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[TheDarkKnight774]

XMB on its own is pretty dull. But it's awesome with the custom themes or dynamic themes. I keep coming back to my flower dynamic theme. So great.

Also it did receive one update that for each section showed 8 apps/games for it. And that scroller deally. But I hate the latest psn store.

But I think we can all agree the current 360 is the absolute worst right? Utter trash.

 

[tatotiburon]

and the funny thing is xbox 360 had i don't know like 50 updates this 8 years and sony like 3962864 updates weekly

 

[RibMan]

Looks like they got it right the first time.

Great design is timeless.

From a functionality standpoint, the XMB is beautifully designed.

 

[emb]

Blade is the only version of the dashboard that's not hideous. Luckily it's awesome. I hate that I updated my launch 360 though. Even though it's on its last legs, it'd be nice to have a decent UI to greet me.

XMB has always been fine, albeit unattractive. I'm all for minimalism, but it always feels a little visually unbalanced or something.

 

[raven777]

Really love thr xmb. Disappinted that ps4 will completely change the UI

 

[RdN]

Microsoft run laps on Sony. XMB is stuck in 2006.. But at least it doesn't have ads.

 

[neonille]

Why did they destroy it with all these stupid ads??
Why did they abandon the slides???

 

[mollipen]

Yes

Avatars aren't going anywhere. I got confirmation of that from Ben Kilgore (Xbox corporate vice president), and posted a news story up about that last Wednesday.

Blades were pretty bad, and get way too much nostalgia-fueled love. They weren't the mess of ads and clutter that later Xbox 360 interfaces were/are, but they were also horribly simplistic and not great interface design. NXE wasn't god-awful, but wasn't fantastic. The current 360 interface could be okay if its main goal was actually providing a quality experience for Xbox 360 owners, instead of bombarding them with advertisements.

XMB—I'm going to miss you. You have some faults, but you're well-designed and get the job done remarkable. Well, except for the fact that, for some reason, you don't understand what sorting alphabetically is. Or that you can't properly organized installer bubbles.

Microsoft run laps on Sony. XMB is stuck in 2006.. But at least it doesn't have ads.

I know exactly where everything is, I can organize my content how I want to, and I don't have tons of ads in the way in the process. If that's being stuck in 2006, then I'm fine doing so.

 

[Phonomezer]

The blades looked terrible.

 

[gutter_trash]

XMB

 

[RibMan]

XMB is the greatest thing ever. I hate that they changed it on the Vita to stupid little bubbles...

The XMB worked on the PSP because you navigated it through the d-pad and/ analog stick (X-Y axis control). Since the Vita is a touch device, they had to create a touch-friendly UI that would work on the device. The bubbles were the result.

It's the same reason the PS4 won't (and shouldn't) use the XMB UI; the touch-pad on the controller allows for a Vita-like touch-based UI. The UI they debuted at the PlayStation event is a good start, so if they work on it some more then the final PS4 UI could be as impressive as the XMB.

Lastly, I think the concept of the Vita bubbles is fantastic, but Sony's poor implementation of them is why the UI is divisive. A smarter approach to the bubbles-UI is needed.

 

[Warm Machine]

XMB is terrible for game publishers. There is nothing telling gamers that anything new has come out or that there are sales or news. You have to go to the store to see that and who wants to boot up that nightmare?

It also has overwhelming unfriendly technical information in the settings menu, or most menus.

The Xbox dash is great for game visibility, it also gives recommendations and has a decent search function. Content discovery is mostly good in most sections but it needs more visible top 25 by popularity, grossing, ratings, etc. Also, secret commands only in the guide need to be moves to the UI proper.

 

[AlexBasch]

Never met the blades, but I was okay with the NXE setting. The whole Metro style never clicked with me.

XMB is superior anyway.

XMB is terrible for game publishers. There is nothing telling gamers that anything new has come out or that there are sales or news. You have to go to the store to see that and who wants to boot up that nightmare?

Except for this.

 

[Uno Venova]

Man I'm gonna miss the XMB if I move onto next gen.

 

[Buckethead]

I hate the XMB.

There's no other word.

Too much text everywhere. I like sleek and minimal.

 

[mollipen]

XMB is terrible for game publishers. There is nothing telling gamers that anything new has come out or that there are sales or news. You have to go to the store to see that and who wants to boot up that nightmare?

When I turn on my DVD player, there's nothing telling me that new movies have come out, or that a particular store is having sales. When I use my iPhone, there's nothing directly in the interface shoving promotions at me. When I open my refrigerator, there's nothing that pops up reminding me that my local supermarket is having a sale on ground beef.

People are smart enough to grasp the concept of checking the source of content purchasing to see if there's new content to be purchased.

 

[samwizered]

The XMB is more like a computer desktop. Its a slim-lined mechanism to navigate what is yours.

The Xbox dashboard is more like walking into a storefront. Its there to show you other things to buy, but hey, there is a little spot for you and your stuff over in the corner there.

That's a pretty good way of putting it!

 

[fart town usa]

XMB 4 Life


Love the layout

 

[Warm Machine]

When I turn on my DVD player, there's nothing telling me that new movies have come out, or that a particular store is having sales. When I use my iPhone, there's nothing directly in the interface shoving promotions at me. When I open my refrigerator, there's nothing that pops up reminding me that my local supermarket is having a sale on ground beef.

It is verified fact that digital game visibility on Steam, the Xbox dash, and the iOS App Store directly correlates to increased sales. Hardly anyone in the scheme of things goes to game forums or game sites for news. This direct visibility only helps games get a fanbase and get talked about. We saw a 4x sales increase when they put Arcadecraft on the Xbox indie dashboard as the main tile. Without this sort of exposure the game would never have been as succesfull.

Brian Provinciano of Retro City Ransom fame credits Steam dash visibility to sales and has actually tracked sales to the hours which a revolving ad on the service was visible to users.

In an ever increasing digital distribution era telling people that a game actually exists and is immediately available to buy is too priority. Everyone in games will tell you that the dash is everything.

 

[JJDinomite]

I wish Sony would use the XMB with the PS4. It's literally just about perfect. So fast, simple and convenient.

 

[NullPointer]

Do you pay for Internet access? Are there still ads on the Internet?
Do you pay for a television service? Are there still ads on cable tv?

Are there ads on the desktops of your PC, tablet, or smart phone? You can also block ads on websites if you're so inclined. Cable TV originally had no ads. etc. etc. etc. etc.

 

[Barakov]

I preferred blades.

Same. I can find stuff just fine on the current dashboard but it's a bit much in the way inundates you with content and ads. I definitely prefer the way the XMB tells you that new stuff is on PSN.

But the new Playstation Store is a unmitigated disaster on all fronts.

 

[Alchemy]

It is verified fact that digital game visibility on Steam, the Xbox dash, and the iOS App Store directly correlates to increased sales. Hardly anyone in the scheme of things goes to game forums or game sites for news. This direct visibility only helps games get a fanbase and get talked about. We saw a 4x sales increase when they put Arcadecraft on the Xbox indie dashboard as the main tile. Without this sort of exposure the game would never have been as succesfull.

Brian Provinciano of Retro City Ransom fame credits Steam dash visibility to sales and has actually tracked sales to the hours which a revolving ad on the service was visible to users.

In an ever increasing digital distribution era telling people that a game actually exists and is immediately available to buy is too priority. Everyone in games will tell you that the dash is everything.

Opening Steam is opening a store. I can use my computer without that. I use my iPad all the damn time without opening the App Store. The Playstation store, while slow and irritating, has plenty of front page space to push products. Keep that shit out of the base OS.

Do you pay for Internet access? Are there still ads on the Internet?
Do you pay for a television service? Are there still ads on cable tv?

I don't see 90% of the ads on the Internet, and there is a reason I stopped paying for cable four years ago.

 

[True Underdog]

The best part about all the Xbox dashboard updates was how it effectively rendered dashboard themes from the previous generation worthless.

I still use the Bungie 2008 theme. It's just a wallpaper, essentially.

Never cared for the PS3's UI.

 

[njean777]

XMB is the best, Xbox got worse over time. I still like the XMB as its simple and to the point, the 360 is always trying to shove crap in my face that I have remotely no interest in.

 

[fart town usa]

XMB is terrible for game publishers. There is nothing telling gamers that anything new has come out or that there are sales or news. You have to go to the store to see that and who wants to boot up that nightmare?

It also has overwhelming unfriendly technical information in the settings menu, or most menus.

The Xbox dash is great for game visibility, it also gives recommendations and has a decent search function. Content discovery is mostly good in most sections but it needs more visible top 25 by popularity, grossing, ratings, etc. Also, secret commands only in the guide need to be moves to the UI proper.

When I boot up a system I don't want to be flooded with advertisements, no other consoles beside the 360 do it so don't act like publishers suffer on PS3. The XMB is easy to navigate, you talk like it's 2007, anyone familiar with media technology would be able to navigate the XMB just fine.

Leave N4G talking points at N4G. Life happened and the PS3 turned out to be a pretty good system....

 

[Warm Machine]

Opening Steam is opening a store. I can use my computer without that. I use my iPad all the damn time without opening the App Store. The Playstation store, while slow and irritating, has plenty of front page space to push products. Keep that shit out of the base OS.

Yes. The App Store is where they reserve the software and bombard you with what is new and hot? Because it is the only place to add software to your device sooner or latet you have to go there.

The Xbox can be run with physical games only, same as the PS3. without the dash highlighting games and services it is possible that the users never go to the store.

I personally avoid the PS3 store as much as I can because it is always a headache and isn't integrated into the console at all. I've also only bought a handful of PS3 games on it in comparison to the 50 or so XBLA games I've bought. I never know what is new on PS3 because I have to go out of my way to look and then wade through backwards menus to find the content I want.

 

[mollipen]

The Xbox can be run with physical games only, same as the PS3. without the dash highlighting games and services it is possible that the users never go to the store.

And that should be the right of the person who purchased the device.

I love digital distribution, love indie games, and think that there's a lot of digital-only games out there that aren't getting enough promotion. I also this that I should have rights as a consumer, and one of those rights is not to have ads for content pushed into my face if I don't want them.

If I want to buy a PS3 or Xbox 360, buy one retail game for it, and then never buy anything else, I should have that right. I don't owe the people making digital games anything.

When I want to shop for potential new games, I go into the PlayStation Store. When I'm not in the PlayStation Store, I want to actually use my machine without having to have the interface reminding me that I'm not spending enough money.

 

[weekend_warrior]

But the new Playstation Store is a unmitigated disaster on all fronts.

Agreed, it's slow and ugly. It's like having a mini xbox dashboard inside the XMB.

 

[Winterfang]

Man I'm gonna miss the XMB if I move onto next gen.

You'll miss it for like an hour, a day tops. Hopefully the new version is most improved.

 

[Meus Renaissance]

Sony's UI aesthetic concerns me. Their recent showing did not fill me with much confidence

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

2010 was the best. The current one is the worst.

Getting a nice theme for the PS3 is pretty great.

 

[xJavonta]

Blades would be awful today for people with large libraries and all the new media stuff the X360 does. I actually like the current Dash. It's fairly efficient and doesn't get in my way at all. It's also easy to find what you're looking for on it.

Never was a fan of the XMB, hate it on my PS3 AND PSP. The Vita's OS is better but not by much.

 

[mr_lakitu]

On your 360 (possibly only in the UK) go to games, browse games and featured. Hit the FTW tile for the worst gaming show of all time, by EA for EA.

 

[John Caboose]

This is actually the original dashboard, note that Marketplace didn't even have its own blade:

I found some pictures from the original blades dashboard.

Here's a video too. (Note I am not promoting j-tagging or anything, just want to show the blades).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4t66-Uq7wQ

 

[The_Monk]

I have really good and fond memories to the 2008 Dashboard on the 360. It's one of my favorites too.

PS3 is really clean, just the way I like it. Better with a simple Dynamic Theme!