ITT I found oud MS shouldn't promote its own products on it's service. Apparently showing GWG, Game Pass, or the HBO app is an affront to everyone senses.
Too many adds bro!
Apparently too many advertisements for... video games.
Here we have 1 sponsored advertisement, for Xbox Game Pass. A service that provides a large collection of video games off the bat for new and returning console owners.
The rest? There's the game launcher, a tip box that becomes a download counter when need be, a store advertisement that talks about a couple of specific games a year (games like FFXV, which apparently folks believe Xbox players won't touch Japanese games with a ten foot pole).
Then there's the Gold hub, which gives you the latest Games with Gold and other deals, along with offers and extensions.
Press the right trigger and you get sent down to your pins:
The only sidebar "advertisement" seen here is a link to "This Week on Xbox", a previously cancelled Xbox segment that came back when fans asked Major Nelson for it.
In total, there are two sponsored advertisements throughout the dashboard. One is seen in the first picture, and the other one is in the Store tab, which currently displays an ad for Minecraft skins.
Yes, every once in a blue moon an advertisement for a Chevy (lol) or a Toyota sneaks in, I even remember ads for some summer music festival (that you could watch on Xbox!), but all those sidebar links on the home page all serve a use. Like I mentioned before I can agree that aesthetically the UI looks wonky, but we'll be seeing changes again this fall with Redstone 3.
I still use my Zune HD often (dozensofus.wma). I love the interface.
My brother! What can I say, the Zune still holds up, and I wish Microsoft would go back to it.