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  • DJ_Lae
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12Mar 08

One XBLA fix down, one (of many) to go

Probably the most desired fix for the 360's vocal group of achievement whores was the ability to exclude game trials from your recently played list as well as your achievement potential. Maybe it's been officially announced at some point, but for the past couple of weeks I've noticed that playing trials no longer places those games on my game list. Unfortunately, older ones are still stuck there, unless I'm totally dense and missed an option to axe those. Great, I guess.

I never cared much about that, though - I'm not too big on worrying if I have a good percentage of my possible achievements. What do I want fixed? The bloody game list:

That thing. The one that has to scan and total every single game you have on your console every time you enter. Ten or twenty seconds of the old spinning dots loading icon as the console whirrs away and finally realizes that "Hey, you still have the same games you did two minutes ago!" Back out of the menu, enter it again, and once more the 360 has to churn away and repopulate the list because it's already been dropped from memory. Same thing happens when you play an XBLA game and exit it...blank list, slowly filling up. Ugh.

I'm sorry, but there's got to be a better way. Keep a static list and edit it whenever I delete a game or download a new one. I don't even have that many games, really - I can only imagine how long people with 100+ games have to wait. Even if I get impatient and force it to jump to the actual game list it still takes a good long time to add my games. So I'll sit there for a while, twiddling my thumbs and sitting on Prince of Persia because it's alphabetically closest to Poker Smash...whenever my Xbox decides to add Poker Smash and let me play the game, at least.

47 Comments

  • vbdevpro

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 7:36 pm PT

    Wow... just wow. PS3 and Wii owners are begging for an ingame XMB, usable friend lists and halfway decent messaging software and you're complaining about your "recently played" list.

  • XxNastyMan75xX

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 7:55 pm PT

    ps3 has friends lists and a well set up messaging system we're only waiting for in game XBM, sorry don't mean to troll i just happened to read the article and ur message

  • DJ_Lae

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 7:55 pm PT

    I am making the assumption that everyone else is having the same issue with their game list (it's not the recently played list, or 'played games' as Microsoft likes to call it). It is entirely possible that it's just my hard drive or 360 on the verge of failure. But making fun of Microsoft for shoddy hardware is about as fair as calling Sony or Nintendo out for having a useless online service.

  • French023

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 8:13 pm PT

    I'm annoyed by it too...but look at the bright side at least were complaining about somthing like this and not somthing like no friends list, no voice chat, no games.

  • Bartiemuss

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 8:23 pm PT

    I to wish i could delete games from that list like for example games you rent and get nowhere in

  • rsattler

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 8:36 pm PT

    Can't you go to the System blade, select your hard drive from the Memory option and then delete the game saves from the hard drive? I've done this in the past to get rid of the games I've rented so they don't show up on the list. I may have the sequence wrong... Anyway, it's a pain. And I agree with you, waiting for that game counter is painful. A static file that the system reads with a count of the games should not be that hard to implement and I'm surprised that MS hasn't done it by now. Maybe they don't want to waste disk space but I can't see how the file would be big enough to even matter...

  • Sick3r

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 8:46 pm PT

    Luckily my number is just 1. But i do want the games that you have noe achievements in gone. It'd be nice to fix it up. And for it, you have to select the game you will never play again because it did not suit my liking option from the list of keep it or delete it.

  • zeke225

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:42 pm PT

    One of the many changes in a recent update was that demos would no longer be in the list like you said. unfortunately they did mention that the ones prior to the update would still be there. they may come back and fix that eventually but don't get your hopes up.

  • grand17

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 12:40 am PT

    with microsofts innovative ideas and sonys high standard of quality they could make 1 great system

  • graphikal

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:20 am PT

    Why has this taken you months to realise? Everyone has known this since December. Follow this quote if you will:

    "Trial games no longer show up on your profile. No more zero-gamerscore trial games on your played games list! (This applies to games loaded after the update; unfortunately, previously-played trial games will still be listed.)"

  • 1010will

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 4:11 am PT

    I don't care about that stuff i just love Call of Duty IV and Halo

  • Thorpe89 Site moderator

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 6:26 am PT

    This really annoys me. You would think it would preload this when you go on your dashboard. Bankshot Billiards 2 is always like the first title that pops up. All my latest ones eventually pop up about ten to twenty seconds later.

    Even the "Last Played Game" still takes a while to load since it is probably loading the whole list just for that one button until it finds the latest game played.

  • ToddHagen

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 8:19 am PT

    I agree - I like to keep things around - and with over 100 on the list now it takes about 25 seconds or more. The list could easily be a table that could be built, and with any inconsistency, could be forced to be rebuilt when the user wants. Better would be a "favorites" list that would provide closer to instant access, and then a full list for those that like to look at all games

  • Mau-Justice

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 8:44 am PT

    I can live with 20 seconds. My complaint is that my Xbox sounds like a Semi-Truck, I think it's getting ready to give up on me. Call of Duty is wearing my system out...

  • icytower Site moderator

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 8:44 am PT

    It was released as part of the fall 2007 update IIRC. I have to agree with you though, hopefully we get some more options for our game lists in the near future.

  • SlikNik27

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 8:53 am PT

    I couldn't agree more. When I want to play an arcade game, there's nothing more annoying than waiting for the list to populate.

  • Videogameboye

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 9:12 am PT

    Well, its not exactly a paramount problem, but it is annoying.

  • aug_ga_man5

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 10:24 am PT

    Wow, and this is worth talking about???????????????????????

  • Gen_Warbuff

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 10:56 am PT

    Hmm, I guess I just don't have that many arcade games to notice this issue.

  • PiNwOrM

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 10:57 am PT

    I totally agree with the article writer, that's really annoying. It bugs me too, and I'm at 33 games.

    That said, it's tolerable. Only a 10-20 second issue. But still, annoying.

  • DJ_Lae

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:04 am PT

    No, it's not an enormous issue or anything, but it's one of those niggling little problems that becomes more and more annoying when you use your 360 a lot (particularly for XBLA games, which I love).

    I hadn't noticed the absence of trials on my played list before, though, because those few trials I played were games I later bought and assumed had always been there. I wish updates that occur on XBL and for Xbox titles actually included a brief set of release notes, so I actually knew what I was agreeing to when I click "Update now."

  • ewmgreendawg

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:07 am PT

    uhh i have 100something games on my list and my xbox freezes when i try to look at it. i dont really care about it though. i think a more serious issue is the fact that if you replace your xbox 360 none of your old dlc works unless your on xbox live.

  • finalcross

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:35 am PT

    Shouldn't this been better suited as a rant and not an editorial? You're ranting about an issue, not really giving an editorial. I use XBLA and I've never had this problem or been bothered by it, but I guess it's 'to each his own' .

  • grigjd3

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:36 am PT

    Actually, this is a reasonable kind of gripe. The author here (let's call him the consumer) has found something about his experience with video games that he feels could use improvement. The next step is for the producers to adjust to accomodate this desire. If the market does adjust to this, we can claim at least one small case where the system worked.

  • Gamer_152

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 12:05 pm PT

    A minor problem but it is something that should be addressed. I suppose I never really thought about it before, not having too many games and not using the XBLA games much but yeah, I suppose it is a pretty stupid system when you think about it. Hopefully if enough fuss is made about this Microsoft will fix it but I'm not sure about all the old arcade trails in the achievement lists, they may sadly be a curse we will forever carry.

  • nate1222

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 2:28 pm PT

    I just ditched (traded in for cash) my XBox360, literally, two hours ago. Most of what I want on 360 is also on, or coming to, PC. In about two weeks, I'm upgrading my GPU from a nVidia GeForce 8500 to a GeForce 9600. I know that 8800 is actually more powerful, but 9600 only uses 512MB of system RAM - my rig is at max with 2GB. Right after ditching the 360, I went to Best Buy and bought a 650W power supply - 9600 requires 425W. My old half-assed 300W is now headed to an Atlanta landfill. Mass Effect hits the PC in May - I'm getting that version. Hell, even with my sh---y 8500, Oblivion looked really close to the 360 version. I had both versions. Now I'll simply play the PC one.

  • Fjackel

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 4:58 pm PT

    Microsoft said that all your demos played before the fall update still show as played games but not for games from now on and for nate have fun with that pcs are annoying as hell compared to any console even more annoying then my ps3 and its updates every day that take at least 20-30 minutes where on the 360 its only about 10 seconds

  • rev_blade_sword

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 5:01 pm PT

    I'm more annoyed by Microsoft's horrible DRM. I had a ton of games for XBLA on my HDD, then my 3rd system went and died. So one day (While playing on my new system) I booted up Puzzle quest only to see the damn thing didn't know it was the full game. Now, whenever I want to play puzzle quest, Sonic, and a number of other XBLA games, I have to re-download them first. Talk about a pain in the ass.

  • delcidanddarth

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 5:14 pm PT

    Seriously? Ppl here think this is a non-issue? This is basically adding 10-20 seconds of load time to your game, every time you try to start the game, for NO REASON. But then again, we shouldn't be too surprised, since this is coming from microsoft. Try out any version of excel, and watch your cpu and memory usage climb.

  • choffy31

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 7:40 pm PT

    Wow... People seriously care about that? If you're worried about 10-20 seconds, then you seriously need to reevaluate your life.

    Seriously.

    It's a game. So what if you have to wait for 1/5 of a minute? Watch T.V. while you wait for it to load. It's not a big deal.

    I have no clue how this got onto the Editorial Page.

  • EerieToaster

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 9:52 pm PT

    Do you always use your first sentence to insult people? Get wise man, differences in both and opinion and preference do and will continue to exist. Freedom of speech isn't the same as the freedom to be ignorant and senselessly derogatory.

  • Legolas_Katarn

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 12:25 am PT

    Yeah, it has always annoyed me.

  • Calverz

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 3:38 am PT

    Lol totally know what you mean. Can be annoying and a little silly but still, xbox live is great.

  • Dreski83

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 7:44 am PT

    I can't lie... its something that also annoys the heck out of me, but totally excusable when I can finally load up the game my biggest gripes are with other issues in XBL... for instance, the account management of users with systems shipped off to Microsoft for supposed "repairs". If yer system crashes and you need a replacement, expect to be a LiVE user whether you want to or not. Otherwise, ALL download content is useless. Works well for MS, but to paying customers who can't always be online, they need to be on the ball...

  • DJ_Lae

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 9:14 am PT

    Yeah, the DRM thing is annoying too, although from everything I've read from Microsoft it sounds like they view it as a feature and not a bug. All of my pre-red-ring downloaded games are unplayable unless I'm signed in. It can be particularly annoying if my router is in a pissy mood and disconnects me at an inopportune time - whoops, the game is now a trial.

  • maxpayne014

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 9:39 am PT

    your moaning about having to wait for 10-20 seconds for the list to load? i guess you must suffer from a short attention span or something. why not moan about your xbox taking 30 seconds to start up? i would rather have microsoft update more important things on xbl than making the list load quiker.

  • eddievh_5150

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 1:25 pm PT

    You know you are loading a lot of info there. Friends leaderboards, achievements and their pictures, menus for each game. Stuff adds up and when you have 40 + games there, I mean you have at LEAST a gig of stuff in there. 10 seconds is fine. Quit nitpicking people. Oh and I have around 40 games in there and it has never taken more than a few seconds.

  • airsoftmanic

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 4:52 am PT

    mines fine. but thats probably because i only have about 10-15 pop up. but it does take a while to realize they're there. i just try and keep the amount of demos and XBLA games to a minimum and that works.

  • airsoftmanic

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 4:55 am PT

    oh, and just to say... Sid Meier's Pirates! awesome game.

  • themc_7

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 8:01 am PT

    wow you're this annoyed with your game list, I hope you never get ring of death. Relax...

  • greenpyro33

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 4:31 pm PT

    that doesn't sound serious at all. nothing to complain about

  • SuperGogeta24

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 4:33 am PT

    ?
    you probably have an old version xbox

  • AnimeNewtype

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 5:31 am PT

    Wow. THIS is what you're annoyed about? Dude, get a life. Seriously. GTA IV will come out and you'll complain that the R* logo on the case is off-center or something. You are so ungrateful.

  • bluedragon99

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 5:56 am PT

    seriously, its just a list, why in the hell are arcade games so god damn important to you anyways. they all suck except for rez, doom, and some other ones that actually made it anywhere in life. and seriously, why in the hell are you backing in and out of the stupid menu over and over. i have about 50 something arcade games, and mine loads in literally seconds. ungrateful ****

  • athenian29

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 11:43 am PT

    I'm kinda stupid with acronyms. What's XMB?

  • xboxrulze

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 1:45 pm PT

    Lol that's a bit ridiculous to complain about.

    How does this stuff manage to be on the Soapbox. This is basically abuse of the privilege.

  • Bloodbath_87

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 7:59 pm PT

    I guess we have some extremely patient people here. It is annoying to sit and wait for a **** list of games to load for as long as it does when it should only take about 3 seconds max.

My Recent Ratings

Title Score
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 1.0
Prototype 1.0
Prototype 1.0
Guitar Hero World Tour 7.0
Rock Band 2 10
Exit 7.0
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men 1.0
BioShock 8.0
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 8.2
Prince of Persia Classic 9.0
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