Rumored Xbox 360 Spring 2008 update features
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 - 7:02pm
QJ.net offers a list of Spring 2008 update features that look fairly realistic, considering the direction Microsoft seems to be taking XBL. Sadly, no mention of bona fide clan support.


Looks like Kotaku has a very similar list up (plus picture). Interestingly, Kotaku's list of features under "Dashboard/Miscellaneous" has skipped numbers 15 and 17, though it has the same number of features as QJ.net's list. Is it time to start speculation on what was redacted?
Steam: Merphle | XBL: Merphle
The first is already a feature, and I thought the second was as well. It's a nice list, but it seems fake.
Danjo Olivaw Lives
I think the significant thing is holding the LT/RT, currently when you press it video continues to zoom past until you deliberately stop it.
Occasionally
I get the urge to write out
a stupid haiku
I didn't think permanent hard drive installs were an available option. I mean, there's part of the hard drive reserved for use as a cache, but that's limited in size and not permanent in nature like what PS3 games do.
Generally, it looks like a pretty good list. The feature that jumps out at me as immediately useful is 4-person voice chat. I remember trying to co-ordinate getting into ranked matches of Gears, and this would have greatly simplified it. Granted, games are more and more implementing proper party systems, so maybe it's too late to be relevant.
Xbox Live: fourdswisschees
ICO: 4dSwissCheese
Yay.
XBOX Live: doogiemac
Gives me a chub.
I'm more interested in getting my DLC working under a new serial number with the DRM, so I can play offline, and the 5 titles I have that don't work at all for some reason start to be playable again.
XBox Live: MaxShrek .... Steam ID: MaxShrek
Oh, thank God.
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. - Albert Einstein
Assuming this is real, I wonder if "support" means that a game can have it as a requirement and still get certification. If it needs to be optional, it's not a very big deal, as developers would still need to shoot for the arcade units with no hard drive as their streaming benchmark.
xbl y3llow5 | steam yellow#5 | PSN ForrestTheWicked
You guys test that "Delete games with 0 achievements and 0 gamerscore from your profile" feature enhancement for me first, k?
I'd like that ability. I used to hate how the trial games would leave 0 score achievements on my profile. Also, this will be a good method for decreasing a bit of backlog shame
Xbox Live: Irongut | Playstation ID: Irongut_GWJ
What, you don't want people knowing you tried Barbie Horse Adventure?
What's a Mandatory option?
NOTE: This is not a doodle bug.
BF2142 Stats
Actually, this will be good even though I try to get 1 achievement for any game before I toss it (sort of a forced "Try it before you give up on it" philosophy). I accidentally logged in as my 6 year old (non-Live account) while playing Saint's Row. I gave them their own accounts so I could keep track of what they are playing, but having that in his profile makes me a little uncomfortable, especially since I did it!
What took them so long? Seriously, what moron thought it would be beneficial to make users wait for what seems like an hour to figure out what the download is supposed to be?
Unfettered Blather - Daily updated nonsense
X-Box Live Gamertag - CrazedJava
Less chatter more splatter!
I don't know either, but I remember reading that one and thinking huh? too.
What scenario does this apply to? I guess if someone got 1000GS in Gears of War US and another 1000 GS in Gears Asian (region free), you remove one of the entries. I thought though that folks who get very competitive about wracking up achievement points like this scenario because it allows them to stack the same game completion multiple times on their gamerscore without having to relearn another title.
Xbox Live: Irongut | Playstation ID: Irongut_GWJ
I sure hope this isn't what it sounds like. I don't want to have to juggle around which installs to keep and which installs to delete. I just want throw in any game in my library and play it at any time without waiting. Picking which games to uninstall from my computer to free up HD space is a tough enough job
. I hate picking favorites.
Xbox Gamertag: Armchair Jockey
I don't think you have to worry. Games should still have to work without the hard drive, so any installation should have to be optional, right?
Xbox Live: fourdswisschees
ICO: 4dSwissCheese
q[Option to see what items will not work offline due to DRM license changing from Memory.]q
Well at least now they're telling you what paid content you're getting screwed out of.
q[Option to automatically associate new DRM to items downloaded for free.]q
I'm not sure what this means. I'm hoping this has something to do with being able to reassign where the DRM goes. Microsoft has made a big step by now making it easier (though cumbersome) to reauthorize content after repair but you still can't get it reauthorized if you choose to replace your console with a new one or have it replaced under a store warranty.
"Just because something's popular, that sure doesn't make it right." -Penn Gilette
"You can't fix stupid." -Ron White
blog.digital-lifeline.ca
e and Major Nelson talk about this in detail on the last two podcasts. Basically what it means is if you get a new console and put an old harddrive into it (as is the case when your box breaks down and they have to send you a new one) you can go into your download history and re-associate all your new content with the new box. There seem to be some restrictions associated, like I'm not sure you could just go buy a new XBox and move all your DRM over to it, or move your DRM back and forth repeatedly between two separate boxes or whatever, but it was put in to help people with RRODs get everything they've paid for.
NOTE: This is not a doodle bug.
BF2142 Stats
I took it to mean that if you got a free content download (there are many, like video previews), your console red-rings and you get a refurb, put your old hard drive on, and the DRM makes it unplayable while offline, you can restore the DRM to a free item without having to delete and re-download it.
This list seems largely fake to me, though. There's too much there that I would actually want, and lord knows that never happens. Plus, I like Microsoft's quote at the end of the Kotaku list: "We don't comment on rumors or speculation, but we can say that we've never seen that list before." That seems like a... comment on the list to me, no?
XBL: NSMike | Steam | PSN: NSMike | Wii Friend Code: 7763 1519 2475 2278 | GWJ Google Calendar
I'll trade all these for simple 16:10 support.
All of the small tweaks are welcome but I really want some clan support.
From what I've read on other forums, that list is completely fake.
Hurray for gaming "journalism!"
xbox LIVE: NatsuMatto
That's What She Said -- A Podcast About NBC's THE OFFICE
You count Kotaku as journalists? I would call them bloggers, and not even good ones at that.
XBL: NSMike | Steam | PSN: NSMike | Wii Friend Code: 7763 1519 2475 2278 | GWJ Google Calendar
I'd been assuming I was just dumb in not knowing how to do that. I hadn't realized it was actually missing.
No... that's why I put the word in quotations.
xbox LIVE: NatsuMatto
That's What She Said -- A Podcast About NBC's THE OFFICE
Well, if they've come up with a solution to allow you to replace your 360 out of warranty with a new one and get back your content, that's fantastic. My 360's DVD drive is on its way out I think and I may eventually have to buy another one. I know they had a solution to let you redownload your content and have it automatically reauthorize but they claim that's only if Microsoft serviced the console. This will allow actual replacement?
"Just because something's popular, that sure doesn't make it right." -Penn Gilette
"You can't fix stupid." -Ron White
blog.digital-lifeline.ca
Personally I wouldn't mind people knowing I played any game on the 360.
XBox Live: MaxShrek .... Steam ID: MaxShrek
Via Major Nelson is an interview on Next Generation about the update. Apparently the update is even more boring than I had hoped.
I can't imagine a good reason why there isn't group support yet. It's been an obvious feature since the launch of the service, and they seem to have no timeline or even plans for implementation.
XBOX Live: doogiemac
I often find non-existent updates to be boring too.
A single DRM fix does not a Spring Dashboard update make. I'm glad they are working on “building the proper infrastructure and scale for the service” but shouldn't they be doing that year round, and why would it prohibit the expected update?
ARG. Still no 16x10 support.
I think they'll keep big stuff like real clan support and whatnot for the next iteration of Live, that comes with the next Xbox in 2010/11, or whenever.
"PEACE ON EARTH. GOOD WILL TO MEN. PUBLIC SHELTER. ADMISSION 50¢"
Or they'll release it when Sony finally gets around to getting in-game XMB and invites and the like. That way, Microsoft can launch it as a new way why Live is better than PSN.
"Just because something's popular, that sure doesn't make it right." -Penn Gilette
"You can't fix stupid." -Ron White
blog.digital-lifeline.ca