Lot’s of goodies inside this big box well worth the price.

Xbox Live

Developer	Microsoft Corporation
Type	Online service
Launch date	November 15, 2002
Last Updated	January 19, 2011 (details)
Platform	Xbox (2002 – 2010) Xbox 360 (2005 – present) Windows (As Games for Windows – Live) Windows Phone 7
Members	30 million[1]
Website	http://www.xbox.com/live/

Xbox Live (trademarked as Xbox LIVE^[2]) 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. The service was extended in 2007 on the Windows platform, 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.^[3] With Microsoft’s new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7, full Xbox Live functionality is integrated into new Windows Phones that launched in late 2010.^[4]

The Xbox Live service is available as both a free and subscription-based service, known as Xbox Live Free^[5] and Xbox Live Gold respectively, with several features such as online gaming restricted to the Gold service. Prior to October 2010, the free service was known as Xbox Live Silver.^[6]

History

The current 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 initially 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 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 customers. 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.^[7]

When the Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, the as-yet unnamed online service was destined for a Summer 2002 deployment.^[8] 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.^[9] 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 with a headset 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 testing 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.^[10]

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, in an open letter to all Xbox Live members from Mark Whitten, Xbox LIVE General Manager.^[11] 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.^[12] On January 18, 2008, Microsoft announced Undertow would be offered free to both Gold and Free members for the week starting January 23 through January 27 as compensation.^[13]

On November 12, 2009, Dennis Durkin, COO of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment business, announced that November 10, 2009, the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 marked the busiest day ever on Xbox Live, with over two million active users simultaneously.^[14]

On February 5, 2010, Marc Whitten announced that Xbox Live had reached 23 million members.^[15] That same day, Larry Hyrb, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson, announced on his blog that Xbox Live support for the original Xbox would be discontinued on April 15, 2010. This included online play through backwards compatibility on the Xbox 360 and all downloadable content for original Xbox games.^[16]

In August 2010, Microsoft announced an increase to the cost of Xbox Live Gold in several countries by 20%, for the first time since its inception.^[17][18][19]

Xbox Live features

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 for eight people to chat with one another 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

• The ability to change online status (Online, Busy, Away and Appear Offline) All are accessed through the Xbox 360 guides final blade, when selecting the option “preferences”. “Away” is automatically activated when the Xbox 360 is left on but not used for more than 20 minutes. “Busy” and “Appear Offline” are activated manually by the user. Busy will notably block the notification for users signing in. “Appear Offline” does not, but it does let other users see that this person is online via the friend list.
• Gamercards displaying the user’s gamertag, gamer picture, motto, bio etc.
• Virtual avatars representing the user’s likeness.
• Achievements earned during gameplay.
• Gamerscores amounting the total of a user’s achievement points.
• Rep voted by other users preferring or avoiding the user. Rep defaults to five stars over time after the user has been preferred by at least one other user.
• Friends list displaying the user’s chosen friends of up to 100.
• Recent players list displaying the last 50 players the user has met.
• Complaint system allowing users to file reports of other users that have broken Xbox Live Terms of Use.
• Windows Live Messenger integration.
• Xbox Live Marketplace offers downloadable content for games, music and movies.
• Voice and Video chat.
• Multiplayer gameplay for up to four players via system link or Xbox Live.
• Matchmaking depending on the user’s cumulative gamerscore, rep, location, language and gamer zone.
• Party system for up to eight users for playing games and watching movies.
• Family settings controlling younger users’ exposure to other users.
• Inside Xbox video newsletter detailing Xbox 360 news, events, products, interviews and games. Content is streamed directly from the Xbox 360 Dashboard.
• Netflix video service allowing for unlimited streaming of television shows and movies (Available in US and Canada only, Netflix membership required).
• Zune application allowing for streaming of video content instantly in 1080p HD with 5.1 surround sound.
• Sky Player offering live and on-demand television content from Sky Movies, Sky News and Sky Sports (Available in UK and Ireland only, Sky subscription required).
• Last.fm allows users to stream their favourite music and search for related artists.
• Halo Waypoint multimedia hub for all Halo-related content.
• Game Room offers a virtual space for a library of arcade and home console classics.
• MSN entertainment portal provides the latest news in the world of celebrities, music and movies.
• Foxtel on Xbox Live offers 30 channels and Video on demand content for television and movies (Available in Australia Only).^[20][21]
• ESPN channel allows for live and on-demand streaming of up to 3,500 sporting events (Available in US only).
• AT&T U-Verse set-top box functionality.^[22]

Upcoming features

• Hulu Plus service will offer commercially-supported streaming video of television shows and movies from networks such as NBC, Fox and ABC (Available in US only, Hulu Plus subscription required).
• Zune Pass will allow for unlimited streaming of music over Xbox Live as well as access to 10 downloadable songs per month (Zune Pass subscription required).
• Windows Phone 7 integration, in a recent live chat Larry Hryb outlined some key features of Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7. These include ability to be signed in simultaneously on the console and phone, send and receive messages between console and phone, unique gamer points only available by purchasing the gaming title on the phone, etc.
• Avatar Kinect will allow players to interact with their Avatars by using the Kinect sensor (Available only to Xbox Live Gold members).

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.^[23]

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. “Personal” pictures (which are only shown when friends view a profile) can be taken with an Xbox live vision camera. It is also possible to take “Public” pictures (which are shown to all that view a profile, unless the user has a different “personal” picture set) can be taken of avatars while using the avatar editor

Users were formally forbidden to use strings such as “gay” or refer to homosexuality in any way in their gamertag or profile due to it being considered “content of a sexual nature”, even if the string occurs in a legitimate surname. Incidents where a woman was suspended from the service for identifying herself as a lesbian, and an incident where a male user was suspended for using his surname “Gaywood” in his username attracted controversy.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} In February 2009, 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.”^[29] Changes announced in March 2010 permit Xbox Live members to express sexual orientation in their gamertags and profiles.^[30]

Gamerscore

The Gamerscore (G) is an achievements system that measures the number of Achievement points accumulated by a user with a 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 online 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.^[31] 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).^[32]

On May 26, 2007, Halo 2 was the first Games for Windows title 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”.^[33]

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 who have had Xbox Live for less than a year feature small bubbles.Anything a year or over will feature the number of years.)
• 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 Free or Gold subscription (respectively). 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^[34] is a ranking and matchmaking system premiering in the Xbox 360 live services. Developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge (United Kingdom), the TrueSkill ranking system is now used in over 150 titles for the Xbox 360^{[citation needed]} and also on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, a Games for Windows – Live title. 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^[35] 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 Round 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.^[36][37] 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.^[38] Xbox Live requires that users select an avatar.^[35] 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 (similar to the PS2 HD LOADER Feature). 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.^[39]

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.^[40] This service is currently in an open beta in Canada and the United States.^[41]

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.^[42] Major Nelson also announced that the update supports 16:10 on VGA or HDMI, expanding the choice of resolutions.^[43]

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.^[44] 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.^[45][46] This promotion has since ended and all new arcade units now come with 512MB of internal memory.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Update

On September 22, 2010, Major Nelson announced that the Xbox Live dashboard will be redesigned once again. The new design incorporates the Metro interface used in other Microsoft products, such as Zune HD and Windows Phone 7. As well as a new color scheme and other minor tweaks to the overall layout, the update will also include a “Kinect hub”, designed specifically for the Kinect sensor for easier dashboard navigation. Xbox Live members were able to sign up for a preview programme, which opened on September 29, 2010.^[48] The new dashboard officially went live on November 1.

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 17 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

Netflix Instant Queue

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. 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.^[51] 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.^[53] Notable participants of “Game With Fame” include Shia LaBeouf, Jack Black, Rihanna, Velvet Revolver, Victoria Justice, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Scissor Sisters, Paramore, KoЯn, OK Go, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Dream Theater, Linkin Park and Green Day.

“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.

Xbox LIVE Rewards is an upcoming promotion providing Xbox LIVE Members Microsoft Points when they renew their Gold Membership, buy something on the Marketplace etc.

Social network integration

On November 19, 2009, integration with Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm was added with access available to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers. These features were initially only available to adult (18+) accounts, but Microsoft has since made the service available to users under the age of 18, subject to parental permission (use must be authorized using the parent’s account and password).

Facebook features on the console are limited compared to the browser-based version, with users currently only able to update their status, comment on and “like” friends’ statuses, and view their own and friends’ pictures. There are also some features on the Xbox 360 that are not included on the main website; the Xbox Live Friend Finder allows users to see which Facebook friends use Xbox Live, while the Facebook Friend Finder allows users to see which Xbox Live friends use Facebook.

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 dvd drive 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.^[56]

In early November 2009 Microsoft banned approximately 1 million consoles with modified firmware from Xbox Live.^[57]

Availability

As of November 10, 2010, Xbox Live is currently available in 35 countries/territories:

Worldwide Xbox Live availability.

Users from other countries are not officially supported, although it is possible for them to access Xbox Live if they provide an address located in a country where Xbox Live is officially available.

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.^[60] 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.

On February 15, 2010 Microsoft announced its new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7. With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft will integrate full Xbox Live functionality into new Windows Phones launching later in 2010.