14 DAY TRIAL // The fall update to the Xbox 360 Dashboard is currently rolling out to gamers worldwide, having been released earlier today, November 1st, 2010, as initially planned.
While it is designed to bring to the table an array of new features, the fall 2010 Xbox 360 Dashboard update is designed to accommodate the upcoming Kinect NUI sensor for the consoles.
Kinect is right on track for a November 4th launch in the US, scheduled to hit European markets on November 10th.
Allowing for a new Natural User Interface interaction model with the consoles, Kinect is priced at $149.99.
Larry Hryb, Xbox Live Director of Programming in the Xbox Live product group, urged games to be patient as they will all receive the update in due time.
“For many of you, the next time you sign in to Xbox LIVE, you will be prompted to receive the update. A couple of things to keep in mind over the next few hours as the update is deployed,” he stated.
“You’ll be prompted to accept the update when you sign into Xbox Live sometime in the next few hours."
“Regardless of what you have heard, it's not geographically based. No one area of the world will get it before another."
“If you keep signing out and then back in again, this will NOT force the update…it will only anger people on your friends list who will keep getting a notification. every. time. you sign. in.”
Not all the features introduced with the latest Xbox 360 Dashboard update will be available to all users or in all regions. Netflix Search, Zune Music, and ESPN on Xbox LIVE are items which require Xbox LIVE Gold account for users to be granted access.
At the end of October 2010, Hryb also shared some interesting statistics about Xbox LIVE usage. It appears that gamers are spending in excess of 1 billion hours on the service each month, which means that each of the 25 million subscribers is dedicating more than 30 hours per month to Xbox LIVE.
Over 42 million consoles have already been sold in 35 countries around the world, and the time customers spend watching movies and TV shows has increased by 157% in the past year alone.
Hryb provided an extensive list with all the new features added through the fall 2010 Xbox 360 Dashboard update:
“ESPN on Xbox LIVE - 3,500 Sporting Events A Year – Access more than 3,500 live and on-demand global sporting events from ESPN3.com a year, including college basketball, college football and college bowl games, MLB, NBA, international soccer and more.
Zune Music - Zune Pass – Zune Pass is a monthly subscription service that gives you unlimited, on demand streaming of millions of songs at launch from all the major music labels and thousands of independent labels.
Netflix Search – Experience a streamlined search function making it much easier to find the movies and TV shows you want to watch.
Improved voice chat quality – The audio codec is updated to improve Xbox LIVE Party audio quality. So grab your friends and jump into a multiplayer game or catch a big game with friends via ESPN3.
Improved Gamertag creation – Choosing a new Gamertag? If the Gamertag you’re looking for is already taken, your Avatar will spin a wheel and we will provide five other Gamertag suggestions at a time for you to choose from.
Streamlined in-dashboard virtual keyboard – We’ve taken the existing QWERTY keyboard in-dash and made it easier to use for scenarios that involve repeated text entry, when signing up for LIVE within the dashboard for example.
Improved Xbox LIVE Marketplace UI and browse experience – The Game Marketplace has been re-organized to provide streamlined access to the gaming and video content you want, reducing the number of steps to get to a download.
Easier to get on a wireless network – Trying to connect to a wireless network? Now you can see a list of all the wireless networks within range when you go into network settings. From there, you can select a new network or further configure the network you’re connected to. Ability to sign-out other controllers in the sign-in UI – We’re adding the ability to sign-out profiles on other controllers in the sign-in UI within the Guide. This is especially useful when playing games like Rock Band.
New browse experience for 100% completed games – You spent a lot of time and effort earning those Achievements, so we’re giving you a new and better way to browse all of them.
Updated Family Settings – Xbox 360 continues to lead the industry in efforts to create tools that help parents and caregivers choose the right play and viewing settings for their families. We are enhancing the core Family Settings tools for all Xbox LIVE members.
Family Programming – When turned on, Family Programming disables display of all mature content on the dashboard and can be turned on or off with a protected password for individual members (per account). It also highlights all family-friendly entertainment.”
UPDATE: November 2010 Xbox 360 Dashboard Update Problems Confirmed