Sean said:
If I wasn't a hardcore gamer that followed threads like these, the dashboard ads are how I'd be notified of new XBLA releases. The one click to go right to the download screen is convenient especially since MS recently changed the navigation in the latest dash update and made it a bit harder to get to the XBLA section.
I agree. I also agree with your perspective on the recent Dashboard changes, and perhaps this could be a topic for this very thread...
Do you guys think that the recent dashboard changes make XBLA harder to get to? I personally think so. I used to like going to the "Games" blade, and then choosing XBLA to go to my Arcade titles. Now, I have to click 3 times, and then scroll to the right to access content I've purchased.
The same applies to demos, but perhaps for this thread we'll focus on XBLA.
The Games blade now consists of:
"Games Library"
"Achievements"
"Games Played"
underneath those is an ad that takes up to two other slots that could be used for other catagories.
Games Library has a pretty full list of options as well, but again some of it is redundant, such as "Friends playing now...", I can view that in the Xbox Live blade right by my messages, which can be brought up at any time in the dashboard by hitting the Xbox 360 button on the controller.
Personally, I think that "Games Played" in the Games tab is redundant (Achievements basically does the same thing, I can view all my games played by looking at that list).
I would much rather have in the Games blade:
"Xbox Live Arcade"
"Demos and XNA"
"Xbox Originals"
"Achievements"
"Games Store"
"Xbox 360 Library"
Now, you might be wondering, where will ad be now? There's a spot on the top right hand corner where there's an "Xbox 360" logo, just use that real estate for an ad.
Each of the lists (XBLA, Xbox Originals, Demos and XNA) would have their own version of Twist where:
-the first entry is the most recently played game (of that catagory)
-is defaulted to "All Arcade games" (alternatively "All Originals" and "All Demos/XNA")
-can 'twist' to "recently played" and "recently downloaded" and then by genre (in the case of demos and XNA, can twist to XNA only, and Demos only).
"Xbox 360 Library" is another interface where you can view every single released Xbox 360 title, Arcade or Retail, and click on the title to view more information. The first screen could list "All Games", "New Releases", "Browse by Genre", and "Previews" and there can be adspace beneath those options, with the right side containing the "list of featured games" that we see when we go to Games Library. The information on the games should be just as detailed as their Xbox360.com entries. Some examples:
Madden,
NHL 08,
Saint's Row,
Condemned,
Virtua Fighter 5 , my point is, the game should be listed, no matter how old.
With this setup, the only features you are missing (when compared to the current setup) are:
-Last game played (which can be listed at the top of the XBLA list, the Demos and XNA list, and the Xbox Originals list, with their respective last played game)
-Friends playing now (which can be accessed at any time by hitting the Xbox 360 button on the controller anyways, or perhaps added as a feature accessed by hitting "Y" on the controller at the Games blade to go to the same screen)
-Autodownloads: On/Off (can be placed in settings, or assigned to the "B" button on the Games Blade
-Recently downloaded and Recently played (I think these should be added to the specific lists I've defined above.
-list of featured games (that is represented in "Xbox 360 Library")
Factoring in how I address all the "missing" features, this solution would be far more beneficial to gamers (and MS, as the Game Store is forefront), and seems more more intuitive and elegant.
