The new Xbox 360 dashboard update rolls out today (December 6th), and is bringing with it a new look, improved Kinect integration and a few other new features.
The first major update to the dashboard is that it has had a complete visual overhaul. Menus are more easily navigable with the purpose of using Kinect more easily for dashboard navigation. Indeed, practically everything is navigable using both Kinect voice commands and hand gestures, stepping away from the highly time-consuming Kinect hub we’ve had to put up with for the past year.
This update also brings with it integration with Microsoft’s search platform, Bing. You can now say ‘Xbox: Bing: Gears of War 3′ and the Xbox will show you a list of content relating to that title from the Xbox Live marketplace, Zune, and others.
There’s also new social network integration and the idea of leaving ‘beacons’ for your friends so they know you want to play a certain title. At the touch of a few buttons, gestures or voice command its now easier than ever to post to Facebook and Twitter, improving the social aspects of the Xbox 360. Microsoft is also planning to roll out newer apps over time including Youtube. These are to start from December 16th.
We’re also going to be getting a whole slew of new TV services from the Xbox 360, and here’s the full list of what’s available for where you are:
Dec. 6:
- EPIX. United States
- ESPN on Xbox LIVE (ESPN). United States
- Hulu. Japan
- Hulu Plus. United States
- LOVEFiLM. United Kingdom
- Netflix. Canada, United States
- Premium Play by (MediaSet). Italy
- Sky Go (SkyDE). Austria, Germany
- Telefonica Espana – Movistar Imagenio. Spain
- TODAY (MSNBC). United States
Later in December:
- 4 on Demand (C4). United Kingdom
- ABC iView (Australian Broadcasting Corp.). Australia
- AlloCin. France (AlloCin), Germany (Filmstarts), Spain (Sensacine), United Kingdom (Screenrush)
- Astral Media’s Disney XD (Astral Media). Canada
- blinkbox (Blinkbox). United Kingdom
- Crackle (Sony Pictures). Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States
- Dailymotion. Available in 32 countries globally
- Demand 5 (Five). United Kingdom
- DIGI+ (CANAL+). Spain
- GolTV (Mediapro). Spain
- iHeartRadio (Clear Channel). United States
- Mediathek/ZDF (ZDF). Germany
- MSN. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom
- MSNBC.com. United States
- MUZU.TV. Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
- ninemsn. Australia
- Real Sports (Maple Leaf Sports). Canada
- Rogers On Demand Online (Rogers Media). Canada
- SBS ON DEMAND. Australia
- TMZ (Warner Bros.). Canada, United States
- TVE (RTVE.es). Spain
- UFC on Xbox LIVE (UFC). Canada, United States
- Verizon FiOS TV. United States
- VEVO. Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States
- Vudu (Wal-Mart). United States
- YouTube. Available in 24 countries globally
Early 2012:
- Antena 3 (Antena 3 de Television). Spain
- BBC (BBC). United Kingdom
- CinemaNow (Best Buy). United States
- HBO GO (HBO). United States
- MLB.TV (MLB Advanced Media). Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States
- Telenovelas/Sports (Televisa). Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom
- Xfinity On Demand (Comcast). United States
You can check when the update goes live by visiting http://support.xbox.com/en-GB/xbox-360/system-updates/madrid-coming-soon
Dan Curtis is one of ManaTank’s founding members. He’s from England, currently at the tender age of 22 and loves nothing more than writing about, playing and doing stupid commentaries about videogames. In his spare time Dan can usually be found obsessing over ManaTank, playing games until his eyes bleed and eating lots of biscuits.
What time does it hit the UK???
What time does it hit Europe ?
There is no current timescale for the update coming out – MS will get round to it eventually.
It annoys me endlessly that cause of where i live dictates and limits what i can do with my updates. out of this massive package, cause i live in Ireland the only thing i will actually be able to use is you tube. please expand this further you're causing me sever brain pain over this!
does anyone else in new zealand have the new dashboard yet because its the 7th of december now and still i dont have it. apparently on 3 news it said was out lastnight?? maybe its just me that hasnt recieved it.. any ideas people?
The time scale will be probably on US, which is very, very far behind New Zealand. I imagine it'll probably roll out soon.
Same don't know when
It severly sucks that these kinds of things has to have location restrictions. i dont get why i living in denmark cant have this title update that ive been looking forward to when everyone in the US gets it today…
We have payed the same amount of money for our overly priced gaming consoles have we not?
Fuck u MS is my point i suppose..
Don't feel bad, the new interface sucks. Other than playing games the only thing I used my console for was watching NBC news clips, now I can't find the NBC news section to save my life. I think I found what is supposed to be it's replacement which is just awful. Shitty interface and finding videos is a pain in the ass. I want my old dashboard back… Microsoft should have left an opt out option so people could keep the old dashboard, but it's ether this new piece of garbage or no online.. I'm about to go back to playstation..
It annoys me endlessly that cause of where i live dictates and limits what i can do with my updates. out of this massive package, cause i live in Ireland the only thing i will actually be able to use is you tube. please expand this further you’re causing me sever brain pain over this!
for the us they confirmed to me tonight that it would be tonight or early in the morning, however other countries i cannot confirm when! but thats the only release i have gotten notified, wheres my proof? call 1800 4 my xbox and they will tell you! its already out just its taking a while to get to everyone!
cant download the update.. Frustrating
no youtube day 1?!!!! BBQWTF…………… I am dissapoint
Lots of in-gam/app connection problems…ugh.
miss my msnbc news
for the us they confirmed to me tonight that it would be tonight or early in the morning, however other countries i cannot confirm when! but thats the only release i have gotten notified, wheres my proof? call 1800 4 my xbox and they will tell you! its already out just its taking a while to get to everyone!
Is the update in Ireland
The browser (bing) in xbox 360 is useless just tryin sell u sh… hope this changes
Bing browser?! A BING BROWSER?! Who uses Bing?!
Bing browser?! A BING BROWSER?! Who uses Bing?!
I don't have Kinect, don't intend to buy Kinect and therefore have no interest in any Kinect-related features. Likewise with movie / TV rental services. I have satellite TV for that.
As such, the new dashboard has done little for me, other than remove the archived Sent u a Message / NeXuS / Inside Xbox and IGN videos. Other than gaming, those were the only services I used on the old dashboard.
I wonder whether we will get those back…