First (official) look at the Xbox 360 Spring Dashboard Update!
 

Posted by Tina Wood on Apr 11th at 7:03 PM

You might have heard some buzz ;) about a little thing called the spring dashboard update for Xbox 360! You know I had to run right over to see what we'll be getting the week of May 7th. We show you how Windows Live integration lets you IM your gamer buddies from games, from your cellphone, or from work (poor you), and we give you an up-close look at the new Xbox 360 keypad.

http://on10.net/Blogs/tina/first-off...hboard-update/

Yeah, I was going to download that too. It didn't say it was in 5.1, though. I'm curious as to the picture quality and whether or not it is 5.1.

Anyone received their Fuzion Frenzy 2 game from the gamerscore contest?

Tom Skerritt

Depends on the game and your personality. Some people just talk a little when needed in game. In Gears team-talk is vital to be successful. In CoD2, it is purely social chat. I, for instance, am a chatty bastard. If you get a nice set of headphones aimed at Live (meaning there is a microphone as well) you will be set. I play primarily late at night with wife and daughter asleep upstairs. They adjusted to falling asleep even with explosions on the HT.

Live is populated with a bunch of assclowns and the number depends on the game. Heavy testosterone games that draw the middle school crowd (Gears, Halo etc.) have a decent amount. More chill games like Tetris, Uno etc. tends to have fewer. (Uno though uses the camera so you get some literal asses there). The solution to this problem is to populate your friends list with good people and play with that crowd. It makes all the difference in the world.

Recently our Halo clan got in some games with another clan of adult gamers and now i could easily fill my 100 person friends list with adults who are good to game with. This is what makes Live a damn good value.

And if you are really interested in playing with just girls, then play Lost Planet...

On the 360? I dobut it. Upon announcing the Elite, that would have been the perfect chance to drop the current-premium, but they didn't.

I doubt we'll see a 360 price decrease until Sony decides to go for a PS3 drop.

I have to say I am very excited about the new dashboard update. There are a number of time saving steps they seem to be introducing that will keep you from going back and forth in the menus. I am all for that. I might have to just suck it up down the road and buy the keyboard update since it's so slick looking.

OK, I downloaded the demo for Boom Boom Rocket tonight. This game is so ridiculously stupid and I can't stop playing it!!

I know that this has been answered somewhere here on the board, but I am having no luck with search. Where do we stand with the audio fix for TrueHD and DTS for the original 360 with the HD add on? Last I heard, Microsoft was working on a fix, since everything was being converted to DD5.1. Where does this stand now?

AND you can play with the Guitar Hero controller.

I tried this yesterday as well, and while it works out pretty good and I can hit the "notes" just fine, I couldn't find a way to hit "star power", which would be one of the trigger buttons to give me 16x. This is essential in getting an A rating.

The 360 has been out for almost a year and a half now with no price drop in sight. There's really no incentive for them to if their consoles are still selling at an acceptable rate and Sony insists on widening the price gap themselves.

With Halo 3 the next big, exclusive system seller, I really wouldn't expect a 360 price drop until that big push is over. It may even last through the holidays with no reduction unless Sony wants to cut the price of the PS3 to come near the 360.

I agree. In the previous gens, the price of each console was always close to each other, so there were more competitive "price wars" (ie one company would try to 1up the other by dropping the price but the former company would quickly follow suit).

This gen is very different since each of the three consoles are nowhere near the same price ($250 for Wii, $400 for the non-gimped 360, and $600 for the PS3 now that the 20GB model has been canned). MS would drop the price if they really wanted to compete with Nintendo, but they are not after the same market Nintendo is. Sony is Microsoft's big competitor, and since the PS3 is $200 more than the 360, MS has no reason to drop the price anytime soon. Really, MS probably won't drop the price until Sony does it first.

Instead of dropping the price they just put a more expensive model on the market. Stupid.

True but the elite model is not a necessary upgrade over the current premium unless you absolutely must have HDMI or a bigger hard drive.

Exactly, which is why it shouldn't cost a premium and should replace the current premium.

How long did it take for you to receive the shipping box? I talked to support on Saturday, and they told me I would have it in 2-3 business days. It's now Friday, and I still don't have it. :(

I'm kind of in a pickle, since the DVD drive in my combo Tivo/DVD player conked out the same days as my 360 drive. I don't have anything connected to my home theater that can play DVDs. Woe is me.

I went and downloaded this last night after reading you mention it, and got a kick out of it too. My roomate saw me playing and after taking turns, I just went and bought it. A load of fun.

Last gen, with the PS2 with a huge lead, MS initiated the price drops to gain ground and force Sony to follow suit. I think with a substantial lead on Sony, MS is willing to wait until Sony makes the first move before they drop their price.

They may also realize that there are a lot of people still holding out for a PS3 price cut, if they force Sony's hand, it may backfire on them.

MS is in new territory, this is the first time they have actually made money on a console. This was a great time for them to release the Elite, April-August generally aren't big system seller months, but this will help them maintain their lead (and help clear out the rest of the 90nm stock). I would expect a price cut come September, or the appearance of a price cut (i.e. pack in game).

If they cut the Elite to ~$400 and the Premium to ~$300 (drop the core, or drop the price to $200) in September, they will be in great shape once H3 and GTAIV roll out.

There are also millions holding out specifically for Halo 3, GTAIV or both, which definitely gives MS the edge this fall if Sony hasn't cut it by then.

which is why a price drop in late summer/fall is highly likely

likely, maybe. But not needed. They will ride out this $200 difference until 1, Sony drops their price significantly, or or 2, Halo 3 sales dip. I'm betting March at the soonest for a price drop.