When asked about when the same Xbox Live experience available on Windows Phone would be available for iOS and Android, the company remained tight-lipped, saying we are laser-focused on providing the best mobile Xbox Live experience to our customers, regardless of platform.
While Microsoft currently advertises Windows Phone as the only phone with mobile office, Xbox Live, mobile app, and more its clear Microsoft is focusing on extending its console gaming business into the mobile lucrative mobile market, with the release of iOS versions of Xbox Live and its first-party game Kinectimals in December.
Microsoft would not reveal specific revenue figures or user numbers for either app, only stating My Xbox Live and the ‘Kinectimals companion experience have both been well received by iOS users.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Max Payne 3 arrives on Xbox, PS3 May 15th, PC May 29th
We know that some gamers out there might be a bit sore or put off to hear that Max Payne was delayed until May, but here’s the good news – it seems that May could really be the launch date and will not see anymore delays as Take-Two has outed specific release dates for the game during a recent earnings report. For those who own Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Sony’s PlayStation 3, you guys are in luck as the game will be seeing a release come 15th of May.
However to those who prefer gaming on their PCs, it would seem that the PC version of Max Payne 3 will only be seeing a release on the 29th of May, a good two weeks later, which we guess could be construed as some form of a “mini delay”. Either way the extra two weeks really isn’t that big of a deal, right? Assuming that Take-Two is definitely keeping to schedule this time round, the 15th and 29th of May are both dates that Max Payne 3 hopefuls will want to note down in their calendars. In the meantime pop on over to the official Max Payne 3 website for more details of the upcoming game
Friday, January 27, 2012
Xbox 720/Next to have Blu-ray, Kinect 2, won't play used games[Rumor]
The rumor mill is going crazy at the moment with news on Microsoft's upcoming next-generation Xbox console. A games industry source has told Kotaku that the next-generation Xbox will have support for Blu-ray, expanding its disc capacity for games from DVD's 9GB to between 25 and 50GB of data.
A "reliable source" of Kotaku's has also stated that Microsoft intend on incorporating some form of anti-used game system as part of the next-gen Xbox. At the moment it's not clear whether this would not allow you to install a copy of a friends' game, that they've already used, on your console. If so, this would stop the renting of games, second-hand sales, and more.
Another hot rumor is that the the next Xbox will ship with the next-gen Kinect, which would sport an on-board processor, which was originally intended for the Kinect, but didn't make it into the final design. A Microsoft rep told Kotaku:
A "reliable source" of Kotaku's has also stated that Microsoft intend on incorporating some form of anti-used game system as part of the next-gen Xbox. At the moment it's not clear whether this would not allow you to install a copy of a friends' game, that they've already used, on your console. If so, this would stop the renting of games, second-hand sales, and more.
Another hot rumor is that the the next Xbox will ship with the next-gen Kinect, which would sport an on-board processor, which was originally intended for the Kinect, but didn't make it into the final design. A Microsoft rep told Kotaku:
As an innovator we're always thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology like we did with Kinect. We believe the key to extending the lifespan of a console is not just about the console hardware, but about the games and entertainment experiences being delivered to consumers. Beyond that we don't comment on rumors or speculation.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Xbox Live goodness coming to “other platforms
A recent job advertisement revealed that Microsoft has plans to bring the Xbox Live experience to “iOS and other mobile platforms.”
A Microsoft spokesman has now confirmed those plans, with a juicy statement reported by Forbes. Actually, it’s not all that juicy to be honest, but it's definitely a statement.
Behold: “While the Xbox Live experiences and games always work best on the Windows platform, we understand that some Xbox fans may be using other types of devices.
“To satisfy that need, we are working to extend a few of our Xbox experiences and titles to other platforms.”
I think you might be onto something there, Mr. Spokesman. I know dozens of people with an Xbox and not a single one of them has a Windows Phone. Eek.
iOS was specifically mentioned in the job ad, and we figure Android must be on the cards too. Of course, you can already grab My Xbox Live and Kinectimals from Apple’s App Store.
Well, that’s one less reason to buy a Windows Phone.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Xbox Live Games Coming Soon To An Android Device Near You
"While the Xbox Live experiences and games always work best on the Windows platform, we understand that some Xbox fans may be using other types of devices. To satisfy that need, we are working to extend a few of our Xbox experiences and titles to other platforms."
As both a fan of multiple OS’s and multiple gaming systems, I welcome this news with wholeheartedly and with open arms. Hopefully we wont have to wait too much longer before we’ll be playing titles like Twin Blades on our Android phones. Think I just got goosebumps. Anyone else excited?
Xbox 720 Will Provide 6 Times The Power Of Existing Xbox 360
Sources are reporting that when Microsoft’s new Xbox 720 gaming console starts shipping in October or November next year, it could be packing was much as 6 times the power of the existing Xbox 360.
Sources have confined to the IGN website that mass production of the new system will start towards the end of their year and will use AMD’s 6000 graphics processor, that was introduced last year to power games and the console.
Its thought that the graphics power within the new Xbox 720 will be similar to that of the Radeon HD 6670, which offers support for DirectX11, multi-display output, 3D and 1080p HD output, and is currently priced at around $80 for the graphics chip. Providing around six times more processing power that the existing Xbox 360.
Game developers are expected to receive the first batch of text console’ later this year, in around August to prepare their games releases for launch later in 2013. Unfortunately no information on pricing or worldwide availability has been released as yet, but as soon as information comes to light on the Microsoft’s next generation Xbox 720 gaming console we will keep you updated as always.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
First MW3 Premium Call of Duty Elite DLC Now Available To Download On Xbox Live
Gamers who have signed up to the new Call of Duty Elite premium service, today have their first taste of the new 9-month MW3 Content Season with downloadable content provided to premium players. A pair of new Modern Warfare 3 maps are now available to premium members, unfortunately those of you that didn’t sign-up for the premium content will just have to wait a little longer.
The two new Modern Warfare 3 maps now available on Xbox Live are “Liberation” and “Piazza.”. To retrieve your new DLC simply head over to the multiplayer menu and select “Download Elite Content” from within the in-game store.
To be able to play either map players must first download both maps or you will receive errors, states the Call of Duty Elite website. Watch the video below to see exactly how you can get the maps and receive early updates.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Xbox Live: Sonic CD Developer Diary reveals amazing behind-the-scenes artwork
Sonic CD - the remake of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog adventure - won’t be coming to Windows Phone this week; the 14th is already packed full of Xbox Live releases. But Sega's latest will very likely land on December 21 or 28. We’ve already interviewed the remake’s brand manager, digging up some choice details about the new version. Now it’s time to learn more about how the original Sega CD/Mega CD platformer came to be, thanks to a new video from Sega.
The Developer Diary features Sonic Team Art Director Kazuyuki Hoshino, who reveals numerous pieces of never-before-seen concept art. Highlights include original drawings of Amy Rose and an explanation of Metal Sonic’s design process. You’ll also see several tantalizing unused enemy and boss concepts. Interspersed throughout the video is footage from the remake, giving a great impression of how the game looks and feels.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Xbox 360 crushes PlayStation 3, Wii in November sales
Sales of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game console trounced the competition in November, nearly doubling PlayStation 3 sales and sales of Nintendo’s Wii console. According to November sales data from leading market research firm The NPD Group, Microsoft sold 1.7 million Xbox 360 consoles in November. While Sony managed unit sales growth of about 70% year-over-year, the company only sold about 900,000 PlayStation 3 consoles last month. Nintendo sold 860,000 Wii consoles, 795,000 portable Nintendo 3DS consoles and 350,000 older Nintendo DS units in November. “This is the fourth consecutive month in which the Xbox 360 has been the top selling hardware system,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement. “The gap between 360 sales and sales of the next best selling platform was the largest we’ve seen since December 2008 when the Nintendo DS was the top selling system.” Total industry sales were up less than 1% to $3.00 billion in November according to NPD, and hardware sales dipped 9% from 2010 to $982.4 million. Software sales were up 15% year-over-year to $1.67 billion but accessory sales dropped 34% to $273.8 million despite strong holiday sales of Microsoft’s Kinect controller. The NPD Group’s list of the 10 best-selling video game titles in November follows below.
| Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC) | Rank | Publisher |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)** | 1 | Activision Blizzard |
| Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)** | 2 | Bethesda Softworks |
| Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)** | 3 | Electronic Arts |
| Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC) | 4 | Ubisoft |
| Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360) | 5 | Ubisoft |
| Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)** | 6 | Electronic Arts |
| Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)** | 7 | Sony |
| Saints Row: The Third (360, PS3, PC)** | 8 | THQ |
| The Legend of Zelda: SkywardSword (WII)** | 9 | Nintendo |
| Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)** | 10 | Warner Bros. Interactive |
Friday, December 9, 2011
Xbox LIVE Gold is free this weekend
If you’ve got an Xbox 360, and you’ve always wondered what it is like to have an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription, you’re in luck. Microsoft will be giving all Xbox users a taste of Xbox LIVE Gold for free this weekend. I guess in conjunction with the dashboard update that was released earlier this week, they want everybody to experience the full benefits of what a premium account can give in hopes of roping them in for good.
In addition to free Xbox LIVE Gold this weekend, Zune Video will also be offering film deals and free content this weekend. You’ll be able to purchase selected titles for 40% off and stream some free previews of movies like the Hangover 2. Those of you who log in this weekend will also get a chance to win an Xbox Christmas entertainment package that includes a Samsung TV, an Xbox 360 Kinect bundle, 8,000 Microsoft Points and more. It looks like Xbox LIVE Silver members are going to have a ball of a time this weekend.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Microsoft unveils official Xbox LIVE iOS app
Microsoft recently unveiled an official Xbox LIVE application for iOS devices, including the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The application allows users to view and change Xbox avatars, send Xbox LIVE friends messages or compare achievements, learn about new games and more. Prior to Wednesday, Microsoft had only offered an official Xbox LIVE application to its Windows Phone users, so we’re a bit surprised (and pleased) to see the company spread the love to iOS. There’s no word if an Android application is in the works. Xbox LIVE for iPhone is available now in the iTunes App Store for free.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Xbox 360 dashboard update delayed... slightly
If you are frantically watching your Xbox 360 hoping for the update me message to appear, then you might grab a cup of tea. Microsoft has said that the launch, scheduled for 3pm GMT on Tuesday 6 December has been delayed, slightly.
“FYI: The timing for Xbox 360 dashboard update has been slightly delayed. I’ll have a status update later today,” tweeted Major Nelson, who is one of the team that created Xbox, Kinect and Xbox LIVE.
Major Nelson followed with a second tweet:
“Thanks again for your patience. I won't have additional details until later today. The moment I have new information, I'll share it w/ you”
Microsoft has big hopes for the new Xbox 360 dashboard update which brings with it new features and a new look to match in with the company’s Metro design ethos. Metro can currently be seen on Windows Phone 7 and will play a strong part in Windows 8 when it is released in 2012.
Judging by the “slightly” element of the first tweet we suspect that the dashboard update will still be coming sooner rather than later.
In the meantime why don’t you read our pictures and hands-on coverage when we had a lengthy play with the new update last week.
UPDATE: Major Nelson has tweeted further news on the Xbox 360 update:
"We are still working to get the release out. Stay tuned, we’ll have an update this afternoon (PT) on when it will begin rolling out."
Source: Pocketlint
Monday, December 5, 2011
Xbox 360 Dashboard update (Fall 2011) review
Kiss that old "New Xbox Experience" goodbye -- the Xbox Dashboard just went full Metro. Microsoft teased the console's latest overhaul back at E3, promising to "change living room entertainment forever." The following months saw leaks, previews and betas, all leading up to today, the eve of the Xbox 360's Fall Dashboard update. Is the new dash the game-changer it hopes to be? Hit the break, and we'll find out together
User Interface
If you didn't catch the hint from Redmond's Windows Phone and Windows 8 interfaces, let Xbox Live deliver the final word: Metro is Microsoft's new baby. Last year's dashboard update flirted with the new look by flattening out NXE's cascading tiles. The contemporary update keeps the Metro, but abandons NXE's crossbar-style navigation for a horizontally oriented experience. The console's various channels now headline the top of the screen, listing the familiar "games," "music" and "video" sections between the new Bing search feature and the console's settings page. A few of the channels have been renamed -- "My Xbox" is now "home" and a very Zune-esque "social" replaces "friends." Core content hasn't changed much, but the way you access it has, with yesterday's single-file tiles retired in favor of single page Metro layouts, packing more than twice as much information on screen as the previous Dashboard. Sound cluttered? It isn't. Most of the space was saved by cycling spotlight content through a large, central tile, and the entire layout is padded by a liberal amount of free space. If anything, the new design highlights how much extraneous content each channel has -- two to three tiles in each major category seem to be exclusively dedicated to advertisements or spotlight content.
That's not to say there isn't plenty of content to sift through; each channel leads to a wealth of subcategories. Games, for instance, ultimately ushers users to the games marketplace, which pulls up a six page line-up of categories, listing Picks, Featured, Games, Add-ons, Extras and Demos, each with their own layout of options. You can scope out a "season pass" subscription landing page, various advertisements, a pre-defined "most popular" filter, or simply dive in to the alphabetized games marketplace.
Although we typically dig the cleaner Metro layout, the games marketplace was the one place where we missed the old dash's crossbar. At its core, the revision is quicker, more efficient and a generally better experience, offering a horizontal scroll of five items per page, teasing a sixth one off of the end -- but if you want to hop to another letter in your alphabetical search, you'll have to retreat back a level and start over. A minor gripe to be sure, but we would have liked to flick a thumbstick north or south to switch letters. Overall, the marketplace layout is clean, and is shared by most apps. Category filtering and other options sit just above the horizontal scroll's west side, creating a uniform look across the games, music and video marketplaces that's easy to navigate.
The new Dashboard layout is sleeker, snappier, and just a hair quicker than its predecessor. Placing all of a channel's options front and center make it easier to find what you're looking for, and the single page revision eliminates all but the most necessary and basic of scrolling. By embracing Metro, the Xbox finallylooks like a Microsoft product, donning the same uniform as the outfit's smartphone OS and upcoming Windows revision.
Kinect integration: sound and motion
When we last saw the Metro Dashboard update, it reminded of us Windows 8, with Metro pages sliding left and right at the flick of a finger -- or at least the wave of an arm. Today's Xbox brings Kinect integration to the top level, refining the ideas behind the now defunct Kinect hub, and implementing motion control through most of the console's menus. The process isn't new, but the console wide implementation is. Waving into Kinect summons the familiar hand-shaped cursor, allowing you to hover over menu items and navigation icons to select them, and hovering over the teasing slivers of the next and previous pages will allow you to swipe your arm to change screens. With the exception of the settings menu, a few pop-up windows, and the Xbox guide, Kinect motion control permeates the entire Dashboard experience. It's a neat, satisfying trick, but performing somewhat grandiose gestures just to navigate a menu can wear on a man. Tired of holding our arms in front of us, we decided to try something else.
"Xbox," we commanded, "games." Whoosh, went the console, quickly landing us in the games hub. Voice control goes almost as deep as gesture control, and is infinitely easier to use. This too, was once available in the Kinect Hub, but the contemporary implementation is heavily refined. Choosing an item on screen? Now you can call it what it is -- picking "Netflix" from an app list instead of "item 3." The console prompts you for the correct command, pulling up a menu at the foot of the screen with a list of option, and peppering the menus speaking text for each item. Generic "item" prompts do pop up from time to time, but most content can be called upon with its own name.
Even though everything about voice control is a marked improvement over the basic functionality of the Kinect hub, it has its share of rough edges. Utilizing the new Dashboard's media controls by voice was an exercise in frustration, movies and music repeatedly overpowered the Kinect's microphone, leaving us shouting awkwardly at our TV and reaching for a proper controller. We stuttered a bit on navigation as well -- although voice control is fairly persistent, the Kinect sensor will stop listening if you jump between applications of functions. Hopping over to the games marketplace after finding the title of your choice in a Bing search? Be ready to prompt the console to listen again, voice control will close in the interim. Hiccups like this break the flow of control, stopping an otherwise smooth experience dead in its tracks. We also had a tendency to mix up the console's "previous" and "go back" commands, which backpedals search or list results, and return to the previous menu, respectively. Despite a few minor gripes, Kinect voice control is by far the laziest content navigation system we've ever used (the good, relaxing kind of lazy), and stands out as an exceptionally cool novelty. It's not the most efficient way to navigate the Dashboard -- that honor is still held by the traditional Xbox 360 controller -- but it is by far the most fun.
Bing search
Much like Metro itself, Microsoft's single-syllable search brand is becoming a staple in the outfit's products -- it's integrated into Windows Phone, it's bound to make an appearance in Windows 8 and now it's on your Xbox. Despite the search engine's digs on the web, you won't be perusing the archives of Engadget on your console anytime soon -- Bing search Xbox is a strictly local affair, and will only sift through content available over Xbox Live. Sound limiting? It isn't -- the Xbox games marketplace is jungle, and until now navigating it was a tiresome, unintuitive task.
Today? "Xbox, Bing Fallout 3." There's your game, plus a wealth of related trailers, premium themes, add-ons and even related music selections. Bing search is comprehensive, it doesn't just search the games, music, video marketplaces independently, it searches everything simultaneously, even apps. Looking for the classic X-men cartoon? Great, Bing found it -- now do you want to buy it on the Zune video marketplace, or watch it using your Netflix subscription? The console gives you the option upfront, immediately telling you where you can find what you're looking for, and giving you the chance to choose how the content is delivered.
Bing doesn't mind unspecific searches, and allows you to search by title, director, actor and genre. The experience is very sleek, and is one of the finest features of the Dashboard update. It's worth noting, however, that a lot of the joy of the Bing experience is tied to its implementation of voice recognition -- yes, the same comprehensive search is available to Kinect-deprived gamers, but the hunt and peck text entry the traditional controller offers is decidedly less magical. Silent types and and diehard Xbox 360 chatpad users aren't too bad off though, Bing autofills suggestions as you type, which ought to keep chicken-peck data entry to a minimum.
Beacons
As you may have guessed from the "friends" section's modified moniker, Xbox Live is a social community -- playing with friends is half of the point. If you're hankering to use your Gold status for more than convenient access to Netflix, you'll want to pay attention to Beacons. Quietly announced at E3, and recently introduced on Xbox.com, Beacons let Xbox users flag their multiplayer cravings and broadcast them over Facebook. We didn't get to put Beacons to practical use during out testing period, but our friends' flagged games hovered over their avatar's head in our friends list -- had any of us actually wanted to play the same thing, our consoles would have notified and nudged us in the right direction.
We noticed, however, that not all Beacons are equal. Set your flag on Xbox.com, and you'll be immediately be able to add a custom comment, but won't be able to broadcast it to Facebook. Activating a Beacon via the Xbox Dashboard gives you easy access to "share on Facebook" option, but initially forces you to use a generic "I want to play this game with friends," comment, only allowing you to edit the Beacon after the fact. Both avenues lead to the same Beacon, but the discrepancy seemed a bit odd. Still, we see these flags as a welcome addition to Xbox Live; they're easy to use and ought to make multiplayer sessions a little easier to organize.
Achievements are getting a social bump as well, scoring their own "share on Facebook" brag button. Selecting and sharing a particular achievement is a fairly minor update, but at the very least gives you something to throw back in the face of your PSN spamming friends.
Apps and TV
The old Dashboard can still be seen peppered throughout a handful of old apps (last.fm, in particular), something Microsoft told us would be rectified as new and updated apps roll out in the coming weeks. A new set of design standards have been pinned to ensure that that partner apps don't stray too far from the Dashboard's uniform experience, while still adding their own touch of flair. Netflix is a prime example -- while the Hulu Plus, Epix and Dailymotion apps embrace Redmond's Metro layout, the stream king offers its own design evolution. The new Netflix app retains its vertical list, but previews each category's horizontal scroll in a vertical cascade of film covers. Highlighting a title drops a brief description at the foot of the screen, and selecting it jumps right in to the program. A mini guide is available while content is playing, allowing users to change episodes, rate the title, and even jump to related content without exciting the stream -- these features area all unique to Netflix, which, in contrast to the basic design and function of its neighboring apps, shows how vanilla or custom a particular app can be.
The beta Microsoft lent us wasn't equipped with the Dashboard's impending live TV integration, but we visited some representatives from the outfit in San Francisco to get a brief look. Like Netflix, Hulu, and Last.fm, TV on Xbox is an app-based affair -- but don't ditch your cable box just yet, most of the console's television offerings will only be available to subscribers of each respective service, and even then some networks will only offer on-demand content, or limited selections of their full library of channels. Still, the app integration is appealing, offering an aesthetically pleasing (and Metro flavored) alternative to your chosen provider's standard program guide.
Cloud storage
Xbox Live profiles are now universally accessible from the cloud. Players behind the Xbox Live Gold paywall also have access to cloud based storage for save games -- a boon for gamers who migrate between consoles, or upgraded to slimmer Xbox, for various reasons. The Xbox's cloud storage feature needs to be activated through the console's settings page before it can be used -- our system offered us 511MB of cloud space after we switched it on. Uploading data to the cloud was as easy as saving games to a memory card, we effortlessly traded data with the Xbox hard drive using the console's data management tools.
Naturally, cloud saved games won't be available if you aren't connected to the internet, but a sudden disconnection won't ruin your day. We pulled our console's ethernet connection out midway through a session of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but the Xbox had no trouble loading or saving our game, and didn't default back to its hard drive until we exited to the Dashboard. When we plugged the console back in, the saved games we created while offline were right there, in the cloud, seemingly stored locally in the interim. Half a gig of cloud storage isn't a ton of space (heck, our Skyrim save data totals over 1.3GB in of itself), but we can definitely dig the convenience of accessing saves remotely without lugging around a memory card. We didn't get the chance to access our Xbox Live profile remotely via the cloud, but as we understand, it's as simple as signing in at home -- the old "gamertag recovery" feature is dead and gone.
Wrap-up
We were pretty tickled by this year's dash update when we played with it back in September, and not much has changed today. The final product is sleeker than the developer build we saw last, which wasalready a cut above the old dash. The flat, Metro squares put the console in a Microsoft uniform while providing better access to content in a more appealing style. Navigation is quicker, snappier, more enjoyable, and downright futuristic feeling when paired with a Kinect sensor and voice integration. The new dash even seemed to boot our old Xbox 360 Elite up a few seconds faster than the old guard, clocking in 22 seconds from "on" to home screen as opposed to the previous Dashboard's 25 second clock time. By the time the new dash caught up to the old, the Kinect sensor had finished its warm up and was ready to take commands.
We would have liked to see motion or voice control dig a little deeper -- there are still some corners of the Xbox that need a controller to be navigated properly, namely the settings page, Avatar editor, and a handful of prompt screens. But, other than these minor shortcomings, the Dashboard's Metro overhaul succeeds in revamping the console interface into a more intuitive, user-friendly and appealing environment. It is, without a doubt, the biggest and best change since NXE, and we won't miss the old "new experience" one bit.
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