Official Thread of New Xbox Experiences

This Wednesday Microsoft is launching the New Xbox Experience, or NXE.  It brings with it a whole new interface, the ability to install games to your 360 HDD, Netflix streaming, the semi-controversial avatars and more. 

Kotaku has a video of The First Thing You'll See Once NXE Installs 

Eurogamer has a feature that details their experiences with game installs.  Most notably, Halo 3's load times get worse with the install.

The folks over at NeoGAF have put together a thread with info about install sizes, and improvements in load times. 

I'm pretty excited for the installs and for the Netflix streaming.  It doesn't hurt that the new interface is sexy too.:) 

I like the new interface. I just don't like having a dumb avatar waving at me. Most of all, I just hope this is quick and painless without bricking my console. You know what I'm saying, Rags?EdgecrusherAza

As someone who just got started breaking in his 6th 360, I know exactly what you mean.:P 

 I hope things go ok with the launch of NXE . I am looking forward to it alot  

There's a big thread about this in the 360-board.

Anyway, I'm excited about this. :)

There's a big thread about this in the 360-board.

Anyway, I'm excited about this. :)

-eddy-

This isn't the 360 board though.

[QUOTE="-eddy-"]

There's a big thread about this in the 360-board.

Anyway, I'm excited about this. :)

rragnaar

This isn't the 360 board though.

Some folks might think otherwise though, lol.

[QUOTE="rragnaar"][QUOTE="-eddy-"]

There's a big thread about this in the 360-board.

Anyway, I'm excited about this. :)

HiResDes

This isn't the 360 board though.

Some folks might think otherwise though, lol.

lol... I think we keep it pretty diverse in the GGD.  The only group without proper representation is Nintendo.:P 

As a guy that has a 20GB console, I'm not sure I'll be able to really get the most out of what this new experience has to offer and it saddens me that I did not hold out until they released at least the 60gb...In fact I'm actually kinda pissed about it right now. HiResDes

That is a bummer dude.  I'm really glad that I've got a 120GB HDD, but yeah, without a 60GB or a 120GB, I suppose you would probably only be able to have one game or maybe two installed at a time which hardly seems worth the trouble. 

You can bet that this update will brick a certain percentage of Xbox 360 consoles. You can also bet that there will one or more XBL outages after patch day.

I'm just hoping that mine isn't one of the bricked consoles.

At least I can fall back to the PS3 or Wii games that are beginning to pile up in my collection.

P.S - I refuse to refer to new version of a console UI as an "Experience". It's a damn patch, MS, get over yourself.

see this is more like what sony should have done. ripped off the wii and mashed it with live and just streamlined everything. home.. lol. anyway, ill probably wait until friday to get this, never download updates on day one! installs are nice, but 20gb hard drives are a joke.. and i know im not ponying up for an overpriced new hdd. i guess this update wont be much for me other than a UI update, which is nice at least.OneWingedAngeI

I don't think we have a choice. I got a message from MS saying the update will start automatically when you turn on the 360...

P.S - I refuse to refer to new version of a console UI as an "Experience". It's a damn patch, MS, get over yourself.

Dire_Weasel

Ugh, I know what you mean. They talk about this thing like its Halo 4. Its a dashboard update fellas! What have we come to, when a dashboard update is talked about like its a revolutionary game that will usher in a new wave of players to a console?

[QUOTE="Dire_Weasel"]

P.S - I refuse to refer to new version of a console UI as an "Experience". It's a damn patch, MS, get over yourself.

EdgecrusherAza

Ugh, I know what you mean. They talk about this thing like its Halo 4. Its a dashboard update fellas! What have we come to, when a dashboard update is talked about like its a revolutionary game that will usher in a new wave of players to a console?

Maybe they are overestimating the impact that this update is going to have by calling it a "new experience" but you guys are underestimating the signficance of this update by referring to it as a "patch". I have to disagree with both of you, this is indeed big, it has the potential to change the entire experience on the 360. It will render the machine into a more legitimate home entertainment system, patch my ass. 

 patch my ass. 
HiResDes

Hot! 

[QUOTE="EdgecrusherAza"][QUOTE="Dire_Weasel"]

P.S - I refuse to refer to new version of a console UI as an "Experience". It's a damn patch, MS, get over yourself.

HiResDes

Ugh, I know what you mean. They talk about this thing like its Halo 4. Its a dashboard update fellas! What have we come to, when a dashboard update is talked about like its a revolutionary game that will usher in a new wave of players to a console?

Maybe they are overestimating the impact that this update is going to have by calling it a "new experience" but you guys are underestimating the signficance of this update by referring to it as a "patch". I have to disagree with both of you, this this is indeed big, it  has the potential to change the entire experience on the 360. It will render the machine into a more legitimate home entertainment system, patch my ass. 

I've had the NXE for a couple of weeks now (check out my impressions and more  here )

If anyone has any questions before it launches I can do my best to answer. 

Have prior Live updates been known to "brick" (whatever the hell that means) 360's?

Have prior Live updates been known to "brick" (whatever the hell that means) 360's?

 

UpInFlames

I've never seen or experienced anything like that at all. Oftentimes, it's people that have modified their console illegally and other times it's just people looking to complain about something. 

That makes sense. Thanks guys.

I don't really care about this one way or another. Id have to get a new HDD to make any use of this. But everytime I walk into a walmart and see the 120 gig HDD retailing for $200 I laugh my ass off and continue on with my life.GodModeEnabled

I picked mine up last month for $89 on clearance at a local Target. The clerk did a double take and swore at me. He was like: "I've been here for three hours and I didn't even notice this!"

Ha ha, too bad it was their last one. 

And BTW - it was brand new, not a return.

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]I don't really care about this one way or another. Id have to get a new HDD to make any use of this. But everytime I walk into a walmart and see the 120 gig HDD retailing for $200 I laugh my ass off and continue on with my life.CrimsonpugTwo

I picked mine up last month for $89 on clearance at a local Target. The clerk did a double take and swore at me. He was like: "I've been here for three hours and I didn't even notice this!"

Ha ha, too bad it was their last one. 

And BTW - it was brand new, not a return.

 Nice. So does it come with some kind of cable or something that transfers your profile and stuff over to the new HDD, or how does that work exactly? Did you lose anything by switching? Was it easy to do? If I can find one around that price then ill bite.GodModeEnabled

This is something I'm wondering about too, I kept my old HDD when I got my replacement 360, and I'm not sure how to get my XBLA and Xbox Originals games back.  I've still got them on my HDD, but I can only play the demo versions of all the XBLA games I've bought.

[QUOTE="CrimsonpugTwo"]

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]I don't really care about this one way or another. Id have to get a new HDD to make any use of this. But everytime I walk into a walmart and see the 120 gig HDD retailing for $200 I laugh my ass off and continue on with my life.GodModeEnabled

I picked mine up last month for $89 on clearance at a local Target. The clerk did a double take and swore at me. He was like: "I've been here for three hours and I didn't even notice this!"

Ha ha, too bad it was their last one. 

And BTW - it was brand new, not a return.

I comes with a cable AND a DVD that are required to swap information. 

To install all you have to do is make sure nothing is plugged in (IE no camera, USB extras) before you turn on. Keep your 20 gig on your system and hook the cable to the 120g. Turn the system on, then plug the 120g usb dongle in and then add the disc. 

You'll go through a couple menus - just basically warning you that it will completely reformat your 20g as it transfers info over, and that there is a small possibility that you could lose everything. Nice.

My 20g had about 3 gigs remaining, so the entire transfer process took almost an hour. At the end I got a brief message that some data had been corrupted and had to be deleted. It then told me to turn off the 360 and install the new 120g drive in the proper place. 

Doing so is pretty simple - take out the old one, put in the new one.

I turned it on and it came up like normal. I looked all over for the "corrupted data" that had been deleted, but I didn't notice anything important missing. It "may" be a just in case message that pops up, just in case something had been deleted. Either that or it erased some themes or really old save games that I would never notice anyways.

Edit: Oh and the manual and the disc specifically warn you that the transfers can only occur from a smaller drive to a larger drive, and cannot do "piece by piece" exchanges.

Also - the 120g drive I had ended up with 98.9 gigs remaining after transfering data over. There were also a few "new" items, like some Arcade demos, themes and game videos that I never had on there before.

[QUOTE="EdgecrusherAza"][QUOTE="Dire_Weasel"]

P.S - I refuse to refer to new version of a console UI as an "Experience". It's a damn patch, MS, get over yourself.

HiResDes

Ugh, I know what you mean. They talk about this thing like its Halo 4. Its a dashboard update fellas! What have we come to, when a dashboard update is talked about like its a revolutionary game that will usher in a new wave of players to a console?

Maybe they are overestimating the impact that this update is going to have by calling it a "new experience" but you guys are underestimating the signficance of this update by referring to it as a "patch". I have to disagree with both of you, this is indeed big, it has the potential to change the entire experience on the 360. It will render the machine into a more legitimate home entertainment system, patch my ass. 

Unless one is into Netflix, how would the new update change one's behavoir?  The current interface isn't perfect, but it is easy to play games, chat with buddies and watch movies.  What activities do you think the new interface will facilitate?

Also, if you are capable of stomaching Miis, more power to you.  

It comes with a cable AND a DVD that are required to swap information.To install all you have to do is make sure nothing is plugged in (IE no camera, USB extras) before you turn on. Keep your 20 gig on your system and hook the cable to the 120g. Turn the system on, then plug the 120g usb dongle in and then add the disc.You'll go through a couple menus - just basically warning you that it will completely reformat your 20g as it transfers info over, and that there is a small possibility that you could lose everything. Nice.My 20g had about 3 gigs remaining, so the entire transfer process took almost an hour. At the end I got a brief message that some data had been corrupted and had to be deleted. It then told me to turn off the 360 and install the new 120g drive in the proper place.Doing so is pretty simple - take out the old one, put in the new one.I turned it on and it came up like normal. I looked all over for the "corrupted data" that had been deleted, but I didn't notice anything important missing. It "may" be a just in case message that pops up, just in case something had been deleted. Either that or it erased some themes or really old save games that I would never notice anyways.Edit: Oh and the manual and the disc specifically warn you that the transfers can only occur from a smaller drive to a larger drive, and cannot do "piece by piece" exchanges.Also - the 120g drive I had ended up with 98.9 gigs remaining after transfering data over. There were also a few "new" items, like some Arcade demos, themes and game videos that I never had on there before.CrimsonpugTwo

Really the only thing that I'm really looking forward to is the game installs, since my DVD drive sounds like a freaking jet engine when it's spinning.  The bad news? I'm one of many people who have just a 20 GB hard drive, so I can really only get one game onto there at once.  Not bad since I usually only play one 360 game at any time, and I've been holding off on playing Banjo partially to wait for the install feature.  I'd update my hard drive but... I mean, last year I picked up a 250 GB drive for my PS3 for like $75... and MS is charging more for a 20 GB drive?  I just can't justify the cost at this point, for how much I use the 360.  MS should realize they'll probably make more money in the long run if people had enough space to download all these movies and larger games.  The 360 HDDs are so overpriced it's crossed into the "not funny" territory.

Hopefully they improve the store format too, as it's hard to find anything but the most recent stuff.

People always claimed their systems bricked (basically means that it doesn't do anything at all - a "brick" sitting on your shelf), but there has never really been any proof. Most people who do get bricked are those who've modded their systems in some way.CrimsonpugTwo

[QUOTE="UpInFlames"]

Have prior Live updates been known to "brick" (whatever the hell that means) 360's?

juradai

I've never seen or experienced anything like that at all. Oftentimes, it's people that have modified their console illegally and other times it's just people looking to complain about something.

I don't know how often BRICKING happens on the 360, but I do know from first-hand experience that the console is a turd that breaks often. Couple my 4 360 failures to the fact that my PS3 indeed "bricked" on me when Sony put out that trophies patch, with the fact that this is a much bigger update than that, and yes I'm worried that my 360 may get screwed up. I had to erase my entire PS3 hard drive to get it working again. If I had to do that to the 360, I would not be happy, considering there's a LOT more on there.

And no, my console is not modified and I'm not just complaining about something for the hell of it.

i'm in the same situation as you guys with a 20GB harddrive, but right now i'd much rather spend the money on a new game than an upgraded drive, so i'm foregoing the option to install my games...i never really though the load times were that big a deal anyways, and i play with the volume just loud enough so that i can barely hear the disc spinning inside the tray...

[QUOTE="CrimsonpugTwo"]

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]I don't really care about this one way or another. Id have to get a new HDD to make any use of this. But everytime I walk into a walmart and see the 120 gig HDD retailing for $200 I laugh my ass off and continue on with my life.GodModeEnabled

I picked mine up last month for $89 on clearance at a local Target. The clerk did a double take and swore at me. He was like: "I've been here for three hours and I didn't even notice this!"

Ha ha, too bad it was their last one. 

And BTW - it was brand new, not a return.

It comes with a cable, a disc, and transfer instructions. You connect the new drive to 360 with the rear USB cable, run the software, and everything gets transferred. Then all you have to do is delete all of the extra junk they install on the new drive and you're good to go.

I know this because I picked up a 120gb for $140 (ouch) a month or so ago.

[QUOTE="EdgecrusherAza"][QUOTE="Dire_Weasel"]

P.S - I refuse to refer to new version of a console UI as an "Experience". It's a damn patch, MS, get over yourself.

HiResDes

Ugh, I know what you mean. They talk about this thing like its Halo 4. Its a dashboard update fellas! What have we come to, when a dashboard update is talked about like its a revolutionary game that will usher in a new wave of players to a console?

Maybe they are overestimating the impact that this update is going to have by calling it a "new experience" but you guys are underestimating the signficance of this update by referring to it as a "patch". I have to disagree with both of you, this is indeed big, it has the potential to change the entire experience on the 360. It will render the machine into a more legitimate home entertainment system, patch my ass. 

i hate is...begins to spin minigun..mmmmmaaaanoxboxlive

wat?

In non gibberish news, I've heard that the NXE is up now, I don't know if it is true though since I am not at home. 

[QUOTE="noxboxlive"]i hate is...begins to spin minigun..mmmmmaaaarragnaar

wat?

In non gibberish news, I've heard that the NXE is up now, I don't know if it is true though since I am not at home. 

I think that is only for those that signed up for the beta release and everyone else gets it tomorrow.

Unless one is into Netflix, how would the new update change one's behavoir?  The current interface isn't perfect, but it is easy to play games, chat with buddies and watch movies.  What activities do you think the new interface will facilitate?

Also, if you are capable of stomaching Miis, more power to you.  

CarnageHeart

I think you are downplaying NXE a little, Carnage. This new UI is going to make some very big improvements on those same features that everyone likes right now.

One of the biggest new features I am looking forward to is the group chat which makes playing games with a group of friends that much easier. I'll have to admit though that it does nothing for those not wanting to go game to game with the same group.

Themes are kind of a big deal, too. New themes designed specifically for the new dashboard will be more than just flat, 2D images, and will replace polygonal elements of the interface. An implementatin such as that will bring me in to the whole experience that much more than it does now, but that's just me. I've never cared for the blade interface from an aesthetic standpoint and as they piled more and more content into the marketplace, from a functionality aspect the blade interface's limitations started to surface.

 I've been hearing from friends that have the NXE right now that it does run much faster, such as the guide loads faster and smoother. While playing Gears 2 they noticed that load times have significantly decreased.

On the gaming side of things, if you really dissect it, the people that play online often are the ones getting the most out of this update.

[QUOTE="noxboxlive"]i hate is...begins to spin minigun..mmmmmaaaarragnaar

wat?

In non gibberish news, I've heard that the NXE is up now, I don't know if it is true though since I am not at home. 

**** i just got home i have no idea who wrote this. 

As a guy that has a 20GB console, I'm not sure I'll be able to really get the most out of what this new experience has to offer and it saddens me that I did not hold out until they released at least the 60gb...In fact I'm actually kinda pissed about it right now. HiResDes

Ditto. I bought my 20 GB pro just a few months before the price drop/space upgrade/NXE announcement and now I can't even fit the 4-5 Xbox Originals I want, much less use the disc installation feature. It's beyond frustrating to know I could have had the Elite for only $50 more than what I paid had I held out just a little longer. :(

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

Unless one is into Netflix, how would the new update change one's behavoir?  The current interface isn't perfect, but it is easy to play games, chat with buddies and watch movies.  What activities do you think the new interface will facilitate?

Also, if you are capable of stomaching Miis, more power to you.  

juradai

I think you are downplaying NXE a little, Carnage. This new UI is going to make some very big improvements on those same features that everyone likes right now.

One of the biggest new features I am looking forward to is the group chat which makes playing games with a group of friends that much easier. I'll have to admit though that it does nothing for those not wanting to go game to game with the same group.

Themes are kind of a big deal, too. New themes designed specifically for the new dashboard will be more than just flat, 2D images, and will replace polygonal elements of the interface. An implementatin such as that will bring me in to the whole experience that much more than it does now, but that's just me. I've never cared for the blade interface from an aesthetic standpoint and as they piled more and more content into the marketplace, from a functionality aspect the blade interface's limitations started to surface.

 I've been hearing from friends that have the NXE right now that it does run much faster, such as the guide loads faster and smoother. While playing Gears 2 they noticed that load times have significantly decreased.

On the gaming side of things, if you really dissect it, the people that play online often are the ones getting the most out of this update.

I downloaded it last night and played with it a bit (which was a surprise to me as I thought it was just rolled out early and not related to me signing up).

I like it.

The avatars are a bit silly but I had fun making one. The interface is clean and snappy, and the guide tabs are much quicker than they were before. Things that tended to hang my 360 (loading achievements, checking friend info, etc) are smooth now.

The installs are a nice feature. I had to delete a ton of stuff to make the 6.8GB needed for Fable 2. I only have a 20GB drive, which everyone knows really means you just have ~12GB of actual space, and no, I'm not deleting my 4GB of Rock Band DLC. SO MUCH QUIETER. Fable 2 is the only game that's actually made my 360 vibrate my entire entertainment unit, emit a horrific grinding noise and the occasional high-pitched squeal just by the simple act of spinning a disc. Having it quiet is a bit unnverving...although it has made me realise that the high pitched noise is actually one of my fans, which isn't a good sign.

My favourite other feature is how fast the achievement lists and game lists load. With the old blade system, my 360 would chug away generating my 'game library' list, slowly reading each arcade game until hitting the 30-odd total. Usually took about ten or twenty seconds, and if it didn't load the game I wanted right away I'd have to twiddle my thumbs the entire time. It's much faster now, and keeps a small list of my most recently played games for even easier access.

I can't comment on Netflix or being able to queue downloads from your My Xbox page (through a browser) as neither of those seem to be available in Canada. Boo.

My only real complaint is how obnoxiously large the default friends list becomes, as everyone takes up half the screen with their avatar and random assortment of Xbox **bleep** stacked behind them. Scrolling through those is a pain, although it's not all bad as you can just hit the guide button and view friends the old way, which is what everyone should do.

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

Unless one is into Netflix, how would the new update change one's behavoir?  The current interface isn't perfect, but it is easy to play games, chat with buddies and watch movies.  What activities do you think the new interface will facilitate?

Also, if you are capable of stomaching Miis, more power to you.  

juradai

I think you are downplaying NXE a little, Carnage. This new UI is going to make some very big improvements on those same features that everyone likes right now.

One of the biggest new features I am looking forward to is the group chat which makes playing games with a group of friends that much easier. I'll have to admit though that it does nothing for those not wanting to go game to game with the same group.

Themes are kind of a big deal, too. New themes designed specifically for the new dashboard will be more than just flat, 2D images, and will replace polygonal elements of the interface. An implementatin such as that will bring me in to the whole experience that much more than it does now, but that's just me. I've never cared for the blade interface from an aesthetic standpoint and as they piled more and more content into the marketplace, from a functionality aspect the blade interface's limitations started to surface.

 I've been hearing from friends that have the NXE right now that it does run much faster, such as the guide loads faster and smoother. While playing Gears 2 they noticed that load times have significantly decreased.

On the gaming side of things, if you really dissect it, the people that play online often are the ones getting the most out of this update.

Load times decrease without installs?   I'm really impressed. 

[QUOTE="juradai"][QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

Unless one is into Netflix, how would the new update change one's behavoir?  The current interface isn't perfect, but it is easy to play games, chat with buddies and watch movies.  What activities do you think the new interface will facilitate?

Also, if you are capable of stomaching Miis, more power to you.  

CarnageHeart

I think you are downplaying NXE a little, Carnage. This new UI is going to make some very big improvements on those same features that everyone likes right now.

One of the biggest new features I am looking forward to is the group chat which makes playing games with a group of friends that much easier. I'll have to admit though that it does nothing for those not wanting to go game to game with the same group.

Themes are kind of a big deal, too. New themes designed specifically for the new dashboard will be more than just flat, 2D images, and will replace polygonal elements of the interface. An implementatin such as that will bring me in to the whole experience that much more than it does now, but that's just me. I've never cared for the blade interface from an aesthetic standpoint and as they piled more and more content into the marketplace, from a functionality aspect the blade interface's limitations started to surface.

 I've been hearing from friends that have the NXE right now that it does run much faster, such as the guide loads faster and smoother. While playing Gears 2 they noticed that load times have significantly decreased.

On the gaming side of things, if you really dissect it, the people that play online often are the ones getting the most out of this update.

Load times decrease without installs?   I'm really impressed. 

To be honest I haven't seen ANY decrease in "games" load times whatsoever. It loads things like Achievements and Game Library quicker... but not any actual games.

I also installed Fallout 3 to my HD and aside from no drive noise there is NO difference at all between playing it on the disc or the HDD.  It does not load or save faster at all. It just runs quieter. I think its been said before, but the only time you'll see a difference in installed games over disc games is if the developer has already implemented a HD cache system in the game itself.