QJ Quick Impressions: Xbox 360 Spring Update

Well most of of our readers with an Xbox 360 know that the Spring Dashboard Update was released earlier today and after having a little bit of time to fool around with everything, I’m going to be giving you my impressions on the update as well as talk about a few features that Microsoft really needs to put into the 360. The update includes 125 new features that go between the main “Background Downloading” feature to smaller known features as Showing “Last Played Game” selection in Xbox Live Arcade first before enumerating all games (when Arcade game was last game played).

It truly is a wonder why some of these new features weren’t already implemented into the 360 when it launched in November, but at least Microsoft is starting to add the functions to their infamous BOX. Downloading demos and game trailers (especially during E3) have always been such a chore to do as once you started a download you couldn’t navigate the menus, play games or even accept a chat request until the download was done – unless you wanted to cancel it. On that note, being able to download content from the Marketplace while doing anything and everything except playing a multiplayer game over Xbox Live is now possible thanks to the free update, and what a great feature it is. With the Download manager you now have a queue with up to six pieces of content that downloads in the background.

Another big feature included is the ability for the Xbox 360 to recognise the upcoming Xbox Live Vision Camera when it is released later this year. It looks as though right now only the Vision camera will work with the 360 as I tried to connect the EyeToy for PS2 and a normal PC webcam to the 360 “just to check” if they would be compatible since they both connect via USB. Just in case you haven’t guessed yet they don’t work, but it was worth a shot.

A lot of the other improvements included in the update deal with system issues involving the DVD and Music players, Localization, The Memory Area and many more miscellaneous fixes. Two of the new audio features included are the ability to switch between games and dashboard without the custom soundtrack being cut off and the fact that custom music now pauses, instead of stopping, when games override the background music. This is the feature that I will use the most out of all of the improvements because I love to listen to my own albums when playing over Xbox Live Arcade and now I don’t have to get my music back up because of the systems settings.

While the update helps with a lot of the issues that was holding the 360 down, there are a few additions that don’t seem to help, and some that are nowhere in sight. The way the Marketplace was remodeled is a little different and takes a few seconds longer as there are many more options to sift through just to see if there are any new downloads available. Another one of the features: “Personal gamer pictures allowed as Gamer tiles – displayed only to those on your Friends List” doesn’t really seem to be “personal” pictures, but just selecting a different gamer picture from the same list to display “only to your friends.”

Overall this is a great “First” step from Microsoft for the 360 and hopefully they will keep with their word and give us a major update twice a year. One of the future improvements I hope Microsoft deals with is the private chat system that just allows you to talk to one person at a time outside of a multiplayer game. Instead of having to switch channels I think they should replace “channel 4” with a chat room option where everyone could have many of their friends in one room without having to play the same game together. That is my personal pick for future improvements in the updates; if you have any go ahead and share them by commenting below.

Well most of of our readers with an Xbox 360 know that the Spring Dashboard Update was released earlier today and after having a little bit of time to fool around with everything, I’m going to be giving you my impressions on the update as well as talk about a few features that Microsoft really needs to put into the 360. The update includes 125 new features that go between the main “Background Downloading” feature to smaller known features as Showing “Last Played Game” selection in Xbox Live Arcade first before enumerating all games (when Arcade game was last game played).

It truly is a wonder why some of these new features weren’t already implemented into the 360 when it launched in November, but at least Microsoft is starting to add the functions to their infamous BOX. Downloading demos and game trailers (especially during E3) have always been such a chore to do as once you started a download you couldn’t navigate the menus, play games or even accept a chat request until the download was done – unless you wanted to cancel it. On that note, being able to download content from the Marketplace while doing anything and everything except playing a multiplayer game over Xbox Live is now possible thanks to the free update, and what a great feature it is. With the Download manager you now have a queue with up to six pieces of content that downloads in the background.

Another big feature included is the ability for the Xbox 360 to recognise the upcoming Xbox Live Vision Camera when it is released later this year. It looks as though right now only the Vision camera will work with the 360 as I tried to connect the EyeToy for PS2 and a normal PC webcam to the 360 “just to check” if they would be compatible since they both connect via USB. Just in case you haven’t guessed yet they don’t work, but it was worth a shot.

A lot of the other improvements included in the update deal with system issues involving the DVD and Music players, Localization, The Memory Area and many more miscellaneous fixes. Two of the new audio features included are the ability to switch between games and dashboard without the custom soundtrack being cut off and the fact that custom music now pauses, instead of stopping, when games override the background music. This is the feature that I will use the most out of all of the improvements because I love to listen to my own albums when playing over Xbox Live Arcade and now I don’t have to get my music back up because of the systems settings.

While the update helps with a lot of the issues that was holding the 360 down, there are a few additions that don’t seem to help, and some that are nowhere in sight. The way the Marketplace was remodeled is a little different and takes a few seconds longer as there are many more options to sift through just to see if there are any new downloads available. Another one of the features: “Personal gamer pictures allowed as Gamer tiles – displayed only to those on your Friends List” doesn’t really seem to be “personal” pictures, but just selecting a different gamer picture from the same list to display “only to your friends.”

Overall this is a great “First” step from Microsoft for the 360 and hopefully they will keep with their word and give us a major update twice a year. One of the future improvements I hope Microsoft deals with is the private chat system that just allows you to talk to one person at a time outside of a multiplayer game. Instead of having to switch channels I think they should replace “channel 4” with a chat room option where everyone could have many of their friends in one room without having to play the same game together. That is my personal pick for future improvements in the updates; if you have any go ahead and share them by commenting below.