In 2006 UXalliance partners carried out a usability evaluation of the Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360. The objectives of the research were to:
• Uncover usability issues of the Xbox 360
• Ascertain where issues of usability are affected by cultural differences between the test countries
• Establish a usability benchmark to enable comparison with future games consoles
• Compare the Xbox 360 with the original Xbox in terms of usability
The following test locations were used for this project:
• Axance, Paris, France
• Serco ExperienceLab, London, UK
• SirValUse, Hamburg, Germany
• User Centric, Chicago, USA
• Xperience Consulting, Madrid, Spain
12 participants were tested in each country, ranging from novice to expert gamers. Each user was asked to complete the same 7 tasks so that comparable results could be drawn across the 5 countries.
The results of the study included the following discoveries:
• The main issue affecting user behaviour, between countries, was the accuracy of translated text options.
• Overall, there seemed to be little cultural difference between users in different countries. Most issues were consistent across countries.
• The range of new features on the Xbox 360 did not appear to have negatively impacted its usability, when compared with the Xbox.
Through deep analysis of the research findings UXalliance consultants were able to provide prioritized, actionable design recommendations.
Read the full report: Xbox_Study.pdf
