Grim change for Xbox owners sees millions of consoles bombarded with ads as players blast ‘hell no' after update
While the new updates fix some long-standing issues, the Xbox user experience has also been impacted.
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User experience impacted
Xbox 360 owners booted up their well-used consoles earlier this week to find a new update waiting to be installed.
In the update, Microsoft had finally fixed the heavily complained-about bug where video game box art and thumbnails were stretched or distorted on the home screen, following a previous update in July 2024.
What first felt like an exciting change for the retro console, has left some gamers disgruntled.
While the box art issue was resolved, the update also added sizeable ads to showcase Xbox's newer products in its ever-growing roster.
Adverts for the Xbox Series X and S consoles now litter the 360's dashboard alongside a QR code to encourage purchases.
Functionality issues and user complaints
The move by Microsoft to encourage users to upgrade was unwelcome.
One Reddit user shared their frustration: "The fact that they're still hellbent on changing the Xbox 360's menu, 20 years after its original launch, is just really funny to me, and the most Microsoft thing that Microsoft could do."
Another confused user said: "That's crazy that they'd update the dashboard to advertise the series consoles. Sales are doing so bad they had to go back to 360 to advertise."
But it's not all bad, as some gamers welcomed the change.
In contrast, one Reddit user said: "To be honest, I prefer this over the last 'update' to the dashboard.
"Fair enough it's just advertising for their latest consoles, but it feels more 'alive' than the last one, if that makes sense. Plus, the game thumbnail isn't stretched anymore!"
Another added: "At least the game art isn't stretched anymore."
Time for change
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It has been 20 years since the launch of the Xbox 360.
And since 2005, over 84 million units have been sold, and its popularity and nostalgic value mean the console remains at the forefront of gamers' minds.
As a result, gamers often return to the console to revisit their once favourite games, to take a trip down memory lane.
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