Xbox Live (
trademarked as
Xbox LIVE) is an
online
multiplayer gaming and
digital media delivery service created
and operated by
Microsoft Corporation. It
is currently the only
online gaming
service (on
consoles) that
charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made
available to the
Xbox system in 2002. An
updated version of the service became available for the
Xbox 360 console at that system's launch in 2005.
On the
Windows platform, the
service is named
Games for
Windows - Live, which makes most aspects of the system
available on Windows computers. Microsoft has announced plans to
extend Live to other platforms such as
handhelds and
mobile
phones as part of the
Live
Anywhere initiative.
History

Xbox 360 Dashboard
As
Microsoft developed the original
Xbox console, online gaming was designated as
one of the key pillars for the greater Xbox strategy.
Sega had made an attempt to capitalize on the
ever-growing online gaming scene when it launched the
Dreamcast video game console in 1999, including
online support as standard. Nevertheless, due to lack of widespread
broadband adoption at the time, the Dreamcast shipped with only a
dial-up modem while a later-released broadband adapter was not
widely supported or widely available.
Downloadable content was available,
though limited in size due to the narrowband connection and the
size limitations of a
memory card. The
online features, while praised as innovative, were largely
considered a failure, and the Dreamcast's immediate competitor, the
PlayStation 2 did not ship with
built-in network adapters.
Microsoft, however, hoped that the Xbox would succeed where the
Dreamcast had failed. The company determined that intense online
gaming required the throughput of a
broadband connection and the
storage space of a
hard disk drive, and
thus these PC-style features would be vital to the new platform.
This would allow not only for significant downloadable content,
such as new levels, maps, weapons, challenges and characters, to be
downloaded quickly and stored, but also would make it possible to
standardize bandwidth intensive features such as voice
communication. Steve Balmer and
Bill
Gates both had a vision of making premium download content and
add-ons that would attract many new paying
customers to earn money. Based on this reasoning, the console
included a standard
Ethernet port (10/100)
in order to provide connectivity to common
broadband networks, but did not include a
modem or any dial-up support, and its online service was designed
to support broadband users only. Critics scoffed at the idea,
citing poor broadband adoption at the turn of the century.
When the Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, the as-yet unnamed
online service was destined for a Summer 2002 deployment. Xbox Live
was finally given a name at
E3 2002 when the service
was unveiled in its entirety. Sound-dampened booths and
broadband-connected Xbox consoles - featuring an early version of
Unreal Championship -
demonstrated the service on the show floor. The
Epic title was one of the flagship titles for the
service, which was slated for a debut on November 15, 2002, marking
the anniversary of the Xbox launch. Microsoft announced that 50
Xbox Live titles would be available by the end of 2003. Utilizing
the required broadband bandwidth, Xbox Live featured a unified
gaming "Friends List", as well as a single identity across all
titles (regardless of the publisher), and standardized
voice chat and communication; a feature that was
still in its infancy.
Leading up to the launch, Microsoft enlisted several waves of
beta testers to improve the
service and receive feature feedback. The first wave of beta
testers were given Revolt! (which never was released officially)
and NFL Fever to beta test. Once beta tested concluded, Microsoft
sent these beta testers a translucent orange memory card, a headset
carrying case, and a beta tester tshirt with the slogan "I have
great hands". When the service debuted, it lacked much of the
functionality that later titles included, but Xbox Live grew and
evolved on the Xbox and many aspects of the service were included
with the
Xbox 360 console
out of the box, rather than through a later
update. Microsoft's 5000th patent was Live-related and gave Xbox
360 users access to watch other gamers compete against each other
over Xbox Live.
The packaging for playable Xbox Live titles on the original Xbox
console featured the trademark
gold bar
underneath the Xbox header.
Tom Clancy's Splinter
Cell and
Brute
Force sported a Live "bubble" design, as they only
featured downloadable content. This was changed later, wherein all
Xbox Live titles included the universal gold Live bar. By the time
of the Xbox 360, all titles were required to provide at least a
limited form of Xbox Live "awareness".
On November 15, 2007 Microsoft celebrated Xbox Live's 5th
anniversary by offering its then over 8 million subscribers the
title
Carcassonne
free of charge and awarding gamers who had subscribed to Live since
its inception 500 free
Microsoft
Points. Due to intermittent service interruptions during late
December 2007 and early January 2008, Microsoft promised to offer a
free
Xbox Live Arcade game to all
Xbox Live users as compensation, concluding that, Marc Whitten has
released an
open letter to all Xbox Live
members. Increased demand from Xbox 360 purchasers (the largest
number of
new user sign-ups in the history
of Xbox Live) was given as the reason for the downtime. On January
18, 2008, Microsoft announced
Undertow would be offered free
for the week starting January 23 through January 27 as
compensation. The game was for both Silver and Gold users, so
people who paid for their Xbox Live service got the same
compensation as non payers.
On January 6, 2009, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live had now
reached 17 million members.
Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices President
Robbie Bach claims that Xbox Live sets the
360 apart from its rivals. “Xbox Live is a big differentiator for
us,” said Bach to investor.com, “That drives a significant amount
of energy around what’s on with Xbox.” Bach cites the exclusive
downloadable content for
GTA IV
as a reason why Microsoft’s online service is superior to its
rivals.
Xbox Live
exclusive servers are based in Seattle, Washington
while using some of Microsoft's other servers in
Quincy
and Yakima, Washington
.
Xbox Live features
Comparison of
Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Live Silver
Feature |
Live Silver |
Live Gold |
Pricing |
Free |
|
Voice chat |
Yes |
Yes |
Video chat |
No |
Yes |
Avatars |
Yes |
Yes |
Downloadable content |
Yes1 |
Yes |
Multiplayer gaming |
No |
Yes |
Parties |
No |
Yes |
Netflix movie
streaming2 |
No |
Yes3 |
Sky
Player4 |
No |
Yes5 |
Xbox Live Arcade point
results6 |
Yes |
Yes6 |
1Some content available one week after Gold
subscribers
2Available in US only
3Only available to Netflix members
4Available in UK and Ireland only
5Sky subscription required
6All Xbox Live Arcade games might go to the Xbox
Live Arcade Compilation Disc when winning on
videogames.
|
Windows Live Messenger allows
users of Xbox Live, PCs (Both on the
Windows and
Macintosh platforms), and
Windows Mobile devices to connect and
directly message each other. It is possible to chat with up to six
thousand people at one time, while playing games, listening to
music, or watching movies. This complements the existing voice and
video chat of Xbox Live. Users
will see at a glance if their existing contacts on
Windows Live Messenger have
Gamertags. As of the December 4, 2007
dashboard update,
Windows Live
Messenger on Xbox Live is now available to child accounts if
the user is 13 years of age or older.
On September 4, 2007, Microsoft launched the
Xbox
360 Messenger Kit, a small
QWERTY keypad
that connects directly into the Xbox 360 controller, either wired
or wireless, to support text and instant messaging.
Current features
- Mottos for display on gamer profiles
- Game achievements, which are earned during gameplay
- Reputation rating which is voted on by other players who decide
to either prefer or avoid another player. The reputation defaults
to 100% (Five stars) over time after one player has preferred
you.
- Gamerscores, which are a total of a player's achievement
points
- Friends list, which is a list of a
player's chosen friends, up to 100 friends allowed
- Recent player list, which lists the last 50 players a user has
played with
- Complaint filing system, which allows a user to report another
user that has broken the Xbox Live Terms of
Use
- Windows Live messenger integration
- Access to Xbox Live
Marketplace content, including new game content, games and
movies
- Voice Chat (wireless or wired headset required, Xbox Live
Silver members are limited to two-player voice chat, while 3+
player voice chat has been implemented for Gold members with the
New Xbox Experience)
- Video Chat (Live Vision camera
required, with headset optional for chatting)
- Multiplayer gameplay, where a user can link up 4 Xbox's to play
together (known as system link), or connect online (Online requires
Xbox Live Gold)
- Enhanced matchmaking using cumulative gamerscore, reputation,
location/language profile, and gamer zone
- Bio section in which one can list personal interests, URLs,
etc.
- Parental controls, limiting
children's exposure to other users ("Family Settings")
- Inside Xbox is a newsletter about Xbox Live news, events,
products, interviews and games that is integrated in the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Content for Inside
Xbox is created by the Xbox global marketing team and features
streaming video segments "Pick Up
and Play", "Major’s Minute" with Larry
Hryb and "Game with Fame"
- Halo Waypoint allows users to track achievement progress of
Halo 3, Halo Wars, and Halo 3: ODST, unlock Halo-related Xbox
Avatar rewards, and access videos, pictures and interviews from
Halo series developers and the gaming community.
Halo Legends anime episodes
and previews will also be streamed through Halo Waypoint.
- Last.fm allows users to stream their
favourite music and search for related artists
- Social networking sites Facebook and
Twitter are accessible over Xbox Live. Both
are currently only available to users the age of 18 and over, but a
future update will also users between the ages of 13-17 to access
the application under a parents agreement
- Zune Marketplace (formerly
the Video Marketplace) will allow users to stream movies and TV
shows instantly in 1080p HD with 5.1 surround sound
- Movie Parties will allow for movies and TV shows to be viewable
with friends over Xbox Live.
- Sky Player is available in the UK and
Ireland for a fee. This is shows live and on-demand tv including
Sky News and the Disney Channel.
Upcoming features
Tuesday November 10, 2009, the release date of Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare 2 was, according to G4 via the text messaging game update
service, the busiest day of Xbox Live.
User information
Gamertag
A Gamertag is the universal name for a
player's username on Microsoft's Xbox Live.
A Gamertag used online must be unique and can be up to 15
characters in length, including numbers, letters, and spaces.
Gamertags can be changed using a premium service on the Xbox 360
console (for a price of 800 Microsoft Points), the system supports
8 Xbox Live-enabled profiles per memory unit and 32 profiles on the
hard drive.
A player's Gamertag account status can be checked using a variety
of online tools, which is useful especially when looking for a new
gamertag, or confirming that a Gamertag exists. Using a valid
Gamertag, any player can be located and messaged from within Live.
There are also several websites which allow users of Gamertags to
upload photos and information about themselves.
Gamertags can be used in a variety of places, including the
original
Xbox, the
Xbox
360,
Games for Windows -
Live,
Zune, and
XNA Creators Club.
Gamertags also contain avatar images (or "gamer pictures"), often associated with certain games or game characters. Individual gamerpics cost between 15 and 20 Microsoft Points, but they are usually bundled into packs; packs of four or five gamerpics usually cost 80 Microsoft Points, while packs of ten typically cost 150.
Gamerscore
The Gamerscore (G) is a measure that corresponds to the number of
Achievement points accumulated by a user with an Xbox Live profile.
These Achievement points are awarded for the completion of
game-specific challenges, such as beating a
level or amassing a
specified number of wins against other players in Xbox Live
matches. Initially, retail Xbox 360 games offered up to 1,000G
spread over a variable number of Achievements, while each
Xbox Live Arcade title contained 12
achievements totaling 200G.
On February 1, 2007,
Microsoft announced
on their Gamerscore Blog some new policies that developers must
follow related to Gamerscore and Achievements in future releases.
All regular disc-based games must have 1,000 Gamerscore points in
the base game - the title can ship with fewer than 1,000 points,
but anything added later must be free.
Game developers also now have the option of
adding up to 250 points via downloadable content every quarter
after the first year of release (for a total of 1,750 points). Xbox
Live Arcade titles must have 200 Gamerscore and may add up to 50
points via downloadable content (for a total of 250 points).
On May 26, 2007,
Halo 2 was the
first
Games for Windows game to
feature Achievements, which counted towards a player's
Gamerscore.
On March 25, 2008, Microsoft cracked down on "Gamerscore cheaters"
(those who used external tools to artificially inflate their
Gamerscore), and reduced their Gamerscores to zero without the
option to recover the scores that had been "earned", and branded
the player by denoting on their Gamertag that they were a
"Cheater".
Gamercard
The Gamercard is an information panel used to summarize one's user
profile on Microsoft's Xbox Live. The pieces of information on a
Gamercard include:
- Gamertag (in front a silver or gold bar)(active gold members
feature small bubbles to the right of the bar while inactive users
dont)
- Gamer picture (avatar)
- Reputation
- Gamerscore
- Gamer Zone
- Recent games played
A player's Gamercard can be viewed via the
Xbox 360 Dashboard, or online through
Xbox.com. The
top bar that displays the Gamertag is shown in front of either a
silver or gold bar which designates if the gamer has an Xbox Live
Silver or Gold superscription. If the gamer is part of the
Xbox 360 Launch Team, the top bar will also
have additional text stating "Launch Team" in the background. Third
party sites allow users to post a rendered version of their
Gamercard as a small
Flash applet or
JPEG image on any website or
Internet forum.
Similarly,
Mac OS X users can download
widgets
that display their Xbox Live Gamercard within
Mac
OS X's
Dashboard.
These can
be downloaded onto any Mac with OS X
10.4 or higher via Apple's
widget
download page.
There are four Gamer Zones;
Recreation is for casual
gamers,
Family is for
family-friendly gamers (without
profanity, etc.),
Pro is for competitive gamers who enjoy
a challenge, and
Underground is for no-holds-barred gaming
where
anything goes (as long as it
does not violate the Xbox Live Terms of Use). However, in practice
these gamer zones are displayed only on the Gamercard of the
player, and don't tend to affect the gameplay experience or the
matching of players in
online
games.
TrueSkill
TrueSkill is a ranking and matchmaking
system premiering in the Xbox 360 live services. Developed at
Microsoft Research Cambridge
(England), the TrueSkill
ranking system
is now used in over 150 titles for the Xbox 360 . It uses a
mathematical model of uncertainty
to address weaknesses in existing ranking systems such as
ELO. For example, a new player joining
million-player leagues can be ranked correctly in fewer than 20
games. It can predict the probability of each game outcome, which
enhances competitive matchmaking, making it possible to assemble
skill-balanced teams from a group of players with different
abilities.
When matchmaking, the system attempts to match individuals based on
their estimated skill level. If two individuals are competing
head-to-head and have the same estimated skill level with low
estimate uncertainty, they should each have roughly a 50% chance of
winning a match. In this way, the system attempts to make every
match as competitive as possible.
In order to prevent abuse of the system, the majority of ranked
games have relatively limited options for matchmaking. By design,
players cannot easily play with their friends in ranked games.
However, these countermeasures have failed due to techniques such
as alternate account(s) and system flaws where each system has its
own individual trueskill rating. To provide less competitive games,
the system supports unranked
Player Matches, which allow
individuals of any skill level to be paired (often including
"guests" on an account). Such matches do not contribute to the
TrueSkill rating.
New Xbox Experience
At
E3 2008, Microsoft announced that all
Xbox 360 owners would receive a new dashboard update, titled New
Xbox Experience (NXE), on November 19, 2008 that has added many new
features. Though the new interface is generally downloaded when a
new Xbox is connected to Xbox Live, some games, including
Fight Night 4, will also update it.
One feature is the ability to watch standard quality and
720p streaming movies and TV shows from
Netflix, through the Xbox 360. This feature is
exclusive to Xbox Live Gold members in the USA with Netflix
Unlimited. Recently added, users are able to watch Netflix titles
with their friends in a party with up to 8 players. Xbox Live
members have the ability to view over 12,000 movies and episodes.
Users can browse for titles based on their interests and Netflix
ratings with the Xbox interface. Users no longer need to visit the
website to choose the content to watch. When a player parties up
with a group, they also have the ability to join games together,
chat together or view a slideshow of photos.
Another feature gives players the ability to create
Avatars. Players are able to customize
avatars by changing body shape, facial features, hair and clothes,
as well as new clothing being released from time to time. Xbox Live
requires that users select an avatar. Another feature is the
ability to install an entire game disc onto the Xbox 360's
hard drive, which decreases loading times, and
significantly reduces noise due to the game being read from the
hard drive and not the louder disc drive. For most games this
feature also reduces the amount of time spent reading the disc,
therefore helping to extend the
life-span of the
optical drive mechanism.
During the Press Conference at E3, Microsoft announced
Xbox Live Primetime, a series of
scheduled programs where Xbox Live members can play against each
other. The first announced game is an adaptation of the
Endemol game show
1 vs. 100 in which one Xbox Live
member will play against 100 other members with a live host and
prizes awarded. This service is currently in an open beta in Canada
and the United States.
The Xbox Guide has also been redesigned. Players are not only able
to view their friends and messages, but are able to access their
game library. If a user has installed any game onto their Xbox 360
Hard drive, they are able to immediately start the game from the
guide, whether they are in a game or in the dashboard. Microsoft
also confirmed that every new 360 comes with 3 free Xbox Live Gold
trial accounts, upon creating a new account the player is allowed
to claim a trial period upon refusing to pay for Gold subscription;
therefore allowing the user to try online gameplay for that one
month trial period, after which the player is required to pay
subscription fees to continue matchmaking online. Major Nelson also
announced that the update supports 16:10 on VGA or HDMI, expanding
the choice of resolutions.
While previous system updates have been stored on
internal memory, this is the first update to
require a
storage device. The update
requires at least 128MB
free space on
either a memory card or a
hard drive.
Microsoft has stated that many Core or Arcade users will not have
sufficient space on their limited memory cards for the new update
and thus provided them with a free 512MB memory card or a
discounted 20GB hard drive for a limited time. This promotion has
since ended and all new arcade units now come with 512MB of
internal memory.
The NXE was leaked onto Torrent sites and could be installed via a
USB drive. Microsoft's Major Nelson
stated that unauthorized installation of NXE would result in the
users console being banned from Xbox Live until its official
release which was on November 19, 2008.
Xbox Live Marketplace and Zune Marketplace

Xbox Live Game Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace is a unified storefront which offers both
free and premium content for download including
Xbox Live Arcade titles,
original Xbox games, Xbox 360 game
demos, game expansion material (e.g. extra maps, vehicles, songs),
trailers, gamer pictures and themes, television shows,
music videos, movie rentals, and more.
On 17th of November 2009, Microsoft released a downloadable Zune
application for the Xbox 360. This application turns your Xbox 360
into a Zune device. Once you download the Zune application, it
takes over the Marketplace menus and sections of the console. With
the addition of the Zune Marketplace to a Xbox 360 console, you are
able to purchase movies instead of only being able to rent them.
The Zune Marketplace has a much more extensive content offering
compared to the classic Xbox Live Marketplace.
Video Marketplace
On November 6, 2006, Microsoft announced the Xbox Video
Marketplace, an exclusive video store accessible through the
console. Launched in the United States.. on November 22, 2006, the
first anniversary of the Xbox 360's launch, the service allows
users in the United States to download
high-definition and
standard-definition
television shows for purchase and movies for rental onto an
Xbox 360 console for viewing. With the exception of short clips,
content is not currently available for streaming, and must be
downloaded. Microsoft has also announced that its
Microsoft TV service will add
IPTV functionality to the console, giving users the
ability to stream 2 simultaneous HD and 2 simultaneous SD channels.
Movies are available for rental from the Video Marketplace.. They
expire in 14 days after download or at the end of the first 24
hours after the movie has begun playing, whichever comes first.
Television episodes can be purchased to own, and are transferable
to an unlimited number of consoles. Downloaded files use 5.1
surround audio and are encoded using
VC-1 for video at 720p, with a
bitrate of 6.8 Mbit/s. Television content is
offered from
MTV,
VH1,
Comedy Central,
Turner Broadcasting, and
CBS; and movie content is
Warner
Bros.,
Paramount, and
Disney, along with other publishers.
Programs
The "Game with Fame" initiative has been Microsoft's way to connect
Xbox Live members with celebrities and game developers. Notable
participants of "Game With Fame" include
Shia LaBeouf,
Jack
Black,
Rihanna,
Velvet Revolver,
Shaun Wright-Phillips,
Scissor Sisters,
Paramore,
KoЯn,
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and
Dream Theater.
"Xbox Ambassadors" are Xbox Live members selected by Microsoft who
have proven themselves to be helpful towards others, and are
willing to assist new Xbox Live users and answer their questions.
As of March 2009, there are ambassadors representing 18 countries
in more than 30 languages.
Xbox Rewards was a promotion designed
to provide gamers incentives to play on Xbox Live by subsidizing
achievement points earned with actual rewards. Gamers were required
to register for specific challenges which, if successfully
completed, would yield a challenge-specific reward.
Security
Microsoft implements a number of different security measures on its
Xbox Live service. One of these takes the form of a proactive
security check that assures that only unmodified machines may
access their service. On May 17, 2007, Microsoft banned consoles
with modified
firmware from Xbox Live.
According to Microsoft, consoles with firmware of unknown origin,
quality or intent were banned permanently from Xbox Live. A
Microsoft representative indicated that the action was taken to
assure "the integrity of the service and protect our partners and
users."
Recently, some individuals have bypassed these security checks by
using a custom drivechip firmware (e.g., the iXtreme firmware)
which prevents detection of alterations, effectively "stealthing"
the modification.
It has been discovered that
pretexting has been
used to impersonate an Xbox Live user for sabotage. Microsoft has
implemented greater security to decrease the service's
susceptibility to
social
engineering.
At the start of November 2009 Microsoft banned under a million
consoles from Xbox Live because they were using modified firmware
to play pirated games online.
[80201]
Controversy
The service has attracted controversy after a woman was suspended
from the service for self identifying as a lesbian, and a man was
suspended for using his surname "Gaywood" in his Gamertag.
Users may not use the string "gay" in a gamertag (even
legitimately, for example as part of a surname), or refer to
homosexuality in their profile (including self-identifying as
such), as the company considers this "content of a sexual nature"
or "offensive" to other users and therefore unsuitable for the
service.
Xbox Live Lead Program Manager for Enforcement
Stephen Toulouse clarified the service's
policy on sexual identification, stating that "Expression of any
sexual orientation […] is not
allowed in gamertags" but that the company is "examining how we can
provide it in a way that won't get misused."
Availability
Xbox Live is currently available in 26 countries:

Xbox Live availability in the
world
Users
from the non-XBL countries (especially Brazil
, Greece
, Poland
, Pakistan
, Russia
and South Africa) are constantly appealing to
Microsoft for bringing the service to them as well. In
April 2009 President of
Microsoft
Steve Ballmer promised that
XBL will be available in Poland but he did not specify the final
deadline.
Live Anywhere
Live Anywhere is an initiative by Microsoft to bring the Live
online gaming and entertainment network to a wide variety of
platforms and devices, including
Xbox,
Xbox 360,
Windows
PCs (
XP,
Vista &
7),
Windows Mobile and
Java-based phones,
Zune, and more. The concept service for
mobile devices has been demonstrated at
E3 and the
Consumer Electronics Show
on a
Motorola Q mobile phone.
Microsoft's Chris Early clarified that Live Anywhere is a long-term
project expected to be rolled out over several years.
See also
References
- Microsoft offers free game for Xbox Live holiday
problems. PC World, January 4, 2008.
- Undertow Free of Charge Next Week on Xbox Live
Arcade
- PS3 cant compete with Xbox Live
- Bach: PS3 can’t compete with Xbox Live - MCV:
06/03/2008
- http://kotaku.com/383885/xbox-live-preps-for-gta-iv-server-riot
- Msoft Prepares for GTA IV: Xbox Live Preps for GTA Server
Riot
- Xbox.com (UK) Sky Player
-
http://support.xbox.com/support/en/us/nxe/kb.aspx?ID=905882&lcid=1033&category=xboxlive
- Gamerscore Blog: Addicted to Achievements?
- Xbox LIVE Achievement changes, 411mania
- Cheaters Branded on Xbox Live, Gamerscore Reset,
Joystiq
- IGN: Avatars Required
-
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemupdates/default.htm
-
http://www.xboxstorageupgrade.com/hh/web/home/hhauthentication.jsp
- 20 GB Hard Drive update
- Microsoft’s NXE storage solution: Free 512MB memory
card or $20 for 20GB HDD
-
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/10/31/nxe-leaked-installation-disables-live-until-november-19/
- Steve Ballmer: Xbox Live będzie w Polsce
External links