The new Xbox.com homepage is a pile of shit.

The new Xbox.com homepage is a pile of shit.

Firstly, let me say that I know what a challenge it is to

build large, content hungry sites, with masses of features,

and that's not on a scale even close to what's involved with

Xbox.com, so my criticism isn't blind. Having said that...

What the fuck Microsoft? On a brand so important as Xbox, when

you have the opportunity to refresh your website, why oh why

did you let the work experience kid have final say on the

homepage, the most important page of the entire site? (Argue

what you want about that, but if the homepage is shit, I'm

less likely to expore.)

I'm not bashing the idea, or the content here - the page

follows a fairly standard big-ass image rotator (I like these)

and lesser calls to action for other product features - but

fuck me, the attention to detail is almost non-existant. Look

at the horizontal spacing. Look at the calls to action below

the 4 sub-sections. Look at the main navigation. Once you've

finished throwing up, and have brushed your teeth, think about

who designed and built this thing, and the power the weild.

This is fucking Microsoft (and yes, I'm well aware of Windows

ME) - by this point in time, they should be launching prodcuts

that stand up to the finest scrutiny, especially with

something as easy to fix as this.

Not being a complete waste of space, I decided to try and fix

these problems one lunch hour, purely from a design point of

view on the homepage. Take a look at my lunchtime Xbox.com

refresh. Now take a look at the current Xbox.com. Which is better, from a design point of view?

I don't toot my own horn very much (I don't want to

remove that 4th rib), but I think even a dead horse would be

able to say that mine is a step up visually, and offers some

clearer calls to action. The fact that I did this in about an  

hour, and could code it up (without resorting to Silverlight -

seriously, just let it die) in another couple of hours should

make the head of web for Microsoft hang his head in shame.

I was hoping that the oddities of the design would iron

themselves out, but 2 weeks after launch, and it's still the

same. That's a massive shame, because while I might have used

the old Xbox.com from time to time, to add friends and

schedule downloads, I don't see myself using this version

unless I really really have to.

If anyone at Microsoft wants to pay me to clean up their mess, I can bring my own mop.