360°

Xbox 360 Update: Still the Best Software Experience

Technologizer says: "Microsoft let me try the new Xbox 360 software before its public release, and while I can’t take full advantage of ESPN (more on that later), the other changes are still enough to solidify the Xbox 360′s standing as the best software experience on a game console — provided you’re willing to pay for Xbox Live."

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technologizer.com
MasterKen4994d ago

...but is it an extra $10 per year great?

attackmantis4994d ago

Agreed, I'm still not happy with the Xbox Live price hike!

D4RkNIKON4994d ago

Seems like a few disagree'rs are happy with the price hike!

AndrewRyan4993d ago

While I play games on my PC and PS3 for free.

Wakka_4994d ago

Much better than PSN for sure.

Akagi4994d ago

Apples and oranges, Wakka. Apples and oranges.

Crystallis4994d ago

"Much better than PSN for sure."

If you didnt have that avatar to one of my favorite Final Fantasy's I'd blast you for that comment. Consider yourself lucky this time ya!

OSU_Gamer4994d ago (Edited 4994d ago )

although i think that PSN and XBL are both very good services...how is apples and oranges?

Do you even know what that means?

JOLLY14994d ago

Really all citrus fruits.

drewboy7044994d ago

I really don't think the writer had to bring Sony into this. Come on!!! can't we have an article solely about one console that isn't from Nintendo.

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feelintheflow4994d ago

is that you are paying for xbox live and you still can't get espn3 if your isp doesn't subscribe, which mine doesn't.. That is so gay. MSoft should have made it mandatory that if you have xbox live you get espn3.

OSU_Gamer4994d ago (Edited 4994d ago )

agreed

I have Time Warner, and won't be able to use an application that I will be paying for.

I do blame that partly on ESPN though. I assumed Time Warner was one of the biggest cable companies and they can't even get ESPN3?

feelintheflow4994d ago

its that they don't want to pay for it. ESPN chargers the isp per subscriber to have it. I am with Cablevision, another huge company, and they don't offer it either. When I talked to customer service that is the answer I got. So I do blame ESPN/Disney along with MSoft on this one.

WildArmed4994d ago

Wow.
I dont plan on using ESPN3 anyway, but that is quite stupid.
And I do blame both MS n ESPN equally.
Your ISP shoudln't really have to do w/ your Live connection.. (unless I'm missing something).

If you have internet access, you should be able to use it =/

gamingdroid4994d ago

I'm sure MS would want that. It wouldn't make sense otherwise.

Probably some licensing and legal issues involved. Perhaps you should take it up with ISP, why they aren't agreeing to the terms?

TheBrit4994d ago

how in the heck can Microsoft tell/force a cable provider to sign up for ESPN3 from Disney??!!!!!!

It's not their fault that it's not available.

That's no different from xbox 360's and ps3's not being available in certain countries.

Certain demo's are only available in certain countries - again not microsoft nor sony's fault - it is just the way laws work.

they cannot make it Mandatory that you get ESPN3 if you have xbox live.

kndy4994d ago

if this espn xbl thing takes off, we could definitely be seeing more isp's signing into this deal. heres to wishful thinking, i want my nba

MorganX4994d ago

I belive Time warner "has" signed an agreement with Disney and it's customers will get ESPN3 with at no charge. It was Disney dictating the charges.

CR7JUVE18974994d ago

Whoa, Hold on. You get ESPN3 with this on XBOX Live as well???

Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!

I can now watch Juventus Every Sunday on my TV!!!!!!!!!

corneliuscrust4994d ago (Edited 4994d ago )

Needs to check yourself. Because you're opening the floodgates to tiered internet services. ISP exclusivity for ANYTHING is absolutely insane. The worst part is that this seems like such a small issue now, but once the genie is out of the bottle, our internet will look a lot like our cable. A POS.

MorganX4994d ago

@cornelius

Doesn't really have anything to do with Xbox. This is already happening between the content provider and ISPs. If anything, MS adding it to Xbox put pressure on Disney to stop charging ISPs a premium regardless of whether or not their subscribers accessed it.

corneliuscrust4992d ago

Saying it's a HORRIBLE trend for the internet.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 4992d ago
siyrobbo4994d ago

still get the dash update for free

FACTUAL evidence4994d ago

It's like Sony doesn't want to beat the competition. All they really have to do is add:

Game ratings: Rate your disc, 1-5 stars.
Voice messaging: (c'mon should of been day 1)
ID change: Why can't we change the psn ID? sick of my name personally, plus alot of trophies.
Party system: can invite people to any game via a custom ps3 invitation system. PSHome has the features of xbox live put it on the XMB!!

Sony just do that and you won't have to worry about another firmware again.

number474994d ago

Which is why you guys are excited about doing things you do on a PC for an extra 60/mo.. instead of looking forward to a game -- on your game-- console..

MorganX4994d ago

There is no party chat on a PC. There is not party Netflix on a PC. There is no closed community with avoidance on a PC. There is no meaningful gaming community on a PC. And what about people who can't afford a PC, or don't want their kids on a PC?

Obviously, anyone paying for Live! can afford it, and like what they get. You can get a McDouble for $1, I prefer the $7 Angus burger at a nearby tavern. You have your cheap, or even free McDouble, been there done that. Just don't bitch to me about paying for my Burger, unless I'm asking to borrow money from you to pay for it.

Unicron4994d ago

No party chat on a PC?

You... you're joking right?

IaMs124994d ago

Nope apparently no party chat on PC at all
-Steam (yes Steam has a chat function i used it other day with 4 of us total)
-Vent
-Skype
-Xfire?

yea nope none at all. No community either
-mods

PS3 is wayy better then a PC, because the PC is stealing ideas from it

/s

Really?

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4994d ago
tinybigman4994d ago

personally im quite happy as a silver member.

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SuperStrokey11234994d ago

Is it an extra 3 cents a day better?

/s

ranmafandude4994d ago

i'm just find with psn thanks.

tacosRcool4994d ago

PSN all they way!

Coming from a PC background WILL NEVER PAY for online service in order to play my games online when I already pay for internet.

8-bit4994d ago (Edited 4994d ago )

I refuse to pay too. Just wait and see if COD will start charging to play online, and 360 users will have to pay for an XBL sub on top of a COD sub to play their beloved FPS online.

@testerg35, I know it is a multiplat game that sells well on both consoles. PSN is free, my point is that you will have to pay two subscription fees to play online where as PSN would only have to pay for one. I don't intend on spending any money to play online ever so count me out on the whole thing.

testerg354994d ago

8-bit, MW2 isn't the highest selling FPS on the PS3? Wouldn't that be PS3s most beloved FPS too?

TheBrit4994d ago

You are wrong my friend.
You wont have to pay to play online. it will be just like EA's all access pass. you buy the game new and you play online, you buy it used and you have to pony up 10 bucks for the online access.

and even * if * they do make you pay to play online, you think the PS3 will be exempt from that??? All consoles that have the game will have to pay regardless and then people will stop buying their product and they will take away the fees.

tacosRcool4993d ago

8-Bit is the only one that makes any sense. Why would you want to pay more money, on top of the game, online service to play that game online, and you internet connection. Well I guess many people have either 1).Tons of money 2). Don't pay the bills 3).Don't care about money or 4).Don't know how to manage money and/or any other the other 3

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BigKev454994d ago

Your just fine with one bubble too.

aviator1894993d ago

this update is obviously for people with an xbox 360. of course you're going to prefer psn if you've got a ps3....probably because this software update is just for the 360.
and why do you compare the online services of the two consoles when this post is obviously about a fall software update for the 360??

MGRogue20174994d ago (Edited 4994d ago )

... When will we be able to try out the preview update that we've signed up for?

Also, I signed up with my old Elite 120GB console & now I've got my new 250GB Halo Reach Limited Edition 360. :D

Hopefully, Microsoft sees that & doesn't send the preview dashboard to my old console :(

I've registered the new console to my gamertag now.. so it should be alright, I think.

HIGGINZOB4994d ago

You won't be able to go on xbox live until the update is released to everyone...thats a whole month of xbox live which you paid for. Oops.

TheBrit4994d ago

you just have some video disabled and party chats i believe. you can still talk to friends in game lobbies and during the game though.

kazman4994d ago

they will have live if they are in the preview!! if you get it unofficially then yeah they wont be able too log onto live. get your facts strait before you say something.

HIGGINZOB4994d ago

I think you misunderstood me. I meant that he won't be able to go on xbox live because the update can only be played online with the console you signed up with.

Lord Gunchrote4994d ago

You just said a whole lot of nothing.

gamingdroid4994d ago (Edited 4994d ago )

I think you are SOL, because I'm pretty sure MS were very specific about the dashboard should only be downloaded to the console you registered it on otherwise you won't be able to connect to Xbox Live afterwards.

I suggest you update your console information online if possible at the Microsoft Connect site or go back to using your old console for now.

Hopefully the dashboard will only be pushed out if your serial number matches.

TheBrit4994d ago

when you signed up they got your serial and console i.d - its all tied together.

they do that in case you have more than one xbox and decide to sign in on the 2nd one the day the update is due. it will only download to the one you registered.

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150°

10 Biggest Xbox Mistakes of All Time (So Far)

The Xbox brand has done a lot of good over the years, but their various blunders are pretty wild to look back on in their magnitude.

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culturedvultures.com
piroh8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

Ironically number 9 can save them at this point (releasing games on multiple platforms)

ChasterMies7d ago

By “save them” you mean make more profit for Microsoft. Xbox will still be a dying hardware platform.

OtterX7d ago

You could add the naming scheme for the consoles, it just confuses customers. I know they wanted to avoid traditional numbering bc it would always be lower than their competitor, but this whole 360 then One then Series thing is confusing af. Imagine a Soccer Mom trying to figure this stuff out. I still mistakenly call the Series X the One from time to time on accident.

RNTody7d ago

Don't forget about the Xbox One, Xbox One X and Xbox Series X! Good luck to Soccer moms around the world.

S2Killinit7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

They did that on purpose to confuse and direct attention away from the generational numbering.

MS doesn’t like reminding people that they joined the industry after others had already been involved in gaming.

For instance, they called the xbox “360” to combat PlayStation “3” because they wanted to seem like “more” than “3”, so instead of xbox 2, they opted for xbox 360. Also this had the additional benefit of selling consoles to uninformed parents who might purchase a “360” instead of a “3” by mistake, or because they thought 360 was more than 3. Kind of a disingenuous move.

They have been continuing with their confusing naming patterns for pretty much the same reasons. Frankly, it fits with who and what they are as a brand.

FinalFantasyFanatic6d ago

I can understand their reasoning, but whoever came up with that naming scheme should be fired, bad naming schemes have killed consoles (I'm pretty sure it was the major reason for the downfall of the WiiU). They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo and Sega have had for their consoles, far less confusing for the consumer.

rob-GP3d ago

@FinalFantasyFanatic "They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo..."

lol, you mean:

NES, SNES
GameBoy, GameBoy Advanced, GameBoy Colour, GameBoy SP
DS, DSi, DSXL
3DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS, New 3DS XL
Wii, Wii U
Switch, Switch OLED

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3d ago
Cacabunga7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

Phil Spencer is the worst that has happened to Xbox.
They built a respectable brand up to Xbox one. Then this guy took over and things became a joke

Reaper22_7d ago

He still has his job. Something you can't say about Jim Ryan.

Cacabunga7d ago

Both bad execs. One is on job and one thankfully retired.

FinalFantasyFanatic6d ago (Edited 6d ago )

I didn't like either person, both people damaged their respective brands and produced worse outcomes, but Phil did save the Xbox brand from being retired by Microsoft. Although in hindsight, he should have just let it die, rather than languish in limbo like it is now.

Rainbowcookie5d ago

Yeah but the one that was "bad" didn't even affect sales.

bunt-custardly7d ago

Phil Spencer was also on the team back when 360 was around, alongside Shane Kim, Peter Moore etc. I think the damage that did the most harm was the Don Mattrick "Always Online" console (ahead of its time basically). They handed Sony and Nintendo a free-pass when that was revealed. It went downhill from there. Then the corporate machine went into full swing to try and recover. They have to a degree as a games company for the masses, and less so for the core gamer. Outside USA, the Xbox brand does not sell as well as Japanese based consoles (citation needed).

Cacabunga7d ago

Want a decision maker. The always online and TV plans was a disaster yes, but they caught up by announcing 1st party games that gamers actually kept the hype going.. until this moron took over and introduced the PC day one release.. e all know where that ended..

S2Killinit7d ago

I dont think they were ever a respectable brand, not since the beginning, when their goal was never to be involved and share in the gaming space. I think the OG xbox was an exception because MS as a brand was still getting its foot in and so the people behind that were people of the gaming industry.

FinalFantasyFanatic6d ago

The 360 was the brand in its prime though, everything went downhill towards the end of that generation. Its staple games like Halo, Forza and Gears are what kept the console relevant and afloat for so long.

MaximusPrime_7d ago

Really good video.

I remember the days with RRoD was big news on here, N4G.

Microsoft had it turbulence number of years.

Looking at the success of Sea of Thieves despite being 6 years old, time to release Halo, Forza horizon 4 & 5 on PS5. It'll help their revenue

shinoff21837d ago (Edited 7d ago )

2 of the 4 games they did already sold really well. So it's definitely going down. Idk about halo or forza but I feel those studios they've bought in the last 5 years, their coming

ChasterMies7d ago

I found this video painful to watch. Can someone list them out?

Top 10 for me from are:
1. 2013 reveal presentation
2. Bundling Kinect 2 with Xbox One
3. RRoD or why rushing to market with hardware is always a bad idea.
4. Buying studios only to close them.
5. Ads on the Home Screen
6. Letting Halo die.
7. Letting Geard of War die.
8. Every console name
9. Charging for Xbox Live on Xbox 360 when Sony let PS3 players play online for free.
10. Cancelling release of OG Xbox games after the Xbox 360 launched.

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150°

Microsoft to Add Copilot AI to Video Games

Microsoft recently revealed its plans to incorporate Copilot directly into video games, with Minecraft being the first showcased example.

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xpgained.co.uk
Fishy Fingers12d ago (Edited 12d ago )

F*** AI

"Hey Copilot, what's a good meme to prove I dislike AI".... https://giphy.com/clips/sou...

Einhander197212d ago

Two trillion dollar company that just can't wait to put as many people possible out of work as fast as possible.

It feels like every single thing they do is making gaming worse and destroying the industry.

12d ago
12d ago
12d ago
darthv7211d ago

....you know it takes people to program the AI.... right? It isnt like it is sentient. We haven't reach skynet level of situation or anywhere close to the matrix just yet.

That's next Thursday.

Einhander197210d ago (Edited 10d ago )

It takes a people to program the AI then that AI is used for who knows how many games eliminating countless jobs which only grows as AI is used for more and more game creation functions.

What you're saying is so ridiculously short sighted and truly larking any kind of understanding and foresight.

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CaptainFaisal11d ago

Why all the hate? Im actually excited about this! Always wanted this kind of immersion, and an AI companion with me all the time helping me out knowing the status of my skills/inventory/progress and giving me tips on the best approach or how to craft something specific is game changing for the industry.

Hate all you want about AI, but this is just the start and I can see the potential already. You wont be complaining in the next 5-10 years about this, but rather complain if a game hasn’t implemented it.

MrDead11d ago

Yes we can't wait for the work of others to be used without the need to pay them so that MS can profit even more from the people they fire.

I_am_Batman11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

There is no chance I'd ever use something like this, especially if it's not part of the core game design, but a layer on top of it. It's way too much handholding. Many games already feel like busy work, because they don't let the player figure things out on their own. Having a real-time interactive guide defeats the purpose of playing the game in the first place in my opinion.

If this were to become the standard like you predict, we'll see more and more video games get away with bad design, because people will just be used to ask for help from the AI companion anyway.

Number1TailzFan11d ago

Well Nintendo don't need this with some of their games these days, with invincible characters, items, easy bosses etc.. they do the hand holding built in

helicoptergirl11d ago

Takes "hand holding" in games to a whole new level.

BlackDoomAx10d ago

Because human nature xD Almost every new technology had these kind of comments.

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70°

Activision team is opening a new game studio in Poland 'Elsewhere Entertainment' to build new AAA IP

Microsoft's Activision subsidiary announced today that it is opening a new game development studio to take advantage of the huge talent pool growing in Poland. It'll be the second Activision studio based in the region, joining Infinity Ward Krakow, although this studio is, in fact, not working on Call of Duty.

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windowscentral.com
Psychonaut8515d ago

They’re not working on Call of Duty? Give it time.