It's been a little over three years since the Xbox 360 hit store shelves, and in that time Microsoft has had plenty of time to add new features to its game console. First, they emphasized the downloadable game marketplace. Then, they added support for video on-demand. Now, the company has gone and revamped the entire user interface into a new form, which they're calling the "New Xbox Experience" or NXE for short. The new UI breathes life into the console once again, and overall we've been pretty impressed with the changes. That's not to say it's not without its problems, but the new system is a welcome update.

New interface

The most obvious change is the completely overhauled dashboard. The previous Xbox interface utilized "blades" which let users scroll right and left through different panes of information. While the UI made sense, there were some odd issues since items could be displayed horizontally within the blades. Microsoft's new interface opts instead for a simple vertical scroll between categories, with a left/right scroll between items. Once a user goes deeper into an item, its left/right between items still, but up and down select options within the item. It's obvious their user experience designers put a deep amount of thought into how to make this dashboard more user friendly than the previous one.

Xbox Guide Button

That's not to say that shadows of the old UI aren't still around, they've just become much smaller and more out of the way. Users who press the big Xbox button in the center of the controller open up the new and improved Guide. The new guide takes on the interface of the old Xbox dashboard, blades and all, and allows users access to most of the features of the dashboard, without having to as much hierarchical based navigating. Instead, users can leave one game and start another without having to go back to the dashboard, select games, and spend more time clicking around the interface.

Avatars

No doubt taking some inspiration from Nintendo's Mii scheme, Microsoft has added 3d avatars to NXE. Each avatar can be customized according to the user's tastes, with interchangeable facial features, differing clothing options and accessories to make the Mii look like each person. However, we found it difficult to make our avatar look similar to us, likely because the avatars are more realistic than their Nintendo counterparts, making them less of a characature and closer to a modified version of our own looks.

Parties

One of our favorite new features is the ability to create Xbox Live parties where multiple users are banded together and can play games together without having to orchestrate a complex invite process. Instead, users can casually go from game to game and room to room keeping the party together, with a seamless voice chat experience throughout. We haven't had a chance to give this a shot yet, but expect to see an Obsessable party roaming around Gears of War 2 shortly.

Community games

 

Until today, people looking to create games for an at-home game console needed to pony up a hefty amount of cash to buy into the official Xbox developer program. With the launch of NXE, things are a bit different. Microsoft has implemented a program that allows independent game developers to create their own custom software for the Xbox with only a $50 investment in the XNA Developer Studio. That means creative types can tinker around and create their own games for the price of a regular Xbox game. While we haven't found any standouts just yet, we're playing through the community games to find the diamonds in the rough. We're sure with all the creative minds in the world, we'll hopefully be seeing more innovative gaming experiences from the independent developers of the world shortly.

Netflix

One of the other big boons of NXE is the addition of streaming movies through Netflix's WatchNow service. Users can load up many different movies and TV shows in their Instant Queue, then watch them on their Xbox. Like the desktop version of the Netflix player, the Xbox version tests a user's connection speed and adjusts the picture quality dependent on throughput. There are some caveats though, for instance Sony owned Columbia Pictures movies studio won't license movies for playback on Xbox, and other movies face similar licensing restrictions. However, the selection of available films and shows is surprisingly good and the quality isn't too shabby either. 300 of the available films are streamed in HD quality, and Netflix expects that number to rise. Currently there is no extra cost associated with adding streaming to your Netflix membership, so on demand video added in for the same price as your regular DVD rental plan (which continues unchanged) is pretty sweet — yet one more reason to consider ditching your cable box.

Installation and impressions

Upgrading to NXE is pretty simplistic. Major Nelson from Microsoft goes into detail in the embedded video above. We found no deviation from the process, and had the entire software package installed in about five or ten minutes. Microsoft really did an excellent job preparing and executing this launch.

That's not to say the service wasn't without its problems. When perusing the newly minted "community games" section of the site, I often had to navigate to an item, wait for the game info to load — which took nearly an excruciating full minute — then proceeded to download the software. Also, when I was navigating through my friends menu, I experienced an extremely long period where the console was unresponsive when I would enter a friend's detail screen. Hopefully these issues will be resolved once the servers have quieted down a bit from all this installing madness.

All in all, I'd say Microsoft should be commended for creating this excellent software update three years into the console life cycle. It's obvious Microsoft is aiming to keep the Xbox 360 around as long as possible, and I don't think most gamers are clamoring for the next generation of games. And why should they? If Microsoft keeps adding new functionality to its aging system, maybe the Xbox 360 will outlast any of the previous consoles because it's a new playing field every three years.

Have you had a chance to go hands-on with the new Xbox experience? What do you think? Was it worth the wait? Sound off in the comments.