If you don't like the look of the new Xbox 360 Dashboard unveiled at E3 last week, then "you don't actually have to use it," says Microsoft's Xbox Live director of programming Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb.
According to The Major, every single function available in current 360 backend will be included in the new, clean-looking Dash', which you can bypass completely if you choose.
"I know that there are some people that aren't going to like the happy, happy, shiny New Xbox Experience. For whatever reason it's not flipping their bit," Hryb said in his latest podcast.
"Here's my message to you: you don't actually have to use it. You can never go there, just leave your game disc in and pretty much do everything that you could before but on the Guide level - one button press away in every single game.
"The Dashboard as you know it today, in other words the 'blades'; Games, Live, Media and System," The Major explained, "We've taken those blades and moved them to the Guide. Every single function that you can do today in the Dashboard you are going to be able to do in the New Xbox Experience in the Guide.
"When you press the Guide button on the Xbox 360 controller, the new Guide will come up and you're going to be able to do everything in there. You're going to be able to contextually browse Marketplace, did you know that? So when you have Gears of War 2 of Halo 3 in there you're going to be able to go straight to that section."
Sounds excellent to us. Even more good news for New Xbox Experience haters comes in the form of Avatars, and how you don't have to use them. "If you don't like the avatars, they're not required. You can use your Gamer Pictures," said Hryb in the podcast. "Your existing and Gamer Pictures and Themes still work," adds co-host 'e'.
If developers choose though, adds the mysterious co-host, they can stick some cool rewards for Avatars in their games.
"I was talking to Todd Howard [Bethesda exec producer]," says The Major, "and he was like, 'hey, I want to talk about Avatars - do you think there's a little hazmat suit for Fallout 3 we could make?" At least they won't be charging for it... (we hope)
The New Xbox Experience will "definitely" be out this year, says Hryb. Watch our video of it in action here.
I may be in the minority here but i really like the look of the new dashboard, looks cleaner and neater. Its good to see Microsoft attempting to improve on what is already a fantastic system.
"I was talking to Todd Howard ," says The Major, "and he was like, 'hey, I want to talk about Avatars - do you think there's a little hazmat suit for Fallout 3 we could make?" At least they won't be charging for it... (we hope)
Heh, would be awesome if we could get a Vault-boy avatar, or at least the vault outfit.
No you're not. You're upgrading - it's a mandatory update. You won't be able to use Xbox Live without updating it.
What he's saying is that everything you do now in the dashboard, will be available in any game/dvd when you press the guide button. In other words, it's a mini-blades-dashboard that has all the functions you're used to.
You'll still have the new dashboard in the background. You'll never see the blades again - not as you see them now. This is how they look in-game.
I personally quite like the look of the new dashboard. The blade system is top notch anyway, and it sounds like they're keeping them when you dive into the menu of certain options.
The only thing I'm not overly fussed about are the avatars. But hey, I always have the option to not use one.
This is very good news indeed. How will we still be able to use our themes & gamer pics though? The existing dash is being replaced & I can't see how they'll be integrated into the guide menu..
They've shown screenshots already. Basically it'll work like it does now. Your background will appear in the background (with the lower-half faded out into the grey 'floor') and your gamer pics will basically sit where the avatars are.
I like the look of the new Dash, but them adding avatars seems like selling out into the Mii/PSHome thing. That said, I'll probably end up making my own, so I can't really bad mouth them too much.
I just hope that all this contextual stuff doesn't mean it loads really slowly. It already takes long enough for the in-game blades to load without forcing it all to run filters before it can show you a menu.
I'm looking forward to this, sounds and looks very fresh. Hope they let you use your current gamercard on your avatar's t-shirt that would be cool. Also if the themes worked in the new in game blades? Cool also.
I may be in the minority here but i really like the look of the new dashboard, looks cleaner and neater. Its good to see Microsoft attempting to improve on what is already a fantastic system.
I'm with you there - i really like the look of it.
I thought the blades looks, well, pretty crap, very cluttered and doing the whole 'futuristic' thing. In my opinion, designing a dashboard based on the doors in Star Trek is not a great idea.
New one looks nice - if a little too reminiscent of the iPod.
I think I may have mentioned this somewhere else before, but while watching the videos of the new dashboard, I didn't really see much in the way of adverts. The current dashboard can get abit heavy on the ads - meaning they obscure your lovely background images, etc.
You think Microsoft aren't going to be too heavy on the adversts with this new look? Or, is that wishful thinking.
I like the old one too, mind you. But I find the new one cleaner, a lot more stylish and uncluttered.
As for the avatars, I love the Mii's, and a key criticism of the Wii for me was that the Mii's just aren't used well enough, or tied to save games and profiles well enough. The Avatars seem to do exactly what I wanted the Mii's to do, and add a load more customisation features besides.
Theres nothing wrong with borrowing an idea from someone else, anyway- especially if its a good idea.
I like it. The old one was looking a bit dated for me.
The new one is clean and tidy, and not as text or advert heavy.
I'm quite looking forward to trying it. I can't believe they'd intentioanlly loose any of the functionality that makes the 360 such a userfriendly machine.
I may be in the minority here but i really like the look of the new dashboard, looks cleaner and neater. Its good to see Microsoft attempting to improve on what is already a fantastic system.
I'm with you there - i really like the look of it.
I thought the blades looks, well, pretty crap, very cluttered....
New one looks nice - if a little too reminiscent of the iPod.
I really, really like the new dashboard. I like the old one too, mind you. But I find the new one cleaner, a lot more stylish and uncluttered.
As for the avatars, I love the Mii's, and a key criticism of the Wii for me was that the Mii's just aren't used well enough, or tied to save games and profiles well enough.
There's nothing wrong with borrowing an idea from someone else, anyway- especially if its a good idea.
I'm with you guys and think the new dash is a definite improvement over the blades system. But I think letting people still use the old system is a cop-out. People should embrace the change, it's called progress. Giving people the choice just undermines all their efforts to move things forward.
And the whole Avatar idea is a complete joke if everyone gets to by-pass it and not bother making one. Developers will think twice about bothering to implement them in their games if only 30% of 360 owners use them.
I think the new dashboard is actually pretty decent. The layout and structure seems pretty straightforward and it looks like being designed with gamers in mind.
I guess this was always going to be a bit contentious. We've never been offered the chance to 'upgrade' our consoles before, and at least Microsoft have tried to appease each option as much as possible.
Of course they want to make the 'New Xbox Experience' a more prominent feature than the 'Blades', that's the way they want to take the console and it's user base and I'm not in the least surprised.
This new update is simply "Xbox does Media Centre", and seeing as that is one of the things that Microsoft has gotten generally right, that can be no bad thing!
I may be in the minority here but i really like the look of the new dashboard, looks cleaner and neater. Its good to see Microsoft attempting to improve on what is already a fantastic system.
I'm with you there - i really like the look of it.
I thought the blades looks, well, pretty crap, very cluttered....
New one looks nice - if a little too reminiscent of the iPod.
I really, really like the new dashboard. I like the old one too, mind you. But I find the new one cleaner, a lot more stylish and uncluttered.
As for the avatars, I love the Mii's, and a key criticism of the Wii for me was that the Mii's just aren't used well enough, or tied to save games and profiles well enough.
There's nothing wrong with borrowing an idea from someone else, anyway- especially if its a good idea.
I'm with you guys and think the new dash is a definite improvement over the blades system. But I think letting people still use the old system is a cop-out. People should embrace the change, it's called progress. Giving people the choice just undermines all their efforts to move things forward.
And the whole Avatar idea is a complete joke if everyone gets to by-pass it and not bother making one. Developers will think twice about bothering to implement them in their games if only 30% of 360 owners use them.
Why should everyone have to embrace it if they don't want to? Personally I think the blades system works fine and the new look is complete s**t! Looks to me like MS are trying to tap into the casual gamer market too much with this bland looking simplyfied dashboard and crappy avatars.
I haven't looked at it enough, but I don't see why it shouldn't work. If I don't like it I'll just continue to do what I do now....load my 360 games without really looking at the dashboard!
I'm with you guys and think the new dash is a definite improvement over the blades system. But I think letting people still use the old system is a cop-out. People should embrace the change, it's called progress. Giving people the choice just undermines all their efforts to move things forward.
You cannot use the old system. Nobody can. Please read it again. Already explained in the comments, too...
This article is kinda misleading though - exactly what old functionality can you continue to use? Or can you continue to use the whole Blade system as is*?
*As long as you rip your net connection out and never EVER plug it in again.
I actually like the new dashboard as it looks a bit less cluttered. I also thought that Ninty's idea of the mii's was inspired. Now that I have sold my Wii, I am glad that I can do similar things on the 360. Can't wait - I love updates! Now where is that cross-chat Sony? Eh? You listening!? OOYYYY!
I hate the new look im nearly 30 years old and the last thing i want to be doing is dressing up a bleeding avatar why not just go the whole hog and buy a barbie doll lol, still at least Microsoft have seen sense and giving us the choice
P.S My partner has told me to say she loves it (damn you microsoft she's gonna take over my 360 noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo)
i thing the new look is great and (lets be honest) is inspired by the simpler PS3 XMB.
However Microsoft shouldnt allow the old system. It shows a lack of confidence. They want to be all things to all people. a family console, and a console for hardcore gamers.
My guess is, they will keep the blades for a while, allow the hardcore to experiment with the new, and then disable the blades in a year.
i thing the new look is great and (lets be honest) is inspired by the simpler PS3 XMB.
However Microsoft shouldnt allow the old system. It shows a lack of confidence. They want to be all things to all people. a family console, and a console for hardcore gamers.
My guess is, they will keep the blades for a while, allow the hardcore to experiment with the new, and then disable the blades in a year.
y
As has already been said in these comments, the old style Dashboard is not going to be an option, they have moved that style to the guide button, the Dashboard as we know it now, will look like they showed at E3, with no option of using the old style blades as your Dashboard.
I really like the look of the new Dashboard and the idea of the blades becoming the Xbox Guide. Apparently, this is going to speed up things as far as the Dashboard and Guide is concerned, we shall wait and see.
Looking forward to new GUI. I thought that the blades were great in the beginning but added content and features have left it messy and slow.
So, as long as it's clean and above all else faster then I'm cool with it. Trying to navigate the increasingly crap list of games on XBLA is becoming a chore.
The Mii thing will either be really cool, or I'll simply ignore it. No biggy.
i thing the new look is great and (lets be honest) is inspired by the simpler PS3 XMB.
However Microsoft shouldnt allow the old system. It shows a lack of confidence. They want to be all things to all people. a family console, and a console for hardcore gamers.
My guess is, they will keep the blades for a while, allow the hardcore to experiment with the new, and then disable the blades in a year.
y
I think it's more inspired by the iphone than the XMB.
I love the functionality of the blades, but the new dashboard looks pretty easy to use, I'm sure that it will be functional, lets not forget that MS's fortunes are built upon operating systems, so I'm sure they know what they are doing
Avitars look a bit crap really & I reckon I'll stick to gamer pics - unless they tie it in with games where you can customise your character, like Saints Row 2 or use your Halo 3 multiplayer suit, then it gets interesting
Oh my GOD people, please read the god damned article!
This is why I hate sensationlised headlines. Idiots just skip right to the comments to blab about it. The article explains all - and if you still don't understand, the first few comments make it even clearer!
I think it's more inspired by the iphone than the XMB.
???! It's very much MS' version of the XMB. If the iPhone system resembles anything it's the Wii and all it's channels. I don't mind the new 360 dash at all. Not too arsed about the Avis but I don't need to fanny about with them I suppose. The whole 'Halo couch system' is a great addition. I'm glad they kept it simple and kept the blades in-game though.
Thank F*&%$ for that. I might experiement with the new dashboard(although I have a feeling I'll revert back to the old one - which I never had a problem with in the first place), but I have absolutely no intention of using those immature, babyish avatars. Perhaps my letter of complaint to Ms asking if it were possible to retain your old dash layout and gamerpic(that YOU HAVE PAID MONEY FOR)and doubtless the other letters like it did the trick.
Thank F*&%$ for that. I might experiement with the new dashboard(although I have a feeling I'll revert back to the old one - which I never had a problem with in the first place), but I have absolutely no intention of using those immature, babyish avatars. Perhaps my letter of complaint to Ms asking if it were possible to retain your old dash layout and gamerpic(that YOU HAVE PAID MONEY FOR)and doubtless the other letters like it did the trick.
You will not be able to revert back to the original blades. Read the article, as has been mentioned in the post above you.
It seems that people don't read articles, or the comments before posting. But then, the article title was a little misleading.
"I was talking to Todd Howard ," says The Major, "and he was like, 'hey, I want to talk about Avatars - do you think there's a little hazmat suit for Fallout 3 we could make?" At least they won't be charging for it... (we hope)
Heh, would be awesome if we could get a Vault-boy avatar, or at least the vault outfit.
avatars do look very stupid but it would be good to customise them and put them in an aston villa shirt ( i know that sounds gay ) and the new dashboard looks great, wow microsoft are gettin really good at this console buisness im very impressed the currnt dashboard although simple is UGLY!!!!+-
For everyone who thinks they will be able to use the current blades when the new dashboard comes out they are in for a rude awakening.
The blades will be in the center of the screen about one quarter of the size they are now, dull gray, and you'll be able to see 90% of the new dashboard in the background. The blades won't even look like they do now.
So, STFU Hryb quit deceiving everyone into thinking the current Blades dashboard will still be there and you don't have to use the new one! What a crock of $#!+ The new dashboard will come up when you boot the 360 so you'll have to use it!
Like I said before, when this update comes out I'm selling both my 360's (my main 360 and my backup in case of RROD, don't even get me started on that) and getting a PS3. Here's to you Micro$ucks! IDIOTS!
"Gears of War 2 of Halo 3" that game sounds like all kind of suck rolled into one. Maybe you meant to use OR but your copy desk is busy giving blow-jobs to the assholes that designed your crappy captcha that takes 7 tries.
Thank F*&%$ for that. I might experiement with the new dashboard(although I have a feeling I'll revert back to the old one - which I never had a problem with in the first place), but I have absolutely no intention of using those immature, babyish avatars. Perhaps my letter of complaint to Ms asking if it were possible to retain your old dash layout and gamerpic(that YOU HAVE PAID MONEY FOR)and doubtless the other letters like it did the trick.
You will not be able to revert back to the original blades. Read the article, as has been mentioned in the post above you.
It seems that people don't read articles, or the comments before posting. But then, the article title was a little misleading.
The only choice you've got is whether or not to invest time customizing an avatar. You almost certainly will at least create one, everyone is curious - right? After that, you're stuck with the equivalent of a 3d clown taking up your valuable screen space, waving at you and being annoying. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXPCqPOe-bw
For me, 360 avatars are the equivalent of the return of Mr.Clippy & his animated friends! Microsoft Office's most helpful feature is about to hit the XBox 360! Anyone trying to turn off the feature, will find it goes nuts and just won't die. What is the point of avatars on 360 and why is anyone interested? Making new 'friends'? Microsoft have been through this one before... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3LpYw5xfao&NR=1 Oh dear.
this isn't a rebranding of clippy onto gaming consoles, this is a blatant rip-off of nintendo. ms needs to be embarrassed of themselves.
i would have preferred the rumored wiimote clone over this nonsense. ms devs, give us the ability to do xmbc functionality in your product, that's why xbox sold well. do it with the 360 dashboard (stop making us transcode, support x264 at hd res) and dominate the marketplace (aside from my 360 sounding like a 747 whenever it's on).
Oh my GOD people, please read the god damned article!
This is why I hate sensationlised headlines. Idiots just skip right to the comments to blab about it. The article explains all - and if you still don't understand, the first few comments make it even clearer!
I may be in the minority here but i really like the look of the new dashboard, looks cleaner and neater. Its good to see Microsoft attempting to improve on what is already a fantastic system.
I'm with you there - i really like the look of it.
I thought the blades looks, well, pretty crap, very cluttered....
New one looks nice - if a little too reminiscent of the iPod.
I really, really like the new dashboard. I like the old one too, mind you. But I find the new one cleaner, a lot more stylish and uncluttered.
As for the avatars, I love the Mii's, and a key criticism of the Wii for me was that the Mii's just aren't used well enough, or tied to save games and profiles well enough.
There's nothing wrong with borrowing an idea from someone else, anyway- especially if its a good idea.
I'm with you guys and think the new dash is a definite improvement over the blades system. But I think letting people still use the old system is a cop-out. People should embrace the change, it's called progress. Giving people the choice just undermines all their efforts to move things forward.
And the whole Avatar idea is a complete joke if everyone gets to by-pass it and not bother making one. Developers will think twice about bothering to implement them in their games if only 30% of 360 owners use them.
Why should everyone have to embrace it if they don't want to? Personally I think the blades system works fine and the new look is complete s**t! Looks to me like MS are trying to tap into the casual gamer market too much with this bland looking simplyfied dashboard and crappy avatars.
You sound like a child!... moan, moan, moan. The reason YOU SHOULD EMBRACE IT, is because it is an improvement!! IT'S BETTER!! Do you really think Microsoft is going to change the dashboard and make it s**t with half the amount of features!! no one on this forum has even used the new dashboard, so how can you even judge it? It not only looks better, it also looks easier to use. The functions, once the new dashboard is in place, will surpass anything on any other console (expect for a web-browser).
...And as for the "crappy Avatars" you haven't got to use them!!? Have you read the article??
If a 3D dashboard is to much for your mind to take and you need to revert to the bland/boring/child-like dashboard, you can simply just use the guide button.
As long as they keep banging out good games I don't care what they do with the chuffin' dashboard. Selling your Xbox 360 'cause you don't like it is a bit stupid... Yes you, Celidus.
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The existing dash is being replaced & I can't see how they'll be integrated into the guide menu.. 
Oh dear.
