Can't download Quake4 or Condemned on Xbox Live Marketplace and other bugs/features
I've been mucho impressed that one can download game demos on the Xbox 360's Live Marketplace. The NBA Live Demo is crazy amazing, and is a game I wouldn't ordinarily try, so the demo is a great way to potentially cross-sell me. A few days ago the news broke that Quake 4 had a demo posted on the Live Marketplace. However, when I visit the marketplace it's just not there. I had no idea what's going on. It just isn't listed in the interface.
Turns out that since I have the family settings set to "T" (Teen) games (all others need a password) then the Xbox Live Marketplace won't show any "M" (Mature) rated name. Very cool that they respect the family settings, but not cool that I'm missing out on even the option to see potential demos. I should be prompted for the password when I attempt to download the demo, just as I am when I put in an "M" rated disc like "Condemned."
FIX: Change your family settings temporarily to download these demos.
On another note, there's a weird progress bar bug where the download bar jumps to 50% if you pause the download in the middle. It will still successfully download if you let it finish, but your pretty much hosed if you want to know how much is actually downloaded. It'd have been nice if they included a kbps or speedometer. I wonder if they'll patch the Dashboard one day.
UPDATE: A kind member of the Xbox Live team read this post and sent me this very useful information. Thanks!
We've already updated the dashboard software once through Live. You can see the version information by navigating to the System blade and selecting Console Settings -> System Info. If you see only 1888, then your console is not yet updated. If you see 2241, then you're fully up-to-date (at the time of this writing).
I can't comment publicly on the two issues -- download progress, skin previews -- raised in your post and user comments, but I think you could reasonably assume that like all other software there are some known bugs and less-than-perfect experiences that were too minor to delay the release. Your Xbox 360 will only become better and more functional as we continue to improve and add to the system software.
P.S. In order to include a picture of Z occasionally, without turning this into a personal blog with random pics, I'll hide an updated picture here. Enjoy. :)
Now playing: Ashanti - Every Lil' Thing
About Scott
Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.
About Newsletter
have a nice day :)
Comments are closed.
Think of it from this perspective. Kid comes on, sees a game he can't have, it's going to make him want it more?
If you take that approach, it's not so bad...
I wish there was a way to preview dashboard skins though.. I know you can look at the picture packs online, but they need something in the dashboard stat.