I miss the Xbox 360 Blades Dashboard | MVG
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- The Xbox 360 launched in 2005 with a unique dashboard known as the "Blades". I still own one Xbox 360 console that was never updated and still contains the Blades Dash in all its glory. In this episode we take a look at what made the dashboard so popular with fans and how many have wanted to see it return.
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#Xbox360 #Blades #Dashboard
Sometimes i feel like MVG is reading my mind.
Exactly !
Plot twist: He is. 😳🙌
He knew you'd say that
XBOX is superior to CensorStation! SONY supports CENSORSHIP and SJW agendas. SUPPORT Xbox and PC if you love games Support SONY if you like trash!
great minds look alike
Aw man this takes me back, I still remember only having an old CRT back then to hook my new 360 up to and not being able to read the tiny text fonts in Dead Rising, haha. Good times!
That’s exactly what made me switch to a flat screen back then!!! Haha crazy.
I had the exact same problem, the small text in dead rising was impossible to read!
It was designed to only be playable in HD so people would switch
I was so pissed playing Dead Rising for that reason Switching to an HDTV in 2010 blew my mind.
He is me
The Blades Dashboard - a more elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
A good Star Wars reference 🙂
Before the dark times, before the tile interface.
@@aliwaleed2004 Metro, so uncivilized
I was pissed when the blades got replaced. The "upgrade" ended up just slowing everything down
Updates always suck
Yeah if we could go back to the blade dash on the series x imagine how fast it would be.
That's how I felt moving from Windows 2000 to Windows 7 and especially from 7 to 10. All of that bloat only to never use 70% of the new features.
Yeah but didn't bootleg Mii's make it all worth it?
The X360 Blades dashboard was simple, elegant, fast and effective compared to the useless, slow and boring new one so I never updated the dashboard ;)
Not only did they get rid of the best console UI ever, they sold us themes for that UI, broke them, then didn't give us so much as a refund or apology. They just went "well uh, your old themes will still work!" The hell they will. They looked like crap shoved on top of the new UI.
"simple, clean and effective"
i wish that was more common nowadays
That's the complete opposite of how my ex described my penis.
@@arbiter- o_o
Me too the same reason I liked the wii as well
Except for logos
Here try this one:
"difficult, complex, and expensive"
It should have been left on as an option to switch the UI into "classic" mode.
They should of let you choose
cmon, microsoft literally made windows into a "service" so people couldn't hang to older things that dint meet their interests, like how everyone hanged to windows 7 after 8 came out
do you think they would give you the choice?
@@khhnator Very true, tho those of us who like to hang on to older things aren't ones to give up easily, like how in spite of all of microsofts efforts there are still so many people using Windows 7, with some even installing it onto completely new hardware like I did with my own new rig last year.
That kind of stuff screws up customer support. That’s why these options people want never exist.
@@h.b.5577 technology in genereal has the mentality that new is better just because its new. Or that you need to upgrade as soon as the new procesor is out. Like bro my 1070 gtx still runs all new games pretty well and i still use my xbox 360(got it for 50€) every day.
The Halo 3 themes were my favorites on this. You couldn't import in your own images but it was a nice touch being able to mix up different themes together. Plenty of times just wiping the blades back and forth for the sounds as well!
I forgot about being able to use your own images. I miss this dashboard now even more haha
I do miss the Bungie Day 2007 theme. I'm sure I didn't delete the old theme even through you can't go back to it. The NXE theme for ODST was an okay replacement.
T A C T I L E
There was a tool that would create a theme with your custom images. It couldnt change the color of the blades thou.
OG Fable theme was always on point, got back in 07? Also it aged well on the newer UI's
You could also listen to your music in the games you were playing. That was an awesome feature.
I was waiting for him to mention that feature the whole time he was talking about how the 360 could play music.
And you still can in the newer dashes.
and watch netflix with your friends on xbox live.
Not just listen but BURN CD’s to the thing! I had all my emo phase albums loaded in 😂
Not only that but the console would also automatically deactivate the in game music while keeping the gameplay sound effects on so your music would perfectly blend with your game instead of just covering or muting it.
The music would also automatically cut itself during cutscenes.
That shit blew my mind.
i remember being blown away by the 360 in like 2005 early 2006 because my friend just got this new console and you could open the disc tray from the menu not having to get up to do it
I loved that too. The funny thing is though, you had to get up to put the disc in. The coolest-yet-ultimately-useless feature.
@@JonnyMarx not totally useless, if a game didn’t read properly you could attempt opening and closing the tray to see if it would work.
Being able to power on (and off) the console from the controller was the thing that blew my mind. Before the 360 was ever announced, I always wished the giant Xbox disc on the OG console's controllers would do that as I felt it was wasted space and a missed opportunity.
When you press LB & RB and the blades instantly move, it's just so satisfying. I just did it repeatedly because it was fun ... Still the most responsive and functional dashboard I've ever used on any consoles
Aesthetically speaking, nothing tops the PS2's menu in my eyes. Yes, it wasn't the most functional or straightforward but good god it was nice to look at and had some fantastic sound effects. I do agree that the blades were super responsive and functional, pressing the Xbox "menu" button brought up the blade with everything you could possibly need super fast during any game. It definitely helped that it wasn't loaded with bullshit like Xbox ended up doing with their later UI and still do to this day. I remember seeing the first Army enlistment ads on the final 360 UI and couldn't believe they had the gall to shove ads on the home screen, let alone Army recruitment ads targeting kids playing CoD or Halo.
@@arbiter- i think that they are different.
The ps2, yes, it's very straight forward, but the firmware is quite empty. If you already have a cd in the tray, you don't even encounter the UI.
The 360 and ps3, by comparison, you would encounter the UI way way more. Everytime you launch the console, that's the first thing you see, when you press the PS/Xbox button, the UI come up. And there is way more things to do. On the PS2, you could play a game or launch a DVD/CD. On the 360, you could launch the console to send a message (on ps3 before i had a phone, i used to ask for my friends to go out directly via a PSN message), launch Netflix, browse the Internet...
The ps2 didn't need to have a beautiful UI because the only times you use the UI, it's for settings or memory card management.
I was livid when they changed it for the worse, now I'm just sad :(.
@@DamirMaatar You're right for sure, PS2 was very basic and didn't have the things we do now like messaging and media apps. I still think it looks and sounds great though. There was a PS4 theme that emulated the PS2 UI, it was a few bucks but I don't regret buying it at all. Once I got that and the PS1 style theme for the 20th anniversary those were the only themes I ever used. Hopefully the PS5 gets both in the near future, I miss hearing those iconic start-up sounds. PS5's UI is pretty good, it's very quick and snappy and makes use of buttons that previously had no use. Pressing triangle on the home screen brings you to 3 different options: search, settings, and your profile. That's probably my favorite feature because of how fast it is to get to compared to PS4. I change settings frequently based on whatever I'm playing (rumble strength, audio output, adaptive triggers, mic source, storage, and appear offline/online for example.)
My only complaint is the trophy layout doesn't save your sorting preferences when leaving and entering the menu. Not a big deal but it was a nice feature of the PS4. I prefer having locked trophies appear in one group to easily see what I don't have, but it's as simple as one button press to change the sort order. Having two different home screen tabs for games and media is great too. Folders are missing as of now but I have no doubt they'll be added with themes in the coming months. The library takes a little getting used to, but one thing they don't tell you is you can use L1 and R1 to switch between tabs in that menu so you can quickly navigate between your installed games, your entire library, and the current free PS+ lineup. This also works on the home screen to switch from games to media apps.
PS3’s XMB is right up there. It feels very premium and polished. Snappy, beautiful wavy backgrounds and particle effects, and especially the “tink” sounds. Was like messing with glass ornaments.
And let’s not forget how dead-simple and immediate the Wii menu was
Console UI was at its peak in the early 7th gen.
Blades dashboard was PERFECT. They actually did not need to replace it with the advert laden shit that it became.
It may not have been necessary for consumers, but I'm sure they did the math and determined it was good for them financially.
@@chrismichaelgardner the irony is, Metro UI was designed to be conducive for use with the Kinect, but the Kinect was... unpopular, to say the least, but we're all stuck with it due to the console becoming obsolete during those days.
It's a sad send-off to the best console ever created outside of Japan
The NXE was fine. They could've went full windows 8 so I feel like we got off light. The ads were annoying though.
@@chrismichaelgardner Especially after pissing a billion dollars on recalls.
Yep, 360 was amazing. Xbox one dashboard has no character and is just there, blocky and unimpressive
Who remembers the “wood” theme you could put for the slide out blade?? Oh nostalgia
I had a wood grain face plate back then lol it was really cool because at the time i had alot of wood furnishings in my place
@@capcomfan82 same, had a wood effect with red line and navy blue powder coated finish.
Themes were great and added so much personality to the Blades dashboard. I remember my green limited edition Halo 3 Xbox 360 coming with an exclusive military green theme that you could only get with that console. That was until the NXE update pretty much made themes obsolete 😔
@@_J2C I wish I had the halo 3 theme
Oh I definitely remember
I miss the old school visualizer for music :(
Wow this brought back memories I forgot about that! Used to watch that for hours as a bored kid
It's the same visualization that was in winamp, well, coded by the same guy.
I was hoping for a "But hackers have found a way to use the blades dashboard once again" :(
yes, we can. lol. but you need a fat console. slims can't run it.
Burned Toast
That's oddly specific. Do any sort of homebrew preloader or custom launchers exist for the 360? Similarly to the Wii's priiloader and USB Loaders.
@@thepuzzlemaster64 there is an 1888 xex version that any console (of course modded) can run however its not the best. you cannot sign in and i believe anything below the language tab in settings will make it crash. if you want to see the blades dash once again i suggest modding a fat console and using the XeBuild for 6717. Now this is another way, however its currently being tested as far as I'm aware. For example, my xenon rgh was updated past blades long ago, but since i was able to rgh it, all i had to do was make a 6717 XeBuild for it. (if you decide to do it yourself you must use a falcon image since one doesnt exist for xenons). Now i can go on and on about what i know i of but it wouldnt be fair since im not the original discoverer of any of this and this stuff is also still being worked on.
I suggest following up with Octal450, he's pretty good with this stuff and knows a lot more than i do.
@@thepuzzlemaster64 yes, theres XeX menu, Freestyle dash (fsd) and Aurora Dash. I know theres maybe one or two more but i forget the names of them and they haven't really been used in years.
ah yes, before the entire dashboard was advertising. feels like forever ago. remember when you could do something for 5 minutes without someone trying to sell you something?
@@ZRkillerBUSH one ad is twenty too many
Yes, I do. Remember when UA-cam didn’t have ads and content creators weren’t on it to shill products or e-beg their viewers for money?
@@arioca yeah but it wasn't sustainable.
"So we know you just came here to play Halo.. but hey check out this mtx loaded FOOTBALL GAME!"
I certainly do remember that and I’d love to talk about but not UNTIL I TELL YOU THIS COMMENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY RAID SHADOW LEGENDS
Damn that’s crazy I was just recently thinking about how much I liked the blade dashboard but couldn’t find too many videos talking about it. Reading my mind MVG!
XBOX is superior to CensorStation! SONY supports CENSORSHIP and SJW agendas. SUPPORT Xbox and PC if you love games Support SONY if you like trash!
@@ps5hasnogames55 I don't think MS give a damn about customers. MS and Sony are just the same...
People have been talking about it online for years. Honestly I think it looks pretty outdated. The 2nd version of NXE with avatars but no ads look the best
@@ps5hasnogames55 but to play games online you have to buy XBL, but on PS you can play for free. Just saying.
@@Jessecwebb yes I like that too, I think that’s what the Standard FSD3 Skin tries to emulate
Between this and the PS3's interface, I'd say they were just the right amount of minimal and glassy.
I wish there was a retro arch blades interface.
This dashboard reminds me of a certain point in my life that consisted of playing gears of war 1, Modding my OG Xbox, and playing PS1 games on my PSP thanks to Dark Alex
@DJ Ezasscul Facts, I'll never forget unboxing my Xbox 360 on Christmas in 2006. Quake 4, NFS Underground, Gears of War, Halo 3...
This was seriously the most imaginative generation of gaming in terms of console UI, the 360's blade dash, the PS3's XMB and, of course, the Wii menu with all it's glorious channels. I miss the times when gaming companies would make something as simple as navigating menus a fun and magical experience.
Wii menu looks modern to this day
This was a time when game consoles were created for games, not for advertisement and other bullshit
True
Just think, we now have advertisements on our $1,000 TV's on their dashboards (Samsung QLED TV's for example).
amen
And the generation before was when games were a complete package, not something that was chopped up and sold back to you piecemeal.
As a PC gamer fiddling with drivers and bugs, I sometimes envied the pure, predictable gaming machines that consoles were. Post blades, and definitely by Xbox one, I pitied them. Worst of both worlds.
The first time I used blades I was very confused. That didn't last long
Every update sense then has been a bit confusing
While I never knew the blades dash, I was very familiar with its successor... when they eventually went to the XBone style dash I felt like I couldn't even use my 360 anymore
I too was confused, but when I tried it, it was in an arcade at a club where there was an Xbox 360 retail demo kiosk at the back but with a regular retail console, and I had trouble launching whichever game disc was in the disc drive, though I think whoever was managing the arcade room probably forgot to load in the disc, or if the cover over the console was missing, someone probably took the disc out.
When I did eventually get an Xbox 360 during my years as a college student, it was an Xbox 360 E and thus already had the Windows 8 style dashboard.
I like the blades & 2nd one but as soon as they went black and white I as disappointed instantly my mind said to me why change the 2008/2010 one when there was 0 wrong with it.
The first time I used the Xbox One dash I was very confused. I'm still confused.
i absolutely love the woosh sound effect as you navigate blades. it has that aural satisfaction similar to popping bubble wrap
A friend of mine got a 360 at launch and I remember loving the way the blades dashboard looked. I didn't end up picking one up until about 2009, and when I turned it on I immediately noticed some things have changed. I always wondered why they got rid of the old dashboard. Thanks for clearing it up for me MVG. You're the man!
The only thing I will not forget In 2005.to 2008 is RROD which gave me couple of heart attacks.....
Never forgive and never forget
I still remember not being able to afford a new one for a few weeks & doing the towel trick to play Lego Star Wars for an hour before it RROD again
this gave me nostalgia because of how buttons are styled to look like they're under a beveled glass. like those old userbars you saw on forums. very mid 2000s
Blades is the sexiest UI ever. Isn't it funny how Microsoft can deliver both the best and worst user interfaces ever?
(For games consoles)
The thing with Microsoft is they keep putting UIs made for a different device when the original UI worked perfectly fine.
See Windows 8.
Well M$ actually delivered the worst, because the one coming after blade and the final style metro was m$ where as the blade system was develloped by another company
@@th3cub350 The OG Xbox dash wasn't made by Microsoft themselves, either
@@th3cub350 id still give it up that the ps3 dashboard is perhaps not as badly designed, so over encombered by settings and features its a nightmare to use casually.
I wish companies would watch this and learn to leave a good thing alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Totally agree with you, except everyone is crying because the Series X didn’t change the UI and that it doesn’t have a “next gen” feel or look. When the current dashboard is quite good.
@@TheScottAF hey, if it aint broke dont fix it right? but people suddenly dont agree with this pilosophy when it's inconvenient for them lmao
The ps3 does this. Persisted to ps4 and ps5 I believe.
The problem with the Blades menu might be the lack of modularity. You'd have to redesign a whole page just to accomodate another button.
Also, the curves, the misaligned shadows and the low bit-depth color gradients scream Y2K design, which is susceptible to becoming old to look at very fast. The best design is always design that is invisible.
@@Katzelle3 if you prefer flat ui, the current 360 menu that comes up when you press the Xbox button is similar to what the blades UI could have evolved into. Keeping the blades UI wouldn’t mean not evolving it, after all.
“If you owned an Xbox 360 around 2005-2008 you’ll remember this”
Me who remember seeing this at Walmart Xbox 360 demos after 2008
I used to just hold down my bumpers to flip back and forth through the blade menus. The speed the and sound fx were so satisfying.
If you can't tell from my quickness to comment, I miss the blades as well
XBOX is superior to CensorStation! SONY supports CENSORSHIP and SJW agendas. SUPPORT Xbox and PC if you love games Support SONY if you like trash!
@@ps5hasnogames55 Stfu. Both are shit consoles and both are great consoles.
@@ps5hasnogames55 lmao dude microsoft ain't any better, turn on an Xbox One and you'll see an ad for at least one woke thing. Stick to PC games if you don't wanna support that shit.
You're not alone. The UI design was very clear with few text per screen, and gave you a very clear idea of where you were in the menu. Not to mention the absence of ads. Compared to this, it seems Microsoft is trying to confuse you intentionally.
After removal of the blades, it took me forever to figure out how to use my HD-DVD player add on (LONG LIVE HD-DVD!)
I have one of those too, it has the slowest disc tray I have ever seen in my life
@Tano I love my HD-DVD player. I will forever happily admit to owning one.
Microsoft: Make the UI look more like Windows 8.
Everyone: Nobody liked that.
It’s closer to windows 10 but I get what you’re saying lol
@@user-ie7lj5cq3f Windows 8 started the metro experience
I don't know what Microsoft was thinking making a user interface design specifically for touch and then putting it on regular pc's and xbox's it's like they wanted to force you to use the connect because that was the closest thing to touch your screen but it wasn't as good even the wii was better when it came to emulating a touch screen.
@@bland9876 A) because of their push into tabs or pcs that do both & B) a lot of the design sense for a bigger-than-phone touch screen also makes sense for a "big picture" like display. C) I likes the blades the best, but that doenst mean i have to whine about good-enough not being pefect, which people love to do with SOME game companies but not others.
@@RandyRandersonthefamous I'm pretty sure it was Windows Phone 7 that first had the Metro design I think!
The Blades dashboard was the pinnacle of Xbox UIs, the NXE dashboard was fine, but wasn't as good as the Blades.
Then the UI became more simplified in terms of visual design over the years and felt more cluttered.
Why can't we ever have nice things?
I can wager a guess at why the blades dashboard was replaced:
Developer: “So, that’s the blades dashboard. Fast, efficient, and easy. Any questions?”
Executive: “Where do the advertisements go?”
Developer: ……
Executive: “Well that won’t do! Replace it!”
There were ads on the the Blades UI.
@@TheBroz no where near as much screen real estate tho
@@JohnnyBananaTV Nowhere near as much as what? Although it's varied over the years, on the current xbox dash the advertising space is pretty limited.
@@TheBroz what do you mean limited?! half of the current 360 dash is ads
This dash is the best - colorful, round, friendly, clear and yet still professional done. It fit so well on a game console.
Thats the theme that I still have on my modded OG Xbox till this day!
This was super nostalgic. I loved how snappy this UI was.
I miss the old Xbox one UI sounds. I miss the old 360 startup animation. Why can't Microsoft offer that as a changeable setting on the Xbox one when I load 360 games there?
They should have just kept this and add extra features, much like Sony did with PS3's wonderful Xross media interface
Maybe it's just me but I never liked the PS3 menu.
The XMB on PS3 was my favourite UI of any console ever. It was so easy and intuitive.
@@xxKrazyKxx You're an alien xd
XMB originated in the PSX. A PS2 console with some extras in it. :)
It’s a good layout but operating it on a ps3 is pretty bad. I was playing my ps3 like a month ago and it took like 30 seconds just to look at my trophies
"if you owned an xbox 360 between 2005 and 2008 you may remember this"
I was expecting a RROD joke after that.
I’m so glad you did a full tour of the blades UI. It has to also be my all time favourite and I really regret upgrading my 360 back then.
I miss that shiny icon look. Everything is so flat these days.
washboard squad 😂🍗
haha true that. it looked more 3d that time.
I prefer the flat look of OS's and stuff, but that old dashboard was so cool. I remember being upset when it was changed in 2008.
Corporations and artistic style never mix. They see money, not passion, really shows when you look at the Xbox One dash and see scrambled rectangles everywhere and no indicator for hidden things like games for gold etc.
They definitely could mix it up and let people pick dashboards, but that would actually make sense.🙃
@@JuiceboxCE game pass games have an indicator though...
I had mine in the Army, lot of nostolgia for me...
I had mine in the barracks, in the Marines. Liberty consisted of Xbox and beer. Good times.
I know me also played so much halo Lan in the barracks I miss those days.
@@37Kilo2 nice that you Came home, 🙂, in case you where in the crisis regions
on a related note, Microsoft continues to use the term "blades" to refer to tabs in the Azure Portal
I loved copying my CD albums onto the Xbox and using that music in 'some' games. Some racing games would let you use your music in place of the in-game Radio stations which was so cool!!
I remember playing Burnout with my own imported tracks. It was awesome
I was just doing this recently with Amped 2 on my original Xbox. It’s such a nice feature.
The colours fucking pop on this dashboard.
So much better than the bland garbage with the Xbox One and Series
I owned a Xbox 360 since 2005 and I always thought the blades dashboard was the best dashboard. I was very disappointed with any dashboard updates after. This brings back fond memories, thank you so much! :)
i still remember my grandad had a xbox 360 with the blades dash. i dont think he ever connected it to xbox live till years later. but he was a big halo fan he used to tell me about how he'd spend all night playing halo 3 and how he was addicted to playing his xbox . he showed me halo as a kid and i ended up loving it. rip
If you have a RGH/JTAG you can install a custom freeboot image onto your nand that has blades even if your console is on the latest dash. Only downside is not supporting newer games and of course not slim consoles.
Not supporting newer games as in digital games only that came out AFTER the NXE dashboard launched or do you mean physical discs too??
@@PSYCHOV3N0M physical discs too, some even have the dashboard update on the disc.
I've been thinking about RGH'ing a console/buying one purely to get access to this dash using freeboot :3
there's a skin for either aurora or freestyle (don't remember which) that also emulates the look pretty closely.
@@InputArchive That shit is annoying.
Media Center wasn't updated for modern convenience. It was replaced by subscription services.
Best dashboard ever, was so fast, simple, and easy to navigate.
Back when it was simple to look at your achievements without having to go through 3-4 pages
The blade dash was so great, especially for the in-game overlay. The visual design was all so consistent and performed great. Microsoft hasn't been able to match it since, and it's a large part of what drove me to PC when the XBO launched.
Sooo much prettier than the later dashboard. There's more personality to it
This and the PS3 dash where the best dash boards ever made.
sony erricson phones that time had the same menus like ps3
also psx and psp
@@hmm279 even some Sony Bravia TVs had the same-style XMB menus.
Sonys bluray players and no doubt some of their DVD players as well also had a PS3 XMB-like user interface (at least my quite dated BDP-S185 does). Though it's nowhere near as smooth as on the PS3 (feels quite choppy)
I'd say the ps3's dashboard is less easy to use than the Xbox's tho. I mean, it was very snappy unlike xbox's other dashboards but there were just so many tabs that you'd end up scrolling through them a touch too fast and you'd have to waste a few seconds coming back to the option you wanted.
That said, xbox's next ui back in 2009, as much as it was terrible for navigation, did look pretty futuristic for the time.
I feel like every update to the UI for any system gets progressively worse.
Sony adding folders to the Vita's UI was a big improvement.
Us: I really don't like this new UI
e-Fuse: YOU WILL ACCEPT CHANGE!
2013 is when shit really started to hit the fan, for almost everything.
@@DauntlessDamian Same with the PS4. Any changes they made the UI got better rather than worse.
I don't know much about UI, but I'm starting to feel UIs being "dry" when they moved to flatter designs. I liked skeumorphic designs more, with shadows and acrylic and whatnot, it's just much more alive
The irony that if this was released on Xbox Series today it would feel like an upgrade. I miss this dash!
It wasn't just the dashboard, this was an AWESOME time for games. No day 1 patches, everything big was physical media, and it worked, while smaller Xbox Arcade games were great quality surprises that got you pumped each summer.
MVG saying "Cheevos" is a moment I'll never forget
XBOX is superior to CensorStation! SONY supports CENSORSHIP and SJW agendas. SUPPORT Xbox and PC if you love games Support SONY if you like trash!
@@ps5hasnogames55 what
@@JSmokesII don't feed the trolls, lol.
@@ChrisBurnes if u do feed them make sure its a bag of "cheevos" 😆
@@ps5hasnogames55 nah dude the only company of superiority is Sega
I still miss Media Center. It was amazing, especially for the time.
As far as i know it still works if you have a PC that uses Windows Vista or Windows 7 🤔
You can use on a windows 10 just Google it and you will find
9:52 man, that visualizer... all the feels
This takes me back to being 15, I remember the first 360 my brother got had the blades dashboard and I remember being annoyed when the system got an update and changed the dashboard. I loved the style of the blades dashboard, I miss it
What i loved about the blades is that it has as much info as possible visible on one screen. With the x-bar style menus and similar you have to scroll in all directions hoping to find whatever you are looking for.
I also miss the old ps3 startup theme and the jingle that played when you started a game..
You never appreciate the dashboard UI you had until it's gone.
I appreciate the 3ds more and more I use the switch
The NXE theme was fine but metro was awful. The fact that the “play game” part is a tiny box in the top left spoke volumes for how little they cared about the gaming part by that point
well you already paid for the game. is no longer interesting for them to waste screen space with that
GOTTA GET THAT SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE MONEY
dude you could listen to music while gaming. I always had music playing while messing around in Halo 3 Forge Mode. So many good memories. The games even disabled their own music so it didn't interfere with yours.
You can actually go back to this dashboard in two ways:
1. Get a jtag or rgh Xbox and install freestyle dash or aurora
2. Find an iso disk that contains the dashboard (these are rare and expensive though)
Wait you can go back 😮
@@n1njahawkssecondchannel84 yea pretty much lol
Wouldn't using the iso disc require a console manufactured back then tho? All 360s have some fuses which prevent you from going back without a modded console.
You couldn't downgrade firmwares. MVG is right. If you tried to downgrade, you risked the chances of blowing some fuses; especially if you decided to go with a much older build. I had a buddy just about brick his test kit doing this
I'm sure there are mock/ported/replicated/patched dashes of the original dash, but there's no way of truly going back to the original firmware unfortunately
thanks to nand x you can just basically write the old update to the nand
Title: I agree, when they changed the system, even mid gen, I hated it.
Just completely changing the UI like that is something that IMO should never happen. It makes me irrationally angry and I'm someone who can adapt to that sort of stuf very quick. I hate to imagine what it does to someone who's a bit slower.
I agree
If it ain't broke don't fix it!
At the very least they should've waited until the Xbox one came out and left this as the legecy UI for 360
You're not the only one. Remember reading a little story of someone getting into recovering abandoned games from devkits because he got a devkit to enjoy the blades dashboard again :P
Even though I owned the OG Xbox back in the day the blades dashboard is still my most nostalgic (and favorite) Xbox dashboard. It was the most straightfoward and responsive & cool looking UI they've ever had IMO. Xbox 360 felt like such a leap in graphics and hardware when I got one in 2006 & Xbox Live was the best.
If you've got an Xbox Live Arcade Compilation Disc you can still get a taste of the blades dashboard on an up to date console. It may only be on the first volume, but if you insert the disc you'll get the Arcade games presented in the Blades dashboard.
You mean back when Microsoft liked to use more than one solid color?
Sad fun fact: The Xbox 360 had the most basic functions in 2005 that the Switch still doesn't have.
Embarrassing, I know.
That's what made the 360 incredible
@@LordYamcha facts even tho i didnt grow up with the blades dashboard i still think its cool tho
360 and Switch...thats two big, big hitters...only Ps2 is invited to that table...maybe OG game boy also
XBOX is superior to CensorStation! SONY supports CENSORSHIP and SJW agendas. SUPPORT Xbox and PC if you love games Support SONY if you like trash!
What is really messed up is the Wii U had a great UI, and they just didnt not use any of that for the switch. WTF
anybody else was waiting on him to teach us how to go back in time?
Yes
Metro is a mess, can't even find my own games sometimes
Home , go to my games!
This is still, by far, my favorite video game UI
and I don't even like the Xbox that much. I've always been more of a Nintendo / Playstation guy
But I will never forget how futuristic and just beautifully smooth this UI felt.
When it updated and changed I was so pissed off.
I miss gen 6-7 era of gaming. Love the og 360 design even though the inside was flawed as hell and mine eventually red ringed. A 360 mini should be on M$’s agenda.
Also miss consoles that do not update every minute to serve me "features" I never asked for...
Amazing how ux peaked 12 years ago, nowadays everything is slow and bloated with ads
And games are filled with microtransactions
This brings memories from 2006 when I boot up this little beast for the first time. I loved all the songs that came with the console BTW.
Seems like they need to hire this team again. They were awesome. The dashboard and the iconic xbox logo sound are great
Blades vs the later 360 dash is literally the soul/soulless meme.
I remember installing nxe beta because avatars... That was a mistake.
Not that you had much of a choice, some games had dashboard updates on the disc.
@@godofmediocrity7582 i know but I literally went out to make update dvd because my xbox was flashed 'D I did it to myself :D
I did it too, lol.
NXE wasn't too bad. It wasn't as snappy as the blades, but it was still way way better than Metro UI.
@@ohnoitschris I never got to experience Blades, but metro is slower than a crippled snail in molases, so i wish they never did that.
@@qapaMcFly wow that was foolish. I had a flashed Xbox at the time of nxe's release and had to wait for the latest ixtreme firmware. LT hadn't arrived at the time so I was missing out on World at War (good thing in hindsight). Hell I even managed to dodge the Gears of War 2 and Modern Warfare 2 banwaves.
I remember really hating it when they replaced the Blades dashboard, it was so simple and clean.
Did you just sneak a Kingdom Hearts reference into the comment?
My #1 favorite thing about the blades dash is how it handled the HD-DVD drive. It split the disc drive icon so you could select from which drive you wanted to launch media. It was perfect.
For people with RGHedd/ JTAG'd 360s, Freestyle dash offers an amazing Blades experience, which stays very true to the original and modernizes it at the same time.
It definitely has a mid-2000s aesthetic to it.
cutting edge
An aesthetic that was so much better than what we have today from either MS, Sony or Nintendo.
I like the gradients better than the flat-shaded graphics today. Just my personal opinion.
Agreed, though I believe a fair number of people are warming back up to it. Given how minimalism is a bit of a trend right now, you’re bound to have people who grow tired of it, or just prefer how things used to be.
@@AlexanderDiviFilius I am sick and tired of minimalism
I remember when mine first got upgraded. I was annoyed to say the least. I recall that some game I was trying to play kept wanting to connect for an update in order to be played so I gave in and did. When I realized they took away the blades and gave me that rolodex nightmare, to say I was outraged was an understatement. My roomate at the time quoted me on facebook with "What the %%$#W(@(#!, They iphoned my Xbox!"
I still cant believe that the 360 had 2 (or 3) fantastic-looking dashboards, and then the final one (Metro, was it?) they settled on was so awful in comparison.
Ok now imagine this on a raspberry pi for emulation and media.
25th of December 2006. Christmas day setting up my new Xbox 360 and being presented with this dashboard. Connecting my original Xbox XBL account and playing Gears of War for the first time. Right in the feels this video.
MVG: "blades dash best dash"
everyone: "well, duh!"
The Guide could change the Colors was so awesome, you could do every color.
I still miss it to this day. I was really disappointed when they got rid of it. The sound effects, colors and simplicity
Note that you can leave the music playing and it's not just in the blades menu, it also plays in games. It's good for having custom music in racing games.
2006-2011ish were the golden years of Xbox 360 for me, and while I remember the switch to the new layout, it's those highschool years of xbox live that really give me nostalgia. This was a great video, and I'm glad to have such an excellent throwback to the past!
By the way, one thing I've just remembered, is that there used to be the 1 vs. 100 game show premiering on Xbox Live that me and my friends competed in. Does anybody even remember that, or know when it might've been in that timespan?
I remember 1 vs 100. Think it was around 2010-2011. Never got to play it properly though because I had a dodgy wireless adapter that would disconnect me every 15 minutes. So that game forever sits incomplete on my achievements... :(