Mike Ybarra, Director of Program Management for Xbox, gave Xbox One owners a detailed look at what they can expect in the new Xbox One experience coming this November.
The November update is replete with changes to the Xbox One. The first thing owners will notice is the tile-based Metro design has been ditched for a sleeker Windows 10 inspired look. Some tiles are still present, but are subtly used for advertisement and centralizing important information.
A new home screen means Settings, Party Chat, Friends, Messages, and Notifications are now easier to get to; “these are the top tasks Xbox fans do most often, so we focused on making them faster and easier to get to without disrupting your game,” says Mike Ybarra.
In addition to those, Home on the new Xbox One experience makes its focal point Game Hubs, sharing achievements, and game clips. Game Hubs are a buried, yet neat, feature on the current Xbox One dashboards, acting as a way for developers to interact with the Xbox community as well as a center to keep track of what friends were playing that game and the clips they had created whilst playing. Microsoft making Game Hubs the crux of this update markets games in a inoffensive way while promoting community interaction.
OneGuide is getting a revamp, too. Microsoft has reworked the trending live TV, added a picture-in-picture option that will allow users to browse other shows without interrupting what you are currently watching. Xbox’s curation is also promised to be better. Mike Ybara says Xbox One will, “highlight a selection of the most exciting new movies, TV shoes and deals from across the new App Channels.”
Starting in November, Xbox 360 backwards compatibility will start with a paltry 100 games with more to be added in the months to come. Xbox 360 games will be able to take advantage of the suite of features on the Xbox One; this includes screenshots, streaming and game DVR. Playing multi-player games with friends who still own a Xbox 360 will still be possible while backwards compatibility on the Xbox One.
The new Xbox One experience will be rolling out to preview members first; those who have submitted the most feedback will take priority. An invitation will be sent to all current Xbox One Preview Program members for the new experience.
The current dashboard is a cacophonous reminder to the failings of the Xbox One. Microsoft was ignorantly confident in a vision hinged on an inaccurate peripheral that was either too forward thinking for the fickle, easily outraged gaming community, or just plain stupid — my opinion falls somewhere in the middle. The Kinect was wrongheadedly Microsoft’s plan A, B, and C; the new Xbox One experience is a company getting a makeover after a messy, public breakup — come to think of it there wasn’t one mention of the Kinect in the Xbox Wire post.
