Still downloading... downloading... downloading... (Xbox 360 annoyance #003.1)

by James Ransom-Wiley { Mar 7th 2006 at 11:45AM }

We're all about Xbox Live's game demo service. In theory. Last night, we spent just over 90 minutes waiting to get our sweaty palms on The Outfit demo (and we know we're not alone). The problem for us wasn't that it took so long. We knew that 6 PM (Eastern) wasn't the best time to fetch the file. And we knew that our broadband connection probably wasn't optimized for this function. The point is, we anticipated a long download-and we were okay with that.

The real problem is that the Xbox 360 is crippled when it's downloading. We've known about this. We've bitched about it before. But last night's episode warrants another post. It's not like we can't find anything to do for 90 minutes (there is a world of possibilities out there, right?). But, if Microsoft wants to claim that the Xbox 360 is all about choice, then give us that choice. Let us listen to music. Let us watch DVDs. Heck, let us play games! Let us do all of these things while we download a game demo from the Marketplace. Microsoft, are you listening?

Other Xbox 360 annoyances: 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011, 012, 013

Xbox 360 delights: 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011

Tags: 360annoy, Download, Marketplace, The Outfit, TheOutfit, THQ, Xbox Live, XboxLive

Related From Joystiq

This Wednesday: Call of Duty Classic storms Xbox Live
20 hours ago
Microsoft says it's 'well within legal rights' to ban consoles
8 days ago
Whitten: Xbox Live banning 'a cat and mouse game'
10 days ago

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

kl00t @ Mar 7th 2006 11:57AM

Yeah, it took a while didn't it. Mine ass half way through and I gave up. I expect the whole world is trying to download the demo though.

Sean Bureau @ Mar 7th 2006 12:01PM

The Demo sucks anyhow

m3mnoch @ Mar 7th 2006 12:03PM

this is probably the one 'feature' that irritates me the most. i can't believe that they didn't recognize the need for asynchronous downloads at design time. there has to be a bigger story to it because, that's just dumb to the point of absurdity.

i think it needs to be a full #14 and titled 'still not fixed!'

m3mnoch.

Dennis @ Mar 7th 2006 12:04PM

I can't agree more. It seems like such a basic necessity of a system like this. Background downloading in my opinion should be priority number one for Microsoft in upcoming patches.

jaemz @ Mar 7th 2006 12:04PM

I agree, not being able to do anything while downloading is a drag. Surely with the multimedia multitasking abilities, the X360 can handle this with ease.

I am sure I read somewhere on xbox.com's site that you can do both... an early interview with J Allard or somthing. If I find that interview, I will post it.

c'mon billy and co... make it happen.

Mr. Minus Star @ Mar 7th 2006 12:06PM

The download took 15 minutes for me and that was also around 6PM Eastern Time.

puh_fifer @ Mar 7th 2006 12:07PM

You forgot the part about the download starting at 50% and then staying there for the first 45 minutes. I was a lucky one last night who started downloading it after my friends and finished before them. Although everytime we went into private chat to talk and then having to restart the download was annoying.

Also, I love the finger on the projector, Im glad Im not the only one obsessed with that. My girlfriend is getting a lil peeved with the middle finger popping up during law and order.

Anywho, how was the demo, I thought it was good, but somewhat laggy and very complex to just jump into. But it became good after about 20 minutes, the fun lasted for 20 minutes, then the next 20 became agonizingly boring since it was limited to one level/gametype.

dsub @ Mar 7th 2006 12:07PM

I don't understand where alot of people are coming from with this "long download" stuff. I downloaded this last night after I read on here it had been posted. Took no more than 20-25 minutes. I've got a 5mbps download connection, which may be a little faster than most peoples, but this download which was around 450MB barely took longer to pull off than it would have on my PC. How fast is your connection James? I could see this taking a while on say a 1 or 2mbps DSL connection or something...

Whenever I download stuff on my 360 I usually download it while I'm doing something else, or go make a sandwich or something, or watch TV for a little bit, so later when I come to play it I can just jump right in.

Psygnosis2097 @ Mar 7th 2006 12:09PM

I guess HDTV via VGA is too outdated to be supported by this demo.

itsgreen @ Mar 7th 2006 12:09PM

Amen.

Even worse is that it doesn't indicate speed or timeleft, so you don't have any clue when it is going to be finished.

dsub @ Mar 7th 2006 12:10PM

to me the demo played much like a third person battlefield 2. Almost to the point where it seemed like a rip off of BF2, only with some more entertaining vehicles (wagons/tractors) and better environtment destruction.

bill pullman @ Mar 7th 2006 12:10PM

who flips off like that? is it still 1991?

MMT @ Mar 7th 2006 12:13PM

The Xbox is not totally crippled while downloading. If you were listening to music before you started the download, your music still plays during the wait. By the way, WMA lossless files sound fantastic!

Sockatume @ Mar 7th 2006 12:13PM

Not completely on topic, but people have been crying out (since the C64 days, no less) for simple games to play during loading screens.

Now, on the C64, that would've been ridiculous (you'd need to spend 10 minutes loading the loading screen), but current consoles should surely have enough power to give you Pac-Man or something during your loading screens.

zenprism @ Mar 7th 2006 12:13PM

I tried to download The Outfit demo last night. After 2 hours (of watching 24) it was still less than 5% done, so I gave up and tried this morning, waking up early to get it started. Worked out for an hour and when I got back it was done. I had so much time before work I downloaded the Battlefield 2 (720p) trailer.
Side note: I enjoyed The Outfit demo for my half-hour play session this morning. Not the best game ever, but enjoyable (especially for FREE).

you mom @ Mar 7th 2006 12:17PM

Awesome demo.... but its an RTS and not a 3rd person shooter or anywhere close to battlefield 2... duh... takes me 90 min but i am on slow DSL 1.f MBs thats all we can afford is DSL. And that is the highest offered in my area.

Techno Relix @ Mar 7th 2006 12:18PM

The demo download took me about 15 mins at approx. 6 pm EST.

I think there will be an update at some point that lets us do an synchronous download. However, I think that would lead to slower download speed, as the system would still need to reserve some bandwidth if people we playing multiplayer on live.

Snap @ Mar 7th 2006 12:19PM

I'd really like to actually SEE the demo listed in the Marketplace.... Where the heck is it? And yes, I'm a Gold member.

Nushio @ Mar 7th 2006 12:21PM

Regarding the annoyances, I'm surprised you didnt turn the "drinking and buying" into an xbox annoyance.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/27/alcohol-and-micropayments-mix-all-too-well/

dork @ Mar 7th 2006 12:22PM

funny how it took me 15 minutes on a normal cable modem...maybe you guys should stop bitching. You bitch for a demo... the demo comes out...you bitch because a million people are downloading it at once and its taking you more than 20 minutes....

ill trooper @ Mar 7th 2006 12:24PM

My friend mentioned that you can still use the chat while it's downloading... I didn't even think to try...

I just left the box do it's thing like the grumpy little curmudgeon it is when you download on it - it's odd that a company that made itself rich off of an operating system hasn't implemented some sort of multitasking while downloading, but maybe it's a trade off to keep downloads brisk and to the point (a relative term here) so more people can use the servers... Get your download, move along...

Clone45 @ Mar 7th 2006 12:27PM

To advance the download to 50% in a matter of seconds, just start the download let it go a few % and then cancel. Resume the download and it will automatically forward to 50%.

slow news day @ Mar 7th 2006 12:28PM

Most of us still don't have a 360 to complain about yet, so you'll understand if you gather no sympathy from me.

peeweejd @ Mar 7th 2006 12:30PM

yeah, that is annoying as hell...

also annoying is how long it takes to log into live... its like 20 seconds too long...

Nate @ Mar 7th 2006 12:31PM

I really don't understand how this is such an annoyance for people. I mean the only thing downloading doesn't allow you to do is use your Xbox. Doesn't mean you can't use your computer for a while, go outside and (gasp) get some exercise, make dinner, etc. etc.

Last night, I watched a movie on my DVD player while The Outfit demo was downloading....when the movie was over, I made something to eat....download was done, I started playing.

Mazy @ Mar 7th 2006 12:32PM

Totally. I'm still amazed that they haven't done anything about this, it's quite absurd.

Hopefully if we all bitch they'll know its stupid since they apparently cant figure that out on their own :G

Oh and the demo was pretty meh, looked an old Xbox game at best. Also I had to set it to SD to play it, wouldn't go on HD. Anybody else had that? I could've sworn I heard Microsoft say that all games had to be in HD. I assumed that went for demos as well :)

ill trooper @ Mar 7th 2006 12:32PM

"who flips off like that? is it still 1991?"

It's the correct way to do it, because your other two fingers form the BALLS, bro... Don't get it twisted, the 'long finger from a fist' is not issuing forth the BALLS!

Takin' back to 1991!

Chris @ Mar 7th 2006 12:40PM

Ill trooper, I bet you wore hammer pants and slap wristbands while you listened to C&C music factory on your walkman. *shiver*

aDub @ Mar 7th 2006 12:43PM

I also had a speedy download, @10-15 minutes at noon yesterday. I have Comcast cable 8mb connection.

I agree that multimedia features, i.e. music, chat, dashboard and at the very least xbox arcade games should be accessible during downloads. This would be a great system update Microsoft... you listening?

jabbertrack @ Mar 7th 2006 12:45PM

it is quite absurd

and it wasn't your connection... I had plenty of bandwidth available, it's just that demo that was the slow download

This is the only annoyance I am willing to actually label 'legit'.

ill trooper @ Mar 7th 2006 12:45PM

I'm wearing hammer pants right now! Is that weird? How did you know that?

Daryl @ Mar 7th 2006 12:48PM

Maybe you guys should chime in on Major Nelsons XBOX Blog maybe they will hear ya and make changes.. Just a thought.

toobusy2wait @ Mar 7th 2006 12:53PM

I have a theory. All of the complaints are from DSL users. 12Mbps dowload took no time at all, so spend some bucks on Cable. These game demos aren't going to be small. I guess having the option to slow down your download so you can multi-task would be a good feature for you, but I doubt the Live market place would benifit. If everyone is taking longer to download, the waiting line just gets longer and longer.

Get Cable and then find something else to do for 5 minutes.

dsub @ Mar 7th 2006 1:01PM

"Awesome demo.... but its an RTS and not a 3rd person shooter or anywhere close to battlefield 2... duh... takes me 90 min but i am on slow DSL 1.f MBs thats all we can afford is DSL. And that is the highest offered in my area."

how is this an RTS game?

Command and Conquer is an RTS game, Axis & Allies is an RTS game. This is NOT an RTS game. At the beginning of each spawn, you choose your soldier, you have a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, and grenades of some sort. Each soldier has different weapons, strengths and weaknesses, JUST LIKE BF2. Once you are in the game, you view and control your character from the third person point of view and SHOOT your weapons from this point of view. (thus, third person shooter) You can also offer squad commands, JUST LIKE BF2. The strategic victory mode that is unlocked in the demo, is JUST LIKE BF2. You start at a main checkpoint, and the object is to move across the map, overtaking various checkpoints along the way, and eventually make your way to the enemies base, where you try to take that over as well. Whoever holds less checkpoints, loses points...the game is over when your team controls all checkpoints or the other team runs out of points. You can only respawn at checkpoints that you control. JUST LIKE BATTLEFIELD 2. The damn maps even look just like the do in BF2. This was a fun game, but I don't see how you can call it an RTS, and even more so, not compare it to BF2.

Have you even played BF2?

Digi Smalls @ Mar 7th 2006 1:02PM

you CAN chat while downloading. but you gotta start it before.

the whole Live download system is kludgy at best, and MS will get to it eventually (just too glaring to be ignored) the problem is that it takes FOREVER for things to be evaulated, tested, approved and finally served to make it onto your box. especially with the dashboard update that it'd take to finally fix this whole thing.

don't be like your PC software brothers, Xbox team. leave the bureaucracy in PC land.

puh_fifer @ Mar 7th 2006 1:10PM

To the guy who claimed spend some bucks on cable, it all depends on where you live. Where I live Im forced to adelphia cable which doesnt run nearly as fast as advertised (especially on upload, crucial to hosting) and DSL works better. Unfortunately, when I moved my new apartment was about 100 yards from where DSL service stops being available. So to just label DSL users as poor and inferior to cable is moronic. I wish I had DSL again, it was 20$ a month less for a faster, less latent connection. And if you're so rich get fiber to your house, dick.

Bill Gates @ Mar 7th 2006 1:12PM

Haha got ya ;)

nbcaffeine @ Mar 7th 2006 1:14PM

Do what i do, I start some music playing before i start the download. that keeps working while the download goes, but you dont have any controll over it. Background downloads needs to happen on the 360 with some of the demos running over a GB!

Desert @ Mar 7th 2006 1:26PM

I'm not fine with the downloads. It took me 4 hours to download The Outfit demo. I'm on a broadband cable connection. And no, it's not because the servers were being hit hard, anything and EVERYTHING I download on the Xbox Marketplace takes 10x longer than it should. Everything I'm downloading on my PC is nice and fast.

crym fytr @ Mar 7th 2006 1:38PM

it had nothing to do with dsl or cable peeps. I can easily get 3-5mbps for anything else using my university's network. The PGR3 demo was much larger and for me took far less time. This was not a large demo and yet it took hours more than any other I've downloaded (I even started downloading before the news was posted).

GNman @ Mar 7th 2006 1:52PM

Didnt take long for me to download it but people do not waste your time. This game is pure shit!

scott thomson @ Mar 7th 2006 1:56PM

Im not shure if anyone else out there knows the trick to downloading big files in half the time but i stubled onto it when i first started useing the maketplace. When you start downloading somethingsay the outfit for example imediatly cancel it and download it again. Your % will jum p from 5 to 50 in 1 sec if it doent work the first time keep trying till it does.

toobusy2wait @ Mar 7th 2006 1:59PM

lol puh_fifer sounds very sensitive about his dsl. To think that DSL ISN'T inferior to cable is moronic.

It isn't a matter of money. My point was that many of these complaints should be directed at your dsl provider. I pay $30 a month for almost 15Mbps down and 2 Mbps up. If I were rich, I would throw in another $15 a month for 30 down and 5 up. If a file is in demand, it will slow everything down for everyone, just like PC access. The cheap-assed dsl has pretty much ruined Xbox Live with it's lost packets and slower than advertised speeds.

Even with the demand for the demo, I downloaded in less than 10 minutes.

mike @ Mar 7th 2006 2:06PM

Just to let you know. Everyone on gamefaqs think you all are stupid for complaining about it.??

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=988&topic=26786503

The Advent @ Mar 7th 2006 2:09PM

Ha, GameFAQs :p

I think it's a legitimate complaint, one of those simple common sense things that shouldn't take over 3 months since launch to fix.

J Low @ Mar 7th 2006 2:13PM

I guess the big bitching from people which isn't being heard is that there are a great number of us who do have speedy connections or at least fast ones and this thing still took an inordinate ammount of time to download.

I have a 5 mb/s cable line at home and I had the d/l going for about 4 hours before I gave up on it @ 78%. Those of you who got it in 10 minutes are lucky, but it's obviously a problem with MS having the server capacity to get things to people quickly. What I find refreshing though is that when you actually purchase something on marketplace you get your download incredibly fast, which is the way it should be.