Xbox 360 to get Minority Report-Style Interface?

Rumour has it that the Spring Update for the Xbox 360 will bring with it a swanky new 3D dashboard makeover. A 3D makeover that will make use of the unconfirmed motion-sensitive 360 remote!

The new graphical user interface (GUI) will apparently look not dissimilar from that seen in use by Tom Cruise in Minority Report. All the elements that currently appear on the dashboard will be re-organised in a collection of floating windows which users can slide through using the '360mote'.

This comes from Kotaku, which claims it was told as much by "a number of sources". It also claims that the interface is being designed by a design agency called Schematic, which just so happens to employ a chap called Dale Herigstad as its chief creative officer. Herigstad worked on the design of the user interface in Minority Report. Intriguing stuff.

The bit about the 360-mote is the sticker for SPOnG. IF the makeover is coming and depends on a 360mote (which we still don't know exists), it doesn't seem likely that we'll see the revamp any time soon. If there's any truth to this, it seems more likely to SPOnG that the new dashboard will be navigable using the traditional controller, with support for a 360-mote possibly built in for when it emerges, IF it emerges.

Alternatively, the Spring update could just lay down the groundwork for such a makeover to be realised at a later date. That would certainly be in keeping with the assertion by Xbox Live's general manager, Marc Whitten, that "most users will not notice any significant changes to the dashboard this spring". A complete and instant overhaul of the GUI? Not so much.

One thing this rumour certainly has in its favour is the fact that the interface sounds similar to the way windows can be scrolled through in Vista.

^{Source: Kotaku}