Xbox One Feb. update -game hubs, controllers...etc-

http://majornelson.com/2015/02/05/xbox-one-february-system-update-enjoy-game-hubs-updates-controller-party-chat-tv/

Xbox One February system update: Enjoy game hubs, updates to controller, party chat and TV

Today, we’re excited to begin rolling out the first system update of 2015. Since Xbox One launched, we made a commitment to listen to feedback from the Xbox Live community and we continue to deliver on that promise. We’re always listening to your thoughts and will continue adding new features and improving existing functionality to enhance your gaming and entertainment experiences on Xbox One.

This month, we’re improving the Xbox One controller, enhancing Party Chat and adding new TV features like trending to OneGuide, and bringing “trick play” and live streaming on Windows Phone and Android to Xbox Live members in Europe using the Digital TV Tuner. Additionally, you can discover new content from your favorite games and further personalize your dashboard, among other cool new features.

Check out the summary of new features we’re adding to Xbox One this month below and don’t forget to keep sharing your awesome ideas with us. For more details on the new features, read the official announcement at Xbox Wire.

Controller improvements – We’re excited to improve stability and speed on the Xbox One controller.

Game hubs – These are the go-to centers for interesting content, tips and tricks for your favorite titles. Every Xbox One game will have a game hub where you can see which friends are playing the game, compete with your friends in game leaderboards, dive into the coolest game clips and game broadcasts, and follow the game’s top broadcasters and clip creators.

Party chat updates – We made several changes to party chat in recent weeks, including chat connection status, improved connectivity between multiple participants with Strict or Moderate NATs, game and party invitations, and a number of other performance improvements.

Custom backgrounds and tile transparency – We’ve added tile transparency to the Home tiles to make your background images more visible.

TV updates – A number of updates to the live TV experience are available today and new features have been added to additional countries.

The passion and enthusiasm we’ve seen from the Xbox Live community in helping Xbox deliver the best gaming experience possible has been amazing and we can’t wait to see what other ideas are in store for us. Thanks so much for your feedback and stay tuned for more Xbox One system updates.

the Xbox One just keeps getting better, wow smh. more monthly updates with actual useful features being added...MORE! its looking more and more like MS/XB1 are the ones who are about pleasing their gamers. not those other guys who are just saying it. anyway, can't wait to try PlanetSide 2 out...i heard its suppose to be the Halo killer.

So stuff the PS4 already had since launch and TV shit.

That's nice. I guess.

Been using this update for a couple weeks now, PS4 really is trailing behind

Nice now what do you have to play for the next 7 and half months.?

Have a nice time playing the update..lol

Game hubs sounds like what the ps4 has had since launch which is awesome.

I'm looking forward to finally having transparent tiles though, want my background to be more visible

@_Matt_:

It would be cool if you would be able to hide 95% of the tiles.

Will load this puppy up later! I also am in the beta program now so thanks to whoever invited me!

Tell 'em Phil.

lol at transparent game hubs..You still cant see shit

It's a fun update. Controller now synchs rather instantly, feels like barely a second. I like how the tile transparency lets you see more of your background. There's a Reddit thread I stumbled onto the other day and you have tons of people creating custom Xbox One backgrounds, lot of talented artists out there.....it's been fun messing around with different ones. They also improved the stability of the suspend/resume feature(Instant on wakeup), though I'm not sure if that is part of this update or the next one.

Halo MCC on Legendary. Or are you saying you only play a game on release date and then never again? Because it sounds like that... You are talking as if there aren't any games, but what you want to say is:

"In my regard, as a cow, I don't find any game interesting and new for the Xbox One, and because I don't own it, my opinion isn't really valid."

So the lem thread of the week hyping nothing worthwhile.

Maybe microsoft engineers should help 343 to finally fix halo mcc and prevent halo 5 to be a disaster too, after all is the only card in microsoft's hand right now, and is a pretty weak one.

Turned on my Xbox to update but it had already done so, could just tell since the tiles where already somewhat transparent. Should be cool to see new backgrounds that take advantage of that. Gonna check out the other features now and update the controller too.

Indeed, I've got MCC which I only played through all the SP campaigns once on normal, haven't done any online vs or coop yet. Fh2 which I've only spent a couple hours with as well plus.SO, again, only a few SP hours in. GTA5, again, perhaps 5 hours in. Plus all the GWG games I DL'ed and yet to play. I figure I have about 1000 hours of gaming to do just with what I got now since those games listed are loaded with content both online & off.

On topic, cool beans, X1 aka Opimus Prime just keeps transforming. :P

lol cow tears are always fun to watch. Keep trying to make Halo look bad because deep down you know it is far better then anything the PS4 has. Sad thing for the PS4 is the best game the PS4 has is a recent PS3 game The Last of Us. Hell even if they ever fix Driveclube online it will not matter since the game itself is trash. Do not worry soon The Order will come out for the PS4.....which also looks like complete trash of a game.

@CanYouDiglt: The MCC is still barely functional after 3 months. Bloodborne is going to shit on every exclusive Xbone has and everyone knows it. So will Uncharted 4, Persona 5, and No Man's Sky. Every multiplat from Witcher 3 to MGSV will look way better on PC and PS4. Every top 10 anticipated games list out there is full of PS4 and Wii U exclusives and multiplats best played on PC/PS4 and not a single Xbone exclusive on any of them. No one cares about Halo anymore, especially not 343's Codified take on it lol.

still slow as shit, takes stupidly long time to just open up messages

Hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa......

So now we measure games by 1 game in 10 months intervals.?

So just because you want to be tied up with a bunch of old ass games that mean every single XBO owner what that to.? So according to your analogy xbox one owners will not buy any more games until September because MCC was release on November 2015 and that will last for a long time right.?

Halo 4 wasn't even on the top 5 games games on xbox 360 by the last known live activity chart.

http://majornelson.com/2013/12/05/live-activity-for-week-of-november-25/

I remember when Halo use to be a force now is beat by an indie on xbox live.

So basically No Halo will not cover that 8 month drought not even close,even more when those games are all of them old 1 is 2001 old..

oh boy, cant wait for that update..lol

Well Screamride, Ori and the Blind Forest, and State of Decay all come out over the next 3 months for gamers. Not to mention the games/exclusives that have already been released. A lot of people haven't completed all their games, or are done with them. Unless you're talking about Playstation exclusives. Those games are usually done and over in a week or two.

The XB1's game catalog is solid...

cows need to stop their "XB1 has no games" BS, really. at least wait until the ps4 releases a stellar exclusive first. Waiting until they release several of them would be even better. Because all of its games last year were generic trash...and nothing has released this year yet. so you/cows talking as if the console is dominating in the games department is silly lol?

@tymeservesfate: Where are Xbone's stellar exclusives?

Infamous Second Son = Sunset Overdrive

TLOU Remastered > broke ass MCC

Driveclub < Forza Horizon 2

Guilty Gear Xrd > Killer Instinct

Bloodborne, The Order 1886 and MLB 15 The Show shit on pathetic Screamride, Ori will be better on PC, State of Decay is a old port

Only thing I care about is the controller improvement. But if be surprised if there is any actual difference

Also, I remember a time when this many updates was frowned upon here by a certain people. Boy times have changed!

I'm doing co-op SP on Legendary with a friend, but it goes very very slow. Most of the time 40-70min per level. On my own I'm trying to collect fun achievements on every level, except for the par scores, they are too hard

Idiot, you said no games, I give one example. I don't have to do anything else. One game, for one player (me), is enough to debunk your dumb statement. Case closed, tormentos owned again

@Chutebox: difference is that the updates don't take forever to install and they're actually meaningful unlike the constant ps3 firmware updates.

Hmmm....I just find this chain hilarious.

We can play every multiplatfrom game you've been playing plus State of Decay and Ori and the Blind forest plus hopefully Smite soon. Can also still play Sunset, Halo MCC and Forza. Anymore questions?

Makes you wonder if any of these guys have the consoles or what cause they don't seem to know what features is on what console. Very funny indeed.

Who said Planetside 2 was a halo killer, they're not even comparable

Agreed.

And get rid of those awful obnoxious adverts

And all this is based on your opinion so we take this with a grain of salt.

You sir, are full of shit.

There are no games coming to Xb1 for 7 months? I don't think that is true.

Stop Ori is an Indie game which you were flaming the PS4 for just freaking few days ago,you people should stop with that crap either indies count or they don't,scream ride for real.?

What exclusives.? Sun set over drive.? Because Halo MCC isn't one nor it FH2 hell not even Ori will be.

Man is a pathetic excuse to justify lack of games saying well we have old games to play that we haven't play that is not how this work and certainly didn't work like that last gen either or any other gen,what a console has is measure on the number of games it continues to get all year round not just 3 months before the damn year ends,hell last year at least Plants vs Zombies and Titanfall saved the xbox one sprint,but this year the line up is horrible and bland and no xbox one should deny it period,you people have nothing to play but features...lol

The xbox one catalog is weak and Metacritics more than confirm that like 30 games over 80% when the PS4 has more than 60 games over 80% on meta the difference is there and quite a mark one.

74 more games on PS4 from those 10 are retail 64 are indies there is no way around this,the PS4 has more games,more retail games more indies and higher rated games.

In fact you just name the 3 games the xbox one has until September 1 is an Indie one a roller coaster simulator and game already on xbox 360...lol

Slash those they are not an advantage for the xbox one or PS4,State of Decay is on xbox 360 now you don't need a XBO for it,and Ori is an Indie which you lemmings constantly flame on PS4 but for some reason are great on xbox one..lol

Sunset Over drive The master Flop collection and Forza are 2014 games not 2015 ones so yeah you either use 2015 games or i bring TLOU into the picture which is way newer than every Halo on that collection and wasn't broken on launch oh and retained its high rating.

Is about 2015 games no 2014 ones.

Oh people i was very clear for the next 7 months not old games... hahaha

Well at least i have a new excuse if the PS4 faces a drought of games,i just say we have old games which people still can play..hahaha

Yes there is 1 indie,1 remake and a roller coaster simulator..hahahaa

The rest is multi and probably in inferior form like has been the norm from day 1.

Xbox One is getting a screenshot feature guys!!!

Classic tormentos meltdown again, after all this time it still cheers me up

@StormyJoe:

Why...why do you bother with him lol

I'm guessing we can expect more stability in the next PS4 update.

i just got home from work and the update was already installed. its not inconvenient to update the consoles anymore like the ps3 was

I'm happy about the controllers being updates since sometimes the Xbone controllers lose a connection. I thought it was my unit, but checking Xbox.com, talking to forumers across various websites, and talking to fellow Gamespot.com Xbone owners here since the Xbone launch I noticed I wasn't alone with the Xbone controllers randomly disconnecting. It doesn't happen a lot, but it's an issue, especially when you are playing a game online or even just in the middle of an intense SP moment.

Hopefully this controller update fixes that Xbone disconnection issue that has been there since launch 2013 (I'm sure that's the main reason for the update). It's good they are fixing the Xbone console and haven't given up on these minor issues like the controller and party chat. Obviously, not everyone has the same problems but there were enough complaints for them to finally fix controller problems which I welcome. inb4 another user claims they had the perfect experience. This portion of the controller update doesn't apply to you then. My only concern now is do I have to update my future Xbone controller purchases every-time, and I don't like that I have to connect the controller to the console with a wire. I have to figure out what cord/wire I should use because I don't support their Play/Charge kits anymore after last gen issues and the Xbone didn't come with a cord/wire to connect to the Xbone. I don't want to have to buy a cord/wire to get this update. I wish they could have done that differently (in forums, users use this moment to assume everyone has access to cords/wires they own, save yourself the post).

According to Nelson: "Controller improvements – We’re excited to improve stability and speed on the Xbox One controller."

Sure, it should have had that at launch, but I'll take it now if it fixes the issues.

The Game Hubs feature we've seen on the PS4 since launch and that's a smart feature to bring to Xbone.

I'm not impressed about people getting HYPEd about updates, especially when these updates are fixing complaints like the controller issues and numerous party chat complaints.

Nelson: "Party chat updates – We made several changes to party chat in recent weeks, including chat connection status, improved connectivitybetween multiple participants with Strict or Moderate NATs, game and party invitations, and a number of other performance improvements.

This update is about fixes but they added a feature that was on PS4, and the transparency is all them. That's what this is about in the end, transparency to see your backgrounds/themes. Is that really worth getting into debates and arguing about? I don't think so.

Xbox: "Hey, we are fixing our console and fixing things that should have been fixed at launch + some new perks!"

Fanboy spin: "OMG I just love how they keep updating this thing!"

Is this about last gen 2005/2006 consoles? If anything you should be comparing update installs on PS4/Xbone.

Although regarding last gen, I had my 360/PS3 auto-update while I was at work/school/out.

Sony fanboys are just the dumbest and most clueless gamer out there. They've been playing nothing but multiplatform games and a last gen title TLOU for pretty much 6 months and it's fine with them but now all of a sudden they got 2 triple A titles coming out in a two month span and it's screw multiplatform games and a last gen title lol. All of a sudden now the X1 fans are going to be doing the same thing they've been doing and still are doing cause they still don't have a exclusive to play and now it's Xbox has no games, what will xbox one players play, state of decay is last gen and not a real game lol. They are just clueless and what's funny is after bloodborne what's the next big title they have to look forward too? Uncharted and that's going to be about 6 months away lol.

Good stuff, keep the updates coming.. It's gonna be interesting to see what Microsoft has in store for the dashboard when Windows 10 comes to the console..

Beyond that, the monthly comments from PS4 fanboys (ranging from stealth damage control to full-blown meltdowns) is just icing on the cake..

Anyway, on-topic, I'm really liking the addition of Game Hubs and Transparent tiles.. Improvements to other functions like controller syncing and party chat is obviously welcome as well.. And judging from some of the damage control, I'm not exactly sure what cows want from these MONTHLY updates.. Microsoft seems to introduce a new feature or two and then improve upon previous features almost every month.. Seems pretty awesome by nearly any logical measurement other than "fanboy logic"..

And sure, to address some of the previous comments, the PS4 has had something similar to Game Hubs since launch but (like Twitch support) it's a rather barebones offering in comparison to what the Xbox One eventually ended up releasing.. So yea, the PS4 did it first but the Xbox One is doing it better.. 'nuff said really..

Seeya again next month, gentlemen..

Can you put music on the HD and game at the same time yet?

Also I heard some features still don't work while you're offline, maybe even the media player?

Can they even update the DS4? Anyway, the XMB or whatever they call it now has a lot of catching up to do but I doubt they ever will.

@gago-gago: what catching up is there for it to do? If anything, the XBO still needs to catch up with how responsive and smooth the ps4 ui is in comparison.

WTF? ..............................oh my bad. You ONLY play exclusives.

Be warned:

Warning: update xbox one controller at your own risk!

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/warning-update-xbox-one-controller-at-your-own-ris-31843940/#8

No that is not all i play but that is how games on consoles are measure and the xbox one games in the coming 8 months is weak,basically Ori,Scream Ride and a game already on 360 since 2013,if that is your vision of having games is quite sad.

After all why would i get Evolve or Dying Light on XBO when they will be superior on PS4..?

That is what you have been playing on xbox one all 2014,Titanfall multi,Plants vs zombies multi,then after that you got nothing but multiplatforms that were also on PS4 and superior on PS4.

Halo MCC is a collection of games as old as 2001,and to make it worse deliver in a freaking broken state,basically the only decent exclusive you had last year was SunSet over drive,FH2 wasn't an exclusive neither was Halo.

The fun part is that people like you downplayed TLOU for been on PS3,but now want to hype State of decay which doesn't have the quality TLOU has,so how come TLOU wasn't valid because you didn't need a PS4 to play it but state of decay is when you don't need an xbox one to play it..?

Bloodbord,The order MLB just to start the year is great and even if we only have those 3 for the next 6 months still is better than the xbox one,which all it has is an Indie which you people love on xbox but hate on PS4,a old game and screamride < hahahahaaa...

2 of those games are true exclusives on xbox just multiplatforms..lol

I hope no why in the world would i want to update my controller.? Oh yeah unless is broken and plague with problems,nice 100 million down the drain MS,the controllers disconnect on its own,not even that MS can achieve right.

Now the update is say to be bricking controllers how the fu** can you brick a controller,shit man is like they also use windows os on their controllers totally screw up,another MS novelty upgradable controller that brick when you update them...

Does every post you type have "no xbox for the next 8 months"? Your shit smells old.

I love how you pass the fact that the PS4 have two delayed games that ended up landing in Feb. Stop acting like it was to give you a game during a drought. It wasn't. It was because no one at Sony can get anything out the door in time.

So much misinfomation/obvious trolling in one quote chain.. seriously - its seriously beyond me, how come you still are on these boards... ello' mods ? (troll, bashing, misinformations and just plain stupidity). no wonder its the same users fighting over minor things.. i mean come on tormentos get a grip..