When I came home with my shiny new Xbox 360 waaaaaay back in 2005, one of my favorite features of the console was the dashboard. The blades were an amazing leap from the clumsy interface of the original Xbox, offering all sorts of expanded control, options, and content that I didn’t even imagine in the previous generation’s hardware.
But nothing lasts forever, and after a few years of noble service, the Xbox 360 dashboard is really starting to show its age and, worse, its limitations. You can find hints of these shortcomings in Microsoft’s recent actions. The back-to-back May announcements of no Spring update and the delisting of selected Xbox Live Arcade titles suggested larger issues. Even the comments made by Microsoft executives on the topic were telling—like when Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten said of the decision not to offer a Spring dashboard update that they were instead:
“building the proper infrastructure and scale for the service.”
Or when Aaron Greenberg commented on the delisting of Xbox Live Arcade games:
“I think that we are not, I would say…happy with the ability to find and discover content as easily as we’d like for consumers to be able to do that.”
So, Microsoft acknowledges the problem. Is there a solution? I think so. Lots of them, actually. We’ve spent some time on our recent podcasts talking about the need for a dashboard 2.0. I decided to take it a step further, look at what exists currently, and suggest some ways to improve things—yes, for Microsoft—but primarily for Xbox 360 users.
*note: I’m in no way imagining that what I propose below is the solution, or even necessarily a solution. My point, instead, is that solutions exist—and we need ‘em.*
Examining the 360 dashboard as it looks today
I started by dissecting the current dashboard, breaking it down into four main color-coded components: gold user space (your gamercard, messages, etc.), blue interactive space (menus, buttons, and the like), red advertising space (the real estate Microsoft is using to ply their wares), and purple unused space. Chopping it up that way looked something like this (click any screen below for the 720p version):
Rearranging those fields demonstrates one of the dashboard’s chief problems for an Xbox 360 user:
When I fire up my console, I don’t want to be greeted by the Xbox 360 dashboard. I want to be greeted by my dashboard. So why is my share of the screen the smallest by far? I suppose you could argue that you can buy themes to adorn the blades as well, but they get completely obscured by both the interface and, more egregiously, the advertising. I’d rather not see advertising on my dashboard at all, but I’ll address that later.
The amount of unused space is alarming as well. As a graphic designer, I fully understand the importance and function of white space, but what exists in the current dashboard isn’t really that. It’s just . . . dead. Those pixels could be put to much better use. I’m certain that some measure of this is due to their desire to create an interface that is 4:3 SDTV-friendly—and that’s an admirable concern. But I think it’s a bad idea to hinder the experience of a high-def owner. If anything, the interface should be designed for widescreen HD and scaled down to accommodate those poor, unfortunate 480i souls.
So, what would you do, smartypants?
Acknowledging that I’m not a particularly technical person (I’m sure all this is a real pain to implement in reality), it still occurs to me that there are some relatively simple fixes that could result in a much better user experience from the dashboard. So I pulled the existing dashboard apart and reassembled it—while trying to maintain the look and feel of the 360 dash—to reflect some of the features I think are must-haves in a revised console interface. Here’s a look at a possible redesigned dashboard:
Some of the added features you’ll notice right off the bat include
- a search function—both to search what’s on your console and on the Marketplace. I know it’s a pain to type with the controller, but I’d still wager I can fumble around the d-pad to spell “Precipice” before I can navigate to Penny Arcade Adventures using the blades.
- hot keys—navigating the dashboard uses primarily the A, B, LT, and RT buttons. It would be nice to be able to assign X, Y, LB, and RB to specific functions in the dashboard or Marketplace, like bookmarks in a web browser. For example, if I like to check what’s new in the Marketplace every week, I could map that to the X button and jump right to it. Or if I want to go straight to my XBLA games, I could map that to the Y button and forget about moving through a number of screens to find them. As shown in this example, I’ve just mapped them to the other blades on the main dashboard.
- disc tray detail—the PS3 lets you see a nifty little video icon to show what’s in the system. I’d settle for some box art or one screen, along with some details on my progress in the game.
- reversal of ad and user space—in this example, the dashboard would be dominated by my content with a larger, clearly visible wallpaper or theme, and a bigger gamerpic. I’ll relent and say that there could be some advertising on the dashboard, but I’d limit it to a standard web-size banner ad and the Inside Xbox feature with rolling updated headlines, because I’d hate to miss out on Major Nelson awkwardly staring into the camera.
This division of space makes more sense to me. It feels more like my dashboard and less like an advertising platform I have to wade through to play my games. Mapped out as previously done with the existing dash, it looks like this:
Again, rearranging those fields yields this:
A much better, and more appropriate balance. It’s worth mentioning that this approach also yields basically no wasted space—it’s all been reclaimed for the user. ¡Viva la revolución!
Is that all you got?
Not exactly. I haven’t given extensive thought to every blade (I question my sanity for doing this much mucking about, fer chrissakes), but I did also spend some time thinking about what features the Marketplace needs to serve me better. Here’s a peek:
Some of the added elements here that would make shopping much more handy are
- user ratings—Microsoft has often talked about XBLA (and XNA) becoming “the YouTube of gaming.” Content on YouTube lives or dies based on user ratings. That same law should be applied to XBLA—anyone who has purchased the full game should have the chance to rate it. Frankly, I’d be more comfortable seeing a game get delisted as a result of lousy user ratings than I would as a result of lousy Metacritic scores.
- better sorting—I think a number of sorting options would aid my shopping experience immensely. Let me sort by date, user rating, alphabetically, etc. Also, make it easy for me to see what’s free on the Marketplace.
- show me the money—I want to know what a game costs without clicking to its page to find out. Similarly, I’d like to have my points balance on the screen at all times, not just when I’m preparing to buy something.
- ok, NOW advertise—once I’m in the store, I’m fair game. You wanna load up the Marketplace with a wall of ads? Do your worst. Just keep it away from the other blades.
With E3 only a couple weeks away, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll see a revamped dashboard from Microsoft for the Xbox 360—one that is more focused on me, and less on them. What would you want from “dashboard 2.0″? Drop us a comment and let us know. And if you want to spread the word (and the love), digg it.
MS needs to hire you as a consultant. even if its free. i kno i would do it for free.
Your analysis and design are interesting and should be done more often.
I think we’ve had enough of “professional” UI designers who insist on treating us like morons (“a few things at a time only”), and also of people who say “it will be difficult or overwhelming for most users”. I am also tired of having to drill down and down in menus and submenus for every single little thing I want to find or do.
It’s silly to have to do that, but once you fire up a game you have a rich and complex HD scene that you have to interact with, which is updating constantly. Why not the console as well can be this rich?
Your design, in HD, I think would be better that the current one, or PS3’s.
I hope the people at Microsoft reads this article. I would love to see this update. Dugg!
Wow. Great idea! I like this a whole lot better.
I really like your idea and design. The current dash is complete crap compared to what you presented here. It’s a shame that the new dashboard is just going to have even more advertising and worthless other crap. Your minimalist approach to the dash is a great idea.
I don’t think it is fair to say that all of the purple area in the image of the current dashboard is unused space. White space is a design element that helps guide the eye, even if it does not contain content, and is something your redesign desperately needs.
Your redesign also ignores the still large percentage of xbox owners with a non-HD TV.
It baffles me that some of you think this is an improvement over the current dashboard, or that MS would have any interest in hiring him.
[...] of the Xbox 360 dashboard possibly this Fall. First of all, we have great, totally speculative article on the Fanboys about the state of the current dashboard: cluttered and advertisement filled. They also have a [...]
Your designs are nice and well thought-out, but they completely rely on much higher resolution than 480i/p (I know you pointed that out). However, it’s not just a space problem: The font sizes on the current dashboard are already as small as they can possibly get and be legible.
As you say, it would be nice if they came out with a layout designed for HD, but then they would have to develop and test for 2 different designs. UI design is a crossroads of marketing and engineering, and there are often surprising constraints involved.
I’d love to see you work on a scalable design that could somehow accommodate both HD and standard definition. There has been some interesting work with “zoomable” interfaces. Maybe something to that?
We’ll likely have this same problem in future consoles, with the Super-HD crowd complaining that they are limited by the poor 720p souls.
Design savy dedicated users would be my first choice to improve gui’s. Who better?
“Dash Skins” are the solution many choices for many types of players.
It’s not a title-safe layout either; some televisions will not display the outer parts of your dashboard image.
Nice design, but 8% ad space will NEVER fly with MS.
I’m sure the original concept of the 360’s Dashboard was designed with little to moderate expansion in mind. Who were they to think that their humble service would grow into what it is today? (A massive, complex labyrinth of content expanding exponentially with no slow down in sight.) Should they have seen this coming? As big a company as they are, yes. I bet many inside MS have been aware of the problem, but only the ones “in charge” decide which problems are worth dealing with.
Are they more focused on shoving ads in your face then they are helping you find the content you’re really interested in? Seems like it. It’s been long enough without a keyword based searching function, that should have been priority number one a year ago.
Mik, your ideas are wonderful and your design suggestions are a step in the right track. Bravo!
This is truly the kind of Dashboard an X-box needs.
You have made the dashboard a gamer like myself would function with and use to its fullest.
However, the only items i would like to see added to this is to have my music selection somewhere near easy to access and fully functional so i can swiftly change songs with-out having to exit the marketplace etc.
The last thing i would like to address is a “menu” for in game use. I would be interested and pleased to watch someone like yourself design the in game menu when i press the guide button.
Theese are only suggestions from my point of view. Hope to see ur design on my xbox soon.
-G0DS F1N3ST-
Gorgeous.
I’d also love some really neat screensaver for my xbox, for when I leave the TV on, so it looks pretty.
Why look into updating their dashboard when they can’t even keep them running?
Rather than reducing ad space why not just leave it the same and claim all the unused space for the user? As was already mentioned, reducing ad space is a non-starter.
MS is working on other new features. Not a skin update people. As for the percentages, ad space being so big makes companies want to advertise on it. Makes perfect sense. It’s not that big of a deal. Anyways, your design does look cool though.
I don’t understand why Microsoft didn’t add a button to the marketplace for add-ons of games that you have experience playing, which would cut down on the amount of games you have to shuffle through to find the one you’re looking for.
Thanks for sharing, this is a very interesting take on it.
There are some who are over blowing the situation and claiming that the Blade system is unusable, you really can’t take their opinions very seriously. It has its advantages over Sony’s XMB. In fact, your solution seems to keep with the Blade’s method of organization, (ie. a blade for media covers all media functions).
While I love the concept and execution of your design, there are a few things MS considers that weren’t considered in your design. In some cases, MS takes these considerations too far. Some are mentioned in the above comments, but I thought I’d go into a few more details…
Firstly, they require a solution that is quickly and effortlessly adaptable to both 4:3 and 16:9. The wasted space to the left and right of the blades, a large portion of the “unused space” is there because the relevant portion of the screen is in a 4:3 format. Your solution makes excellent use of a 16:9 screen, but it would be hard to adapt to a 4:3 screen.
Secondly there needs to be a buffer of at least 20 pixels around the screen due to TVs with overscan issues (Harry, who posted a comment here, mentions a 10% safe zone). Whatever the number is, it should be accounted for.
Personally I think at the very least, some tweaking has to be done to the existing interface. I’ll try to make a blog post in regards to what sort of tweaks I would do.
Again, thanks for sharing…the only big hurdle would be tweaking this so it would be easily adaptable to a 4:3 setup. Perhaps the easiest and best solution would be to add horizontal black stripes to the top and bottom? The only concern then is if your text is too small, but to me it looks large enough on my 19″ monitor.
[...] CLICK HERE TO READ [...]
I not sure if it’s a glitch or something, but I don’t have any adds on my 360 dashboard. Instead there are just empty boxes that say xbox 360 in them. I’m totally up to date and go on XBL everyday, so I’m not really sure why, but after switching to another account an seeing all those adds, I can tell you, that the dashboard is a lot nicer without adds.
[...] The Fanboy’s excellent take on what Dashboard 2.0 (or perhaps the ‘2008 Fall Update’?) could look like is probably a step too far for Microsoft but then there are rumours they may be developing something even more ambitious. Roll on E3. [...]
Wow Mik, I’ve got to say, your ideas for a revamped 360 dashboard are awesome! I love the look and layout of your ideas. Absolutely fantastic. I truly hope a Microsoft employee sees this page and just blatantly rips it off. It really is that good IMO.
makes much more sense to have it like that, but what i would say is that they’re never going to reduce the space allocated to advertising. after all, this is microsoft we’re talking about! and to whoever said about sony continually evolving the ps3’s user interface – at least the 360 one works.
and has achievements.
and chat.
and doesn’t crash whenever anything changes.
etc etc etc.
hahaha!
I really like your designs… I’d definitely use them.
I just wanted to comment that I love those mock ups. They are brilliant and I would be ecstatic to see them as my dashboard after the next update.
Wow. What you have here is like a piece of art. If Microsoft doesn’t release a significant dash update, I would seriously be pleased if you went through the trouble of submitting this to them.
I think this new dash the most useless waste of time.
photoshopped
[...] The Fanboys Related [...]
[...] full story here http://thefanboys.com/2008/07/01/dreaming-of-dashboard-20/ [...]
I have to say that I like the concept (not the current application) of the blades in the dashboard. I think that even mapping each blade to a button on the controller would be a great start. We can’t expect the overhaul to be perfect, but right now, anything would be an improvement, right?
The article overall was very well written and I even liked the pre-liminary design ideas he had… but it was just one mans ideas, it will be interesting what the new dashboard will be like, it may even be good!!
amazing! i would love to load up to this setting come fall.
[...] Direct Link » Dreaming of Dashboard 2.0 [...]
[...] the full story and other Xbox 360 dashboard recommendations, visit the Platform Nation or The Fanboys. CommentSubscribe You may also like… Dreaming of Dashboard 2.0 When I came home with my shiny [...]
[...] to their own Xbox 360’s. Well not only did almost every major website decide to run his story (Destructoid, where were you on this one?) but 1up.com actually interviewed of one of [...]
[...] be updating the dashboard this spring in favor of working on performance tweaks, Mike Phillips of The Fanboys Lunchcast, an independently-operated game podcast, started to consider what the system’s interface [...]
[...] be updating the dashboard this spring in favor of working on performance tweaks, Mike Phillips of The Fanboys Lunchcast, an independently-operated game podcast, started to consider what the system’s interface would need [...]
They just revealed a dashboard update at e3 And I hate it, depise, loathe, will not update to if possible. Ill unplug my console from the net if I have to. I really really love how yours looks, and I wish somehow I could vote for it or start a petition to microsoft or something. Anything, but yours is 200 times better than what they revealed.
Looks great. However, you have type and info running way out into the areas beyond what is considered ‘title safe’ and ‘action safe,’ and although most modern 16:9 televisions have far less ‘overscan’ (area around the perimeter that gets lost under the bezel or off the edge of the screen by minor rescaling), these areas still need to be respected to avoid feeling cramped.
But this post is not a criticism! The design is well thought-out and I respect that. I prefer the PS3’s interface to the garbage MS calls ‘Blades’ and I wish the work and features you’ve created (hot keys, very nice!) could somehow have been used. It looks great.
the new dashbord is so much better then the old one it looks cooler to
I agreed with you
[...] – Dreaming of Dashboard 2.0 saved by [...]
I definitely like the design. But I’m curious, are you saying that that bar would be present on all “blades” or whatever you’d like to call them? Because having that thing take up a third (as you’re showing it right now) wouldn’t exactly be a great use of screen real estate either. Perhaps having that and the wallpaper thing as a “home page” would be more effective. Then the hot keys could be displayed at the bottom the way the “Sign Out” and “Return to Marketplace Home” functions currently are. The only problem I can see with that is that you’d need those buttons for other things.
ORRRR you could even make that the “in-dashboard guide” and just pull it up whenever you’d like to switch pages. (Somewhat counter-intuitive but who knows how it would actually work.)
Of course this is all just a pipe dream since Microsoft’s focused on their new form over function Dashboard. It’s a Frankenstein monster made out of PS3 and Wii parts. Ah well.
If you don’t mind, I’d like to expand upon what you’ve already thrown together if I ever get kinda bored. (I’m in the design field myself.)
Sweet–I’ll even send you the PSDs if you want them.
I was really more focused on the features I’d want than the overall design. And I tried to stay relatively close to the aesthetic of the current blades. If I were to blow it up and start over, I’d certainly do it differently (but probably not quite like MS ultimately did it).
Thanks for the comments!
Unfortunately with the new updates came a completely useless feature, we are now able to save entire games to the HDD, not just the save points but also the contents of the disk, guess what they’ve done?
They made it so that the disk is required to boot up the game and it’s required to run the game, even though it is entirely on the HDD, it’s kind of like having a power point on the ceiling, very nice to have, but utterly useless, you will need to get up on objects to plug it in, keep the cord held so that it doesn’t fall out while using the device that is plugged in.
Thank you Microsoft, handy but not exactly what we wanted… actually let’s just say DO NOT WANT!
I actually like the NXE dashboard. Granted, the mock-ups you made would be better, but I still think the new dashboard is way better than the old one.
the new dash is a lot like the one you dreamed up here but i think that you used the space better
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