New Xbox 360 dashboard “slightly delayed” (Updated)

By Ryan Fleming December 6, 2011

For those following along with the news of a new Xbox 360 dashboard on the horizon, today was supposed to be the day. But like a kid that snuck down to the Christmas tree and found no presents, gamers that turned on their consoles hoping to begin the update process this morning were left disappointed.

Thankfully, whatever issue is plaguing the update came before the release of the new dashboard—better a delayed release than a broken one. Microsoft has yet to give an explanation for the delay, but it has confirmed that something is up. Xbox spokesman Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb tweeted the news earlier today, saying: “The timing for the Xbox 360 dashboard update has been slightly delayed. I’ll have a status update later today.”

Hyrb originally tweet yesterday that the dashboard update would be available for everyone at 10am EST. He has since tweeted a few more times thanking fans for their patience and promising more details “when I have more to share.” He also has promised an updated sometime this afternoon.

That could mean that it is an unspecified error that Microsoft hasn’t identified yet, or it knows exactly what is wrong but simply isn’t willing to detail what is going on, which would be in keeping with its (and most companies) practices.

Besides just a snazzy new look, the dashboard will help to further integrate the 50 new apps that Microsoft has lined up. The update will also help to streamline connectivity between the console, PCs, and Windows smartphones, as well as offering improvements to the Kinect’s voice recognition interface.

Hopefully this will be nothing more than a minor hurdle in what will otherwise be an easy integration. Of course, if this year has shown us anything, it is that seemingly minor incidents can quickly become major ones.

Update: Still no word on what the holdup is, but at 3:45, Hyrb posted “Sorry for the dash launch delay. Good news: first set of customers will be getting the Xbox LIVE update within the next few hours.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

Every key detail from Xbox’s business update: new console, multiplatform games, and more

Microsoft just released the latest episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, and it contained lots of crucial details on the future of Xbox. Microsoft addressed everything from how many games it will make multiplatform to the arrival of Activision Blizzard games on Xbox Game Pass to future Xbox hardware.

If you don't want to listen to the full 23-minute podcast and want more details than what's shared in the Xbox Wire post about the discussion, here's a quick rundown of the biggest points made during the episode.
Four Xbox games are going multiplatform
To kick things off, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, addressed the multiplatform Xbox game rumors. "We made the decision that we’re going to take four games to the other consoles. Just four games, not a change to our kind of fundamental exclusive strategy,” he said. “We’re making these decisions for some specific reasons. We make every decision with the long-term health of Xbox in mind, and long-term health of Xbox means a growing platform, our games performing, building the best platform for creators, reaching as many players as we can."

Gaming

Xbox teases a new future for Xbox as multiplatform rumors circulate

Phil Spencer at BlizzCon 2023

Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, announced that Xbox will hold a "business update event" sometime next week in response to a flurry of discourse online about Xbox exclusives going multiplatform.

Leaks and rumors about games that were previously Xbox-exclusives, like Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves, going multiplatform have been circulating for a couple of weeks, but they hit a fever pitch over the weekend. An XboxEra report claimed that a PlayStation 5 version of Bethesda Game Studios' Starfield is in the works, and that was followed by other Xbox insiders claiming that they heard everything from Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to Gears of War was going multiplatform. Because Microsoft is one of gaming's three major console manufacturers that have garnered a loyal fan base through a variety of exclusive games, these rumors proved quite divisive.

Gaming

Xbox games on PS5? It’s not as shocking as you think

Key art for Starfield

It's been a busy few weeks for console war soldiers.

Tensions spiked last month when "Nate the Hate," an industry insider with a decent track record, claimed that Hi-Fi Rush was headed to Nintendo Switch. The rumor sparked some mixed feelings among Xbox fans, some of whom expressed dismay over one of the console's system-selling exclusives coming to another platform. Other reports at the time claimed that Rare's Sea of Thieves could also be bound for PlayStation and Switch. That rising anger came to a head this weekend when XboxEra reported that Xbox is planning to launch its biggest exclusive, Starfield, on PS5.