Xbox Fall Dashboard Update Detailed

By Geoff Duncan November 30, 2007

Xbox Fall Dashboard Update Detailed

Microsoft has officially detailed the new features and capabilities it plans to unleash on Xbox 360 users with its Fall Dashboard Update beginning at 2 AM Pacific Time, December 4. Chief among the new goodies: the Xbox Originals and Xbox Live Arcate Hits download-to-own services, news feeds, expanded profiles, new video features, and improved parental controls.

First of all, the Dashboard update will bring two new download options. Announced back on November 13, Xbox Originals will enable Xbox 360 owner to grab download-to-own versions of games developed for Microsoft’s original Xbox console, including titles like Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex,Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge,Psychonauts, and the original Halo. Xbox Originals will features games at a fixed price of 1,200 Microsoft points—that translated to $15 U.S.—and Microsoft is promising to expand the catalog of available games over time. Also online will be Xbox live Arcade Hits, which will offer reduced prices on selected popular arcade titles like Bankshot Billiards 2 and Marble Blast Ultra. Free trial downloads will be available, and Arcade Hits Prices will range from 400 to 800 Microsoft points.

On the social side, the Fall Dashboard Update will offer expanded access to users’ friends lists, enabling gamer to see the Friends Lists of other Xbox Live Members. If you ever wanted to hit up a friend-of-a-friend for a friendly game of arena combat, this might be your opportunity, although the feature has raised some privacy concerns amongst online gamers. Members will also be able to add more details to their online profiles with an expanded bio.

The Dashboard update will also include new parental controls that will enable parents to set the total amount of time an Xbox 360 can be used on a per-week or per-day basis, a news feed that delivers Xbox information to a consistent location, expanded descriptions and visuals in the video library, and new video codec support (along with full screen movie previews).

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The announcement was made via a tweet written by Fatshark CEO Martin Wahlund. "Delaying a game is perhaps one of the most difficult decisions a developer faces and one we are not excited about making," Wahlund writes. "Still, we hope this speaks to our commitment to taking the time necessary and doing whatever it takes to get you the best possible game. While we have been humbled by the great feedback on the game so far, we also need more time to improve stability and performance, and to mature key systems. Each is critical to making sure we have the best possible experience for you, the players."
While Warhammer 40K: Darktide was originally going to launch for PC and Xbox Series X/S on September 16, now just the PC version will arrive on November 30 with several technical tests happening ahead of launch. Wahlund says the Xbox Series X/S release "will launch shortly after PC, with a specific launch date to come."
https://twitter.com/Darktide40K/status/1552685635219210240
As a result of this indefinite delay on console, we are no longer sure Warhammer 4oK: Darktide will release in 2022. If it still does, it'll just barely make it out in December 2022 to round out Xbox's 2022 exclusive lineup. If the Xbox Series X/S version of Warhammer 40K: Darktide does slip into 2023, that's even worse for Xbox. Following the delay of Redfall and Starfield, Xbox has been left with a paltry 2022 lineup.
After the release of Forza Horizon 5's Hot Wheels DLC and As Dusk Falls on July 19, the only Microsoft-published exclusive games we can expect throughout the rest of 2022 are the 1.0 launch of Grounded and medieval adventure game Pentiment. That puts a lot of pressure on third-party console exclusives like Warhammer 40K: Darktide to make Xbox's fall lineup compelling. Losing Warhammer 40K: Darktide would make a brutal 2022 even worse for Xbox exclusives as fans can only hope that titles like Scorn, Sommerville, and Slime Rancher 2 actually come out this year.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide will be released for PC on November 30.