There’s a lot to like about Microsoft’s Xbox One console. Most first-party game purchases will now get you double the fun on PC with some cross-play, their 2016 line-up looks aces and the hardware itself is evolving with a smaller console on the way. That doesn’t make the Xbox One perfect however. There’s still several issues plaguing it from being a knockout device, with the user interface that supports everything being downright polarising.
But there’s something else that has always made me grind my teeth out of sheer frustration, when it comes to the Xbox One software. Updates. Look, the Xbox One is a data-heavy machine that has many, many more updates per game than what you’d see in a PlayStation 4 title. And that’s something that I can live with.
What I downright detest however, is never knowing when I’ll need to update a game like The Division for a scenic bullet-riddled tour of New York City. We’ve all been there: You’re ready to play, you’re waering your favourite stretch pants and the second you start your game of choice, an update notification appears. What’s even more grating is that said game can’t even be played in an offline mode (like what the PS4 allows with updates) while it’s being patched up.
It’s a serious pet peeve of mine, that is probably responsible for most of the stress in my life. That problem is sort of being fixed with the next Xbox One dashboard. Because at least you’ll be able to see what exactly needs updating before you start a game up. Take a gander below:
Much better! While it doesn’t solve all of the problems, I’m liking what I’m seeing. It’s a better form of cluttered UI I think, and the rest of the dashboard doesn’t look too bad either. Expect to see it for yourself next week probably, to celebrate the anniversary update of Windows 10. Here’s a gallery of what the rest of the dashboard looks like to peruse through.
Last Updated: July 29, 2016
WitWolfy
July 29, 2016 at 13:09
I hate the fact that the Xbox One doesnt do background updates… Only way to play new games is to totally disconnect from the internet and play offline. Unlike PS4 where you can play any game while it updates in the background. Its bullshit.
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
July 29, 2016 at 13:21
O wow
miaau
July 29, 2016 at 14:01
What do you mean? It does download updates for a game while you play another game, for example. But the download queue is only 1.
Also, some games, like Dragon Age:I in 2014, I started playing while it was busy downloading still. Badly, I grant you.
Sigma
July 29, 2016 at 16:38
What he means is, if you get a new game on disc and you go to play it, if there’s an update available for it, on the Xbox One you can’t have that update download in the background while you play the game.
The Xbox One does other kinds of background downloads, so you can play game A while downloading the update for game B in the background, for instance.
VampyreSquirrel
July 29, 2016 at 13:14
Doesn’t do anything to help me.
Don’t have an Xbone.
Learned Handgun
July 29, 2016 at 22:05
Did you think this article was directed at you?
VampyreSquirrel
August 1, 2016 at 08:52
Did you not think it was directed at you? It’s directed at everyone.
I could have said that it’s a nice feature for my PS4, which I don’t have either, and I probably would have gotten a similar comment.
miaau
July 29, 2016 at 14:00
That will be awesome. I want that. nothing worse than loading up a game and seeing 4 gig of updates before you can play.
Jonah Cash
July 29, 2016 at 14:07
The Xbox store is the worst games marketplace I have ever had to go to buy a game. Why is there no prices on the games and why not put the games that are on sale in a seperate tab or something. I really don’t enjoy my Xbox One…
Sigma
July 29, 2016 at 16:39
The new store that’s part of this update fixes a bunch of that. It now shows prices underneath each tile, so you don’t have to click on a tile to go to a game’s specific page to see how much it is. It also shows if games are on sale, and if you own a game or piece of DLC already it says “Owned” underneath it.
It’s a big improvement!
TwinStripeUK
July 29, 2016 at 18:26
.. In fact the only time you have to select a game to find the price now, is on the 360 BC titles…
Jonah Cash
August 2, 2016 at 12:10
That is a pretty big improvement!
Pony
July 30, 2016 at 06:39
There are prices for every game.
Maybe you’re doing it wrong.
Jonah Cash
August 2, 2016 at 12:10
Hahahaha. NO!
DrKiller
July 29, 2016 at 14:22
I’m just happy we’ll be able to see the download speed….
Ricardo Harvey
July 29, 2016 at 14:38
A great feature for the xbox one and ps4 would be to allow you to receive a push notification via phone app to tell you when an update is released for certain games and then let you remotely start the update if your console is in standby mode.
Admiral Chief - Check
July 29, 2016 at 15:32
That would be an awesome feature indeed, if I had either
Mike Greenway
July 29, 2016 at 16:58
95% of My update are done at night while I’m sleeping, even the preview OS updates.
SilverSee
July 30, 2016 at 02:48
Question for the author: don’t you put your Xbox into sleep/standby? If so, updates are handled automatically in the background when you aren’t using your console. I would guess that the large majority of Xbox gamers won’t really know what your complaint is about.
If you instead choose to shut off your Xbox completely (“power saving” mode), you will find frequent updates when you launch games. But that’s a choice you have made.
The D
July 30, 2016 at 06:21
The price of electricity is quite bloody high down here for me, so I made a decision a while back to not leave equipment in standby mode at night while I sleep.
Weird, I know, but I’m also quite frugal as it is and this choice helps me save quite a bit every month. Which is possibly where my gripe comes in.
SilverSee
July 30, 2016 at 06:26
Fair enough. I think the article didn’t really reference the fact that this particular annoyance is not universal. I just wanted to point out that the Xbox designers actually thought about the game and app upgrade experience, and many users won’t experience this.
The D
July 30, 2016 at 18:28
Fair enough!
Pony
July 30, 2016 at 06:40
I don’t think the cost of standby is very much at all. Maybe like $30 a year or something.
Pony
July 30, 2016 at 06:38
What the hell is your headline? “Fixing your pet hate?”
Do you speak English? Pet hate? What?
You hate your pet?
Let me fix your headline since you’re only a “writer”.
[HEADLINE]
New Xbox one update fixes major pet peeve
There. Do better next time.
The D
July 30, 2016 at 18:27
Noun: a minor annoyance that a person identifies as particularly annoying to them, to a greater degree than it may be to others ? Smoking is my pet hate.
Oh hey would you look at that.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pet%20hate
Pieter Kruger
July 30, 2016 at 09:10
https://youtu.be/vcT1dB9J6Rw
Avithar
August 1, 2016 at 09:48
Finally… unless you only play online titles this is heaven sent