Microsoft illuminates new XBL Marketplace

Accessibility will be primary focus of online storefront for 360's Avatar-based dashboard update, due late this fall.

Each week brings Xbox 360 gamers closer to the New Xbox Experience, Microsoft's substantial overhaul of the Xbox Live dashboard and online services. Leading up to that launch, the gamemaker has slowly been peeling back the layers of what can be expected from the update.

Info on Halo is in no short supply.

Last week, Microsoft's marketing team gave interested gamers a look at the new, animated dashboard themes as well as friends lists. Today, Microsoft's Sara Nicholson returned to tip the publisher's hand on Xbox Live Marketplace's new look, promising more information will be readily accessible than with the current layout. By way of a handful of before-and-after screenshots, Nicholson explained that the XBLM will give gamers a wealth of easy-to-access information.

"When you go into the new Games Store this fall, you will be able to check out screenshots of the game, watch trailers and read the back-of-the-box description like you are shopping at a retail store," said the Microsoft marketing rep. "The Games Store will also display every available download for the game you are looking for."

And here, we have some games.

Returning to the publisher's go-to prototype of Gears of War 2, Nicholson said that Xbox gamers can now readily access all pertinent information relating to the game through the Game Store, including previews, trailers, gamerpics, themes, game add-ons, and images.

The Xbox Live dashboard update is officially slated for a late-fall arrival. Various sources, including an Xbox Live ad appearing on the current dashboard, have pegged the New Xbox Experience for a November rollout.

248 Comments

  • seriousjoker93

    Posted Oct 22, 2008 8:54 pm PT

    november 19th hurry up!

  • Pyrosa

    Posted Oct 8, 2008 12:29 pm PT

    So will this thing finally have a text search field or not?

  • makemeweak

    Posted Oct 7, 2008 2:36 pm PT

    The redesign keeps getting better and better...

  • christopherneal

    Posted Oct 7, 2008 11:42 am PT

    The four way private chat shouldn't be much of an issue with great improvements in VoIP technology. I'm very excited about the update. I'm sure will be bumpy at first so lets have a little patience out there gang. Peace

  • darkride66

    Posted Oct 7, 2008 10:19 am PT

    george999819 said "It just keeps getting better and better to own a 360! ...and worse and worse to own a PS3!"
    Yeah, personally I don't think this type of nonsense has any place on these forums. I think the 360 update looks great and I'm looking forward to using it myself, but you've got to be a pretty big fanboy to believe that the PS3 is somehow getting worse and worse. Is it so hard to just enjoy something on your system of choice without resorting to worrying and taking shots at what the other consoles are doing?

  • individual89967

    Posted Oct 7, 2008 4:59 am PT

    I have to say that i think this update will be an imporvement. I like the old setup, but you can always imporve it. does anyone else think that 4 way private chat will almost certainly kill most of the communication on games? i used to enjoy talking to my opposing team before a match, but if theyre in private chat, this may not happen.

  • godzillavskong

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 11:58 pm PT

    Looks a lot better then the original layout of the dashboard. Can't wait.

  • mathu18

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 7:57 pm PT

    just got a 360 yesterday its awesome so when is the new experience being released

  • gamzrsweet

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 3:49 pm PT

    360 OWNS all

  • gamzrsweet

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 3:49 pm PT

    360 OWNS all

  • george999819

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 3:31 pm PT

    It just keeps getting better and better to own a 360! ...and worse and worse to own a PS3!

  • george999819

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 3:31 pm PT

    It just keeps getting better and better to own a 360! ...and worse and worse to own a PS3!

  • shamarke

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 2:19 pm PT

    I LOVE MY 360!

  • march15th

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 1:30 pm PT

    it doesn't bother me that MS is taking the Mii idea [despite them saying that Rare had been working on the idea since before the Wii came out]. i have the utmost confidence that MS will put avatars to good use and that they will be better integrated into alot of forth coming games. Nintendo's current online presence is so non-existent that it is really a waste of time to do anything to the mii after the initial fun of creating it cause nobody ever gets to see it so what difference would it make. MS will most definitely exploit the fact that people will want to buy BS for their avatars and i look forward to changing my avatar every now and then and showing off the new virtual shcwag that i've acquired.

    As far as Home goes, i think it will do well too and alot of the proposed features sound very good too. i can't get too excited though as i don't have ps3.

    on another note, i am also looking forward to streaming netflix programming with the new XBE. i have already filled my queue in anticipation.

  • maxvalo

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 12:01 pm PT

    The new Dashboard features are awesome!

  • c_mcafee

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 12:00 pm PT

    That is an awesome idea imperial_agent.

  • Narroo

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 11:36 am PT

    Bet you have to pay for extra avatars.

  • Count_Hesley

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 11:33 am PT

    Here's to hoping the XBLM overhaul doesn't contribute to the price inflation of downloadable games and content... riiiiiight. "I see more 1200pt games in your future, Count Hesley." "F***ing great."

  • iuns

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 11:13 am PT

    You can have either dashboard, so if you want the new one then use it - if not use the old one and quit complaining.

  • iuns

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 11:13 am PT

    You can have either dashboard, so if you want the new one then use it - if not use the old one and quit complaining.

  • Autolycus

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 10:41 am PT

    For example...can the 4 million or so Arcade/Core 360 owners even use this upgrade? Will it fit on the system memory somehow, on a memory card or are those 4 million console owners SOL unless they upgrade to a harddrive? Those are the questions you should be talking about, not bashing Home - a unfinished product on another system.
    ----
    I would assume most of the 4 million people purchased a hard drive and basically got the CORE/ARCADE to buffer the hurt on the bank account. I know thats why I did on day 1. Any stat show how many hard drives have been sold?

  • Autolycus

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 10:35 am PT

    if its a GUI update only, people will be disspointed. People are looking for new live FEATURES besides avatars...

  • darkride66

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 10:19 am PT

    I like the new look, and don't even mind he Avatars (they'll be fun) but I'm disappointed by what I'm hearing about the HD install performance boost. I've read people testing the new upgrade and they're saying maybe a 10% boost to load times. Now, I prefer this to nothing - especially for games like Oblivion but I was just hoping for something a little more pronounced.

  • imperial_agent

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 10:08 am PT

    ah, u know what would be cool? if you could get items for your avatar based on the game your playing. like if you're playing Orange Box, as you play through the game you steadily unlock items for the avatar that will let you get Gordon Freeman type of clothes. like the suit, glasses, and a crowbar. or when you beat BioShock, you can unlock a Big Daddy helmut and drill. that'd be sweet.

  • imperial_agent

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 10:06 am PT

    this update looks cool. i can't wait to pimp out my avatar to look like a Big Daddy.

  • destrozz

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 10:01 am PT

    The update is mandatory but, you can switch it back to the original dashboard. I don't understand why people don't like the update it will only make xbl better and less clunky.

  • volcomstoner180

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 9:42 am PT

    this update will be sick...i dont know why some ppl dont like it...its a much needed upgrade jikka

  • Hvac0120

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 9:31 am PT

    November 22, 2008 That's my bet on the date. It's the frickin annual b-day for the Xbox360. What better day for releasing the "New Xbox Experience?"

    I think the update will be great. XBL really needs some reorganization and this may fix a lot of the problems I've had with the current layout. Of course, this may not be as good as it sounds on paper and screenshots can be deceiving. One of my biggest gripes has been simple things, like getting to a game takes several steps and overall long load times. I imagine that the local HDD items will load much faster and be found much quicker with the NXE. I am worried about the overhead that the Marketplace is incurring with the larger amount of information it is bringing to all users. Will items take forever to load now? I mean, it takes long enough for the banner to load in the upper-right corner of the current Marketplace items. Imagine that being exponentially increased with all the extra info being brought forth after this release. I hope Microsoft is aware of the latency issues this could cause.

    All-in-all I think it will turn out good for the Xbox360.

  • noxboxlive

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 9:06 am PT

    i hate change why when i was just getting used to the old one and plus this means no xbl for a day

  • Darkkriz

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 8:13 am PT

    For mrKame16 comment before! Yes the update is mandatory for the xbox 360

  • xbox4life76

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 7:46 am PT

    I am welcoming the change to the xbox live dashboard honestly. Something new and different is always good.

  • BigDaddy973

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 7:42 am PT

    I want it!!

  • MorbidToaster

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 7:36 am PT

    @ ascalon94
    PS3 fanboys say this wont compete against home and yet is Home even coming out?? By the time Home comes out 360 will be 720..

    Do you read ANYTHING but 360 headlines? Home, it's been confirmed is going to be released this year, maybe before this dashboard update.
    ----------------------------------------------------
    Now, speaking as a previous owner of a 360, I like the old layout better. So much more simple, and nicer.

  • mrkame16

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 7:08 am PT

    Im sorry this update looks uhh ok...nothing grand, i think the avatars are a weak idea, biting off of Nin Wii instead of creating something original. I hope this is update is optional and not mandatory...my xbox live gold acc expires soon anyway.

  • Axecution

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 6:47 am PT

    Well well, the 360 and its original ideas are b.... wait. Is that cover flow? Kind of like on a mac?
    And... Hey! Its a mii!

    Message to gamespot: Did apple and nintendo make this update? just curious... cause this is the most pathetic thing ever. Just sayin'.

  • Elite-Realist

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 6:32 am PT

    When is the updat coming?

  • Scancho

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 3:36 am PT

    i think they just wanted to enhance the whole "mii" thing from the wii, because they figured it appealed to a lot of people.

  • iceberg082002

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 11:27 pm PT

    u dont HAVE to use the Avatars

  • God_Emporer

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 11:16 pm PT

    yeah, 40Jared40 hit the nail on the head- it does look cool, but the avatars do come off as a gimmick

  • 40Jared40

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 10:08 pm PT

    I like the new look makes the dashboard look alot better,but I am not sure bout the avatar thing I dont think that gimmick is needed.

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 9:44 pm PT

    I guess I really don't need this update. All I want to do is play games. I don't care about all this other stuff.

  • darkride66

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 9:43 pm PT

    sonofabear17 said "ATTENTION ALL FANBOYS! You guys need to understand something. Competition drives innovation. Therefore any PS3 fanboys complaining about this should be happy."
    Um, hate to burst your bubble here but I don't see any "PS3 fanboys" complaining, I see a bunch of 360 fans happy with the changes, some not happy with the changes and some 360 fans who use any news as an excuse to up and bash the PS3. Seriously, one guy mentions home (not even criticizing the fall dashboard update on the 360) and 360 fans are falling over themselves in their rush to slag a product that hasn't been released and they haven't tried. Get a grip people.
    And thinking gamers, asking intelligent questions - like wondering what happens to themes and gamerpics you've bought, get thumbed down into oblivion. It's truly telling of the maturity of gamers when they can't even address legitimate questions regarding their console of choice when doing so might shed light on details they'd rather just ignore.
    For example...can the 4 million or so Arcade/Core 360 owners even use this upgrade? Will it fit on the system memory somehow, on a memory card or are those 4 million console owners SOL unless they upgrade to a harddrive? Those are the questions you should be talking about, not bashing Home - a unfinished product on another system.

  • sideoftheham

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 7:44 pm PT

    can we choose to have this?

  • olschooldu2

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 7:33 pm PT

    Does anyone recognize the layout for the new dashboard? Anyone who's running Vista on their computer should see that the new layout is the same as Vista's. When you have multiple windows open, you can click on a tab on the taskbar, and it will open all the windows so you can see them all at once and just scroll through them instead of minimizing, then re-opening. The layout that you see above is the exact same layout in Vista, but of course, its all Microsoft...

  • sonofabear17

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 7:30 pm PT

    ATTENTION ALL FANBOYS! You guys need to understand something. Competition drives innovation. Therefore any PS3 fanboys complaining about thins should be happy, because sony will now change things in order to compete, and right after that Microsoft will strike back and this will go back and forth. So dont get upset if something cool happens on another console, be happy, cause your company will step up their game

  • nygiants1080

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 7:21 pm PT

    Looks great! Can't wait to mess around with it when it does come out. Gives the 360 some thing a little more fresh when I turn it on.

  • Adamus9

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 6:45 pm PT

    The Avatars are like a halfway point between the Mii and whatever sony calls there people for Home.

  • halosniper52

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 6:13 pm PT

    "skate_n_game"

    100% agree whit u the dashboard they got now is vary nice easy to get to things smooth. The new one looks dumb and kinda idk just don't like wht it looks like will take some time to get use to I guess and ya the avatars are just dumb. I hope it will be nice tho once it comes out and not clunky hard to find things. I already saw the demo of the thing but still don't really know.

  • JoshChambers

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 5:55 pm PT

    cant wait. Change is always welcomed.

  • skate_n_game

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 3:55 pm PT

    I for one like the dashboard as it is now. Simple, straightforward, and easy to access. The avatars are obviously a blatant rip off of the Mii's.

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