Xbox Live is a subscription-based online gaming service for Microsoft's Xbox video game console. It was released on November 15, 2002 and allows players to play games with or against other Xbox Live players from around the world.
Features
Xbox Live provides, as standard, voice communications (through a headset bundled in the starter pack or available separately), and a game-independent "Friends list" of online associates. Depending on the individual game in question, patches and new game content may also be available on the service, although downloadable content may come with an extra charge (billed to the credit card which Xbox Live was registered on). Players may choose, on compatible games, to be alerted when a friend is online or has sent them a message, even if the game they are playing at the time does not support internet play itself. These games are known as "Live Aware".
Centralization
Unlike other online multiplayer systems (including those used on the PC and PlayStation 2), Xbox Live is highly centralized. This means that while game companies supply the networking code and gameplay, Microsoft provides the server bandwidth and user frontend; this, in turn, removes much of the financial burden from game developers, adding incentive to add multiplayer modes to games. This system also means that instead of paying developer firms for access to individual games, users need to pay only one yearly fee (currently 50USD or 30GBP) for non-massively multiplayer games. Also, because Xbox Live is broadband-only, it is much less susceptible to network lag. While some third-party services for online play also exist, they are unsupported by Microsoft.
Centralization does have its downsides, however. On the PC, for example, few games charge a separate fee to play online. Players pay monthly fees for massively multiplayer online games (regardless of the platform), which, on Xbox Live, translates to paying in addition to the yearly fee, such as Phantasy Star Online's 9USD a month. The centralized requirement of Xbox Live was also a reason why Electronic Arts was reluctant to use the service. However, Electronic Arts finally released its first Xbox Live title in 2004: Burnout 3.
History
At the Game Developers Conference in March 2004, Microsoft announced plans to make newer versions of Windows support Xbox Live, thereby opening the service to computer gamers.
Xbox Live received a major boost in May 2004 when Electronic Arts announced it would support the service for the first time (the company had formerly only supported the PlayStation 2's online capabilities)—with the concession, however, that EA's own servers could be used instead of the standard servers maintained by Microsoft for other Xbox Live titles. Many users in Europe have complained about the performance of EA's servers, however, particularly on the game Burnout 3, questioning the logic of providing a central service only to decentralise servers for certain titles.
With the release of Halo 2, Xbox Live gained status as a significant killer app. Bungie's website now hosts statistics for every Live Halo 2 game a player has been involved in, including a graphical summary of the key events in the match. These statistics are also available as RSS newsfeeds.
On November 4, 2004, Microsoft launched the Xbox Live Arcade. A free installation disk (which comes bundled with Ms. Pac Man) sets up the software on your Xbox, and then allows you to download more games (at a cost).
Possible Games & Accessories
Microsoft has also revealed some plans for an Xbox Live webcam, for video chat. It might also be used in games, in a similar manner to the Eyetoy. The webcam has been exclusively released in Japan, due to high Internet speeds and it carries a price tag of 6800 yen (roughly $60). (Official Xbox Magazine - March 2005 - Pg. 26)
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