OG Xbox 360 Fans Get Disappointing News From Microsoft

Longtime fans of Microsoft's Xbox 360 console might find themselves disappointed by a new update from the company. When the Xbox 360 first launched way back in 2005, it came with an early version of the Xbox dashboard that fans dubbed the "Blades". The Xbox 360 and subsequent Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles went on to feature numerous different dashboard iterations, it's this Blades setup that has continued to resonate with fans well over a decade later. And while fans have been hoping that the Blades would one day come back in a new form, sadly, those at Microsoft have made it clear that this won't be happening. 

In a recent conversation on the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft's own Larry Hyrb (also known to Xbox fans as Major Nelson) responded to the ongoing requests to see the Xbox 360 Blades format return on Xbox Series X. While Hyrb seemed to speak highly of what Blades offered for the time, he said that this visual style wouldn't work with the Xbox ecosystem nowadays. 

"No, you can't have the Blades back," Hyrb said directly to fans when discussing future dashboard updates that are in the works. "They were lovely, they were nice, but you can't have them back because they don't scale, as we say in the business, to what we want to do." 

In short, this isn't a huge shock and it's hard to disagree with what Hyrb has said. Even though Blades were great on Xbox 360, they also existed at a time when the digital ecosystem on Xbox hadn't really taken off. With new, modern features like Xbox Game Pass, the Microsoft Store, and a litany of social aspects now present on Xbox consoles, it's hard to see how they might work in the Blades structure. While Blades were great for the time, it seems that Xbox fans are just going to have to accept that this dashboard is officially a thing of the past. 

Do you think that the Xbox 360 Blades dashboard style could work now on current Xbox consoles? And what do you think of the existing Xbox dashboard that Microsoft now uses? Be sure to let me know either down in the comments or message me on Twitter at @MooreMan12.

[H/T Games Radar]