Xbox has slowly escalated into gaming dominance over the last few years. The explosion of Kinect last year, the addition of Zune media, and a touch of Netflix has made the Xbox a media powerhouse as well. Their not done yet, Microsoft is about to overhaul the UI to give Xbox a whole new feel. I'm going to give you a taste of some major changes you are about to see come to your living room in the next few months.
General Impressions
Compared to the existing Xbox, this new UI is far more clean and user friendly. Less menus, softer graphics, and better fonts makes for a better system that all should enjoy. The Metro UI Xbox is using can be found on their new Windows Phone OS, and will be displayed on their Windows 8 OS for PC next year. The large square icons with soft thin fonts are universally displayed on all 3 operating systems. For those of us using Microsoft products, the familiarity between the platforms will make a nice transition between devices and bring better compatibility for software integration.
Bing
Microsoft has not just tweaked the UI, there is some functionality additions to the rather large update. Xbox users today have voice control, but only for a small list of commands. Microsoft is going to expand this quite a bit with their Bing search integration. Bing brings with it Microsoft's TellMe technology that will greatly expand your voice command capabilities. It seems the search function will be limited to just media so you can find movies or music. I would bet this will be expanding to web and email in the future, but for now they will stick with media.
Live TV
There is one big area of opportunity that Microsoft can capitalize on if done right. Xbox will integrate live TV. Here, Microsoft can help everyone shed their DVR box provided by their cable operators. I have used Windows Media Center for a while now on my PC using a TV tuner, and although the TV tuner does not generate the best picture, Microsoft has created such a nice UI for the channel guide I absolutely hate using my Comcast box. If live TV is executed well on the Xbox doves will fly and angels will sing because a miracle in TV technology will have just happened. Right now Microsoft is working hard at getting cable providers on board. Already Sky in the UK, and Foxtel in Australia have jumped on board. Don't feel left out my American friends ATT's U-Verse seems to be warming up to the new console idea. Below is a nice little demo of what the PC does to give you a taste.
Social
There has also been some social networking updates that have been added. Now when you go to the menu title "Social" you will see a group of avatars show up. Along with the new avatar party going on Microsoft has added some Facebook integration not there previously. You now can send gamer party invitations to Facebook and post your achievements. Great, as if the Playdom games didn't clog my feeds enough. Also, you will see in the pic below chat bubbles actually generate above the avatar. No word yet on how interactive this will be. Will you see facebook posts as well? Will they integrate Skype, now that Microsoft owns them? And if you look to the left of the avatars you will see a friends group and family center. It would be so easy for us to customize a groups list and use Kinect to conference them live.
Gaming
I would like to add one more Kinect feature. Last year when Microsoft demoed Kinect it was limited to just a few games and I was left wondering if they would be able to expand it. Well, this year it will be expanded not just to dance and sports games, but first person shooters will benefit as well. Enjoy the demo below.
no controllers = death to Wii
The hand gestures used in the demo absolutely impressed me. You could tell the aiming still wasn't as nice as a controller, but it seemed the overall experience is much more fun adding the Kinect. Still, how often do you want to get off the couch to play Ghost Recon or Halo?
Wrap Up
I hope you enjoyed the new Xbox experience. The new interface should make for a fast and easy to use dashboard. I especially love the voice integration and can't wait to see Skype get thrown in as well. Rumor has it the beta version of the new dashboard will be testing in October with roll out for the holidays. Sorry to peak your interest early, but I figured it was worth it. Now for those of you who don't have an Xbox 360 do you buy one this holiday season, or wait for the next Xbox which will be demoed next year?
