There’s nothing worse than a clunky user interface. Stumbling through suboptimal menu design can turn off users quickly and the infamous Xbox dashboard has never quite hit the mark. It’s certainly not the worst layout, but for a system with so many fans – the Xbox dashboard has largely failed to impress over the years.
In fact, the layout has notoriously been a work-in-progress since its existence. The team behind the Xbox Series X acknowledged these past qualms and are actively seeking to ensure a better user experience. Xbox’s director of product management Jason Ronald made it clear that a better dashboard design is a priority with the Series X. “We’re really happy with the early results that we’re seeing so far. And I think also one thing that we’re doing is… refining the experience based on the feedback from our players,” he told GameSpot ahead of the Inside Xbox 20/20 Games Event.
He further emphasized that “the Experiences team is working extremely hard to make sure that we have a great day one experience both on Xbox Series X as well as on previous generations.” With any luck, Ronald’s words will prove true and fans will get to enjoy a more streamlined UI experience. On that topic, Xbox’s product management director also mentioned that the dashboard changes will mainly be implemented based on direct user feedback – a hopeful sign. “This is really about us learning and hearing from the community that is directly influencing the final shape of the dashboard that we’ll ship with Xbox Series X.”
We don’t have any substantial details about the new layout quite yet. Thankfully, Ronald guaranteed more upcoming details about the dashboard later into the summer.
Last week’s first look at the next-gen console’s 3rd-party titles, on the other hand, was decent. Nothing stood out too much from the presentation, aside from the overall emphasis on weirder entries. Though many were underwhelmed by the brevity of gameplay footage, titles such as Scorn, Bright Memory, The Medium, and Scarlet Nexus showcased some promising original concepts regardless.
When it comes down to it, there’s hope that the Series X is going to bringing fans more than a few extra teraflops. If nothing else, Jason’s acknowledgement of user feedback priority says a lot. Supposing that the system debuts with an intuitive dashboard, great exclusives, and minimal hiccups overall – the PS5 will have plenty to be nervous about.
Sources: GameSpot, Xbox
