XBL down May 2, Dash update on the way

by Ken Weeks { Apr 30th 2006 at 1:15PM }

Reader Clayj called Xbox Live technical support last night and got an automated announcement that said service would be down May 2 for 2 to 24 hours for maintenance including the Spring dashboard update. I called myself and didn't hear any recorded message, but I did get to listen to that experimental jazz hold music until a rep confirmed the same. Naturally, they were clueless about what the update involved. Xbox.com doesn't have any details either.

[Thanks Clayj]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

goverland @ Apr 30th 2006 1:30PM

Perhaps they mistakenly called the other wrong XB0X (9209) number. :)

Clayj @ Apr 30th 2006 1:36PM

I got the automated announcement when I called the 1-800-4MYXBOX (469-9269) number. Heard it again today, as well, when I called in trying to get "Wik: Fable of Souls" removed from my list of played games. :-) Press option 1, then 3, then sit and wait (don't press anything) to hear the announcement.

BklynKid @ Apr 30th 2006 1:42PM

You can get games removed from your played list?

I want the POS perfect dark removed from mine.

goverland @ Apr 30th 2006 1:43PM

Please see MN post
http://forums.xbox.com/3999416/ShowPost.aspx

On Tuesday May 2th from 0200-1500 PT Xbox Live, Xbox.com and the forums will be offline for maintenance.

During this time, Xbox.com, the forums and Xbox Live will not be accessible.

ANDY @ Apr 30th 2006 1:44PM

This is essentially what the message said:

"In preparation for the Xbox Live spring autoupdate, there will a brief interruption of Xbox Live services on tuesday, may 2nd. This interruption may last up to 24 hours."

Mike @ Apr 30th 2006 1:45PM

Removing games is simple. Just visit www.xbox.com and you will find answers for all your questions

Clayj @ Apr 30th 2006 1:46PM

#3, sadly, no.

I called to TRY to get Wik removed, but the girl (God bless her, she was trying) eventually told me it couldn't be done. I had to explain to her SEVERAL times that Wik wasn't installed on my 360 anymore, and that I just wanted it removed from the Played Games list. She put me on hold several times and eventually said it couldn't be done.

Clayj @ Apr 30th 2006 1:49PM

#5, is that meant to be sarcasm?

Pray tell, how do you remove a game from your Played Games list? I've never found a way to do it.

goverland @ Apr 30th 2006 1:53PM

#8 There is currently no way to remove a game from the played games list.

Jammy 2049 @ Apr 30th 2006 1:53PM

why would you want a game to be removed from your played games list? Don't you want people to know what you've been playing? :P

Dirk Dorkelson @ Apr 30th 2006 2:34PM

Why would you even want a game removed from your played games list, let alone go through the trouble of calling a corporate phone line/being on hold/etc. to do it? Is it such a big deal? Is Wik just not cool enough or something?

Clayj @ Apr 30th 2006 2:40PM

Well, it's Sunday, so it's not like I have a lot of better stuff to do. And as for the game: I downloaded the trial and played it for 2 minutes before deciding I didn't like it. There really oughta be a way to remove stuff like this from your permanent record.

Maybe you don't care about it, but some people do.

Ricky @ Apr 30th 2006 3:19PM

I know what the updates for but can't really tell ya cause it will ruin the suprise. Let just say E3 touch ups for now.

empt @ Apr 30th 2006 3:34PM

Calling Microsoft to get a game removed from your Played list has got to be one of the.....wait, perhaps I shouldn't finish typing. There's no way to end that sentence without being incredibly insulting.

Aquila @ Apr 30th 2006 3:37PM

Why would you post something like that?

Dirk Dorkelson @ Apr 30th 2006 4:24PM

I guess as long as you did, in fact, play the game, it's silly to want it removed from your played games list. You did play the game. It's not like Microsoft is adding games to your played games list to make it look like more people are playing them. If anything, anyone who cared would see that "0" next to Wik and realize you probably didn't care for the game.

Unless you're obsessed with earning all the achievement points for every game you play, in which case you probably need to lighten up.

Also, let's be honest with ourselves. We're not even talking about Wik. We're talking about Rumble Roses XX. You want it removed because you don't want your new girlfriend you met over Xbox Live to see it!

Aquila @ Apr 30th 2006 4:48PM

Wow, you must be a comedian in real life.

The fact is that most game demos don't show in your list of played games. I've DLed demos for Blazing Angels, Battlefield 2, and other games, and none of them are listed on my machine. So why should any other demo be listed?

Give the guy a break. He wants his list of games clean, you don't care about it, so just keep your snarky comments to yourself.

Dirk Dorkelson @ Apr 30th 2006 5:24PM

Aquila,

Isn't you caring about my caring kind of odd, too?

Just having some fun on a Sunday at work, man. Nothing personal. I've had the same nerdy, "God, how do I get rid of this" or "I need to get all the achievements" thoughts, too. But eventually my internal "mellow out" override usually kicks in. Or my girlfriend teases me.

John Valadez @ Apr 30th 2006 5:46PM

'''17. Wow, you must be a comedian in real life.

The fact is that most game demos don't show in your list of played games. I've DLed demos for Blazing Angels, Battlefield 2, and other games, and none of them are listed on my machine. So why should any other demo be listed?

Give the guy a break. He wants his list of games clean, you don't care about it, so just keep your snarky comments to yourself.'''

Wow, I have been reading this and contemplating whether to comment or not, but time to put in my 'snarky comments' since the point of the comment section in my opinion is to discuss the topic; which we are way off on, and to have a few words with our fellow 360fanboys.

In the respect of Clayj and his comments, yes unfortunately there is currently not a way to remove ARCADE games that you play under your gamertag on the list of played games. Yes Aquila you are correct about playing Blazing Angels, BF2:MC, etc. not showing up on your list, but that is because it is a demo of a retail game. If they had included that in the list of played games, there would be a long tedious list to browse on everyone�s GT. [BTW: The only one demo that shows up was the King Kong Kiosk Demo that could be obtained through a 'hacked' torrent DL]

If it really bothers you that much Clayj, as it did to me at the beginning when I first had XBL you can simply create another offline profile and play the demos under another profile so you dont have those Xbox Live Arcade games under your played list.

If any doubts on to why he removed it, he could simply just not want it there, because that Wik icon/character sure does look a bit odd/ugly, or he could have all the achievements on his other games [200/200, 1000/100,etc] and does not care to purchase the full arcade game... AHHH the beauty of demos.

.02 =]

Aquila @ Apr 30th 2006 5:58PM

Fair enough. :)

Hoffer @ Apr 30th 2006 6:50PM

Xbox Live Arcade game demos do show in your played list. I downloaded and played Smash TV, but did not buy it. It has been in my played list ever since. I never bought the game, I just played the demo. I do wish these games were not in my played list.

I would never go through the problem of calling MS to have the games removed. I did however send Major Nelso and email like 2 months ago asking him if this could be changed. Arcade demos should not be in your played list.

Clayj @ Apr 30th 2006 11:03PM

Hoffer, thanks for your support. I'm glad I'm not the only one out here who doesn't want demos listed in my Played Games list. I could've sent e-mail to MN, but I figured I'd give the Xbox Live folks a chance to take care of this... sadly, they couldn't.

To the rest of you: Pppppbbtbtbt. :-)

puh_fifer @ May 1st 2006 12:44PM

Well, back on topic for a second, I would be guessing camera support since it's supposed to be out this month-ish, E3 stuff they've been talking about, and hopefully-if-there's-a-god-somewhere, the ability to download in the background.

Now off topic, people calling about stupid crap like that is the reason I had to wait on hold over an hour when my 360 broke. To all the people out there with burning, idiotic questions, use the email system or online tech support. You will have the thanks and respect of everyone who has a legitimate hardware problem.

Clayj @ May 1st 2006 1:18PM

puh_fifer: I understand your frustration at having to sit on hold for an hour... but a far, far bigger cause of delays in Xbox Live technical support is the fact that most of the folks who staff those tech support lines are CLUELESS. I've had to call in several times, for serious issues (a botcher gamertag change which caused a loss of all saved games, a bricked 360, etc.), and most of the time the support techs I've spoken to just don't know ANYTHING. They don't understand what you tell them, so they ask you to do things that are completely irrelevant to the problem at hand, and they put you on hold constantly.

It would be helpful if Microsoft would post more information on the Xbox.com web site about frequently-asked questions... and I'm not talking about the stuff that's listed now, I'm talking about questions like "Can I remove a game from my list of played games?" or "What exactly is going to be changed this coming Tuesday?" Whatever the answer, it should be documented somewhere on the site. I only call in for technical support as a LAST resort, since it's time-consuming and often frustrating. (I used to be a tech support guy at Microsoft... not an outsourcer, but at Microsoft itself.) The more information they'd post online, in a place where it would be easy to find, the more tech support calls they could avoid having to take. E-mail and web support can sometimes be OK, but it's been my experience that this just stretches an issue out for DAYS or WEEKS while the clueless support tech struggles to understand the very-clear question you asked him.

Oh, and for what it's worth: There are distinct support queues for hardware issues, accessories issues, Xbox Live issues, etc... so my calling in to the Xbox Live queue for a question has no effect on your ability to talk to someone with a hardware question.

puh_fifer @ May 1st 2006 2:35PM

Good point. I know how clueless they are too and could list at least 15 examples here, but for the sake of time I'll just say I've had the same experience as you.

Considering how little they know I wouldn't be surprised if the options only told the person getting a call what was up. Because if the answers we got were from specialists for Live/hardware/accessories, that's just sad.

I found alot more support with google then any FAQ or support page on xbox.com which is insane. The online chat support told me my system needed service and then sent me to the 800 number because they couldn't authorize a repair.

Sorry to be a jerk, but I still think your question is crazy, especially when you already knew they can't figure out how to mail a box for a bricked 360. But, to each their own, at least you found something to do at work on Sunday. You must be in retail hell like I am, so my heart goes out to you.

Clayj @ May 1st 2006 3:32PM

puh_fifer: Well, the getting of a coffin for my bricked 360 was the EASIEST call I've had with them. Told the girl what my 360 was doing, and she said "Sounds like it needs to be exchanged."

I wasn't at work, though... just sitting at home working on my 2nd 360 (which I am now using while waiting for the 1st one to be replaced) and got curious about whether Wik could be removed. And asking them "crazy" questions may be the only thing that ever spurs them to learn anything new... when I did Excel, Outlook, and Office support, a lot of what I learned I learned while working on customer issues. It's the customers, after all, who really work a product and find all of the problems with it.