We tabled a prescheduled topic again this week, because Joe Haygood had plenty to discuss about the New Xbox Experience... or if we want to name it like a "Friends" episode, The One About All The Xbots Suddenly Being Forced To Make Miis, Something They All Spent Two Years Making Fun Of. Aeropodcast #58 is now available, and as it's just me and Haygood, you can bet that, this week, I have much more to say than last week's five-banger.
I was initially very critical of the new interface, since it borrows heavily from Apple, a little from Sony, and steals the Mii thing wholesale from Nintendo. It was a good thing that Microsoft released those first screens so early, because by now everybody got those complaints out of their systems and just focused on the usability of the new UI. Sounds like it is an improvement over the blade system, although the rollout has been bumpy. As a whole, it was something that 360 owners really were not asking for, but at least it has ended up a good thing.
The Netflix connection remains, for me, the single biggest feature. The avatar thing... come on. We all know that it's Cute on a system that has NEVER accepted Cute, and it's a blatant attempt to steal a feature point from the All-Crushing Wii.
However, the interface for creating avatars is very nice. Surprisingly nice. And since Microsoft is not known for coming up with good, clean interfaces, it should surprise no one to learn that Rare came up with that system. That's probably the best-received project the Rare team has done in ten years.
Netflix, though, that could be huge. Although not 100% of the existing Netflix content is available - it lacks HD product, from what I hear - and Sony just ensured that all of their Columbia Pictures shows and movies will not appear on the 360 Netflix queue. Which, I guess, would include stuff like the Spider-Man series (progenitor of the PS3 font!) I have to giggle at that one. Why should Sony allow their property to be used to leverage 360 sales? No fucking reason in the world. You can't sit at a shareholders' meeting and face that question down.
Anyway, we also talked a bit about games that have made us cry. Guess what I namedrop there.
And a community question asked what unannounced sequel we would most like to see, and I went for the jugular with Pokemon Snap.
I also announce that I'm going to the Video Game Expo in Philly this weekend. Which starts out pretty funny because Haygood thought I meant Video Games Live, the concert performance of gaming music. I will probably wish he was right. I'm going with Josh and Tony though, so we'll make fun of/out of anything.
VGXPO FTW!111
Rollin' Philly style.