Xbox Live
is now available
Xbox™
Live is the first comprehensive, world-class
online game service fully dedicated to fast-action,
always-connected broadband gaming experiences.
Xbox
Live allows gamers to play multiplayer Xbox games
with other gamers everywhere on the Internet via a
broadband connection. With a built-in hard drive and
Ethernet port, the Xbox console was built from the ground
up to be an online gaming system so there's no need to
buy additional peripherals or upgrade the console.
Xbox
Live enables all gamers to find their friends
easily; talk to other players during game play through
the Xbox Communicator headset; download current
statistics, new levels and characters to their Xbox hard
drive; and play online.
Xbox
Live Availability:
Xbox Live launched in North America on Nov. 15
for the Xbox video game system. Xbox Live recently
began a consumer beta program in Japan and Europe, with
plans for full rollouts early 2003 - Japan is scheduled
for January 16 and Europe March 14.
Xbox
Live Requirements:
To play Xbox Live, gamers need an Xbox, an
online-enabled game (available at retail); a broadband
connection (available from any broadband service
provider); and the Xbox Live Starter Kit. The
Starter Kit includes a year's subscription to Xbox Live,
a Xbox Communicator headset that plugs into the Xbox
controller and facilitates all voice communication with
other players, and two pack-in online trial versions of
THQ's "MotoGP" and "Whacked!" from
Microsoft Game Studios.
Xbox
Live Portfolio:
Xbox Live will support up to14 Xbox Live-enabled
games by holiday, including: "Unreal
Championship" from Infogrames Inc.; "Tom
Clancy's Ghost Recon" and "Tom Clancy's
Splinter Cell" from Ubi Soft Entertainment; SEGA
Sports™ "NFL 2K3," SEGA Sports™
"NBA 2K3" and SEGA Sports™ "NHL®
2K3" SEGA Sports™ "NCAA® Basketball
2K3" and "ToeJam and Earl™ III: Mission
to Earth" from Sega®; "MotoGP" and
"MX Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael" from
THQ; "Capcom® vs. SNK 2: EO" from Capcom®;
"Whacked!™," "MechAssault™"
and "NFL Fever 2003" from Microsoft Game
Studios.
Other
upcoming Xbox Live titles include "Shaun
Palmer's Pro Snowboarder™ 2" from Activision,
Inc.; "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six™ RavenShield™"
and "XIII" from Ubi Soft® Entertainment;
"Phantasy Star™ Online" from SEGA® of
America, Inc.; "Counter-Strike," "Midtown
Madness® 3," "Halo 2," "Project
Gotham Racing 2" from Microsoft Game Studios and
"Star Wars® Galaxies: Empire Divided™"
from LucasArts Entertainment Company.
Worldwide,
Xbox has 60 companies committed to developing more than
50 Xbox Live games by the end of next year. Xbox Live
has incredible support from our partners around the
world. In Japan, 40 publishers are planning to bring 47
Xbox Live titles to market.
Xbox
Live Service:
With its service approach, Xbox Live delivers
the most seamless, easy-to-use and consistent online
gaming environment for gamers, developers and publishers
alike.
It
was designed by gamers for gamers and includes features
such as delivery of real-time scores and statistics so
gamers can compare themselves to the best players in the
world; quick and easy game launches; fast downloads; the
ability to find friends online across games with only one
click; and the ability to maintain a single identity
across all games with a single password.
Microsoft
built four data centers in Seattle and Tukwila,
Wash., Tokyo and London in order to run a
scalable, secure and gamer-friendly service. Xbox will
assist publishers by managing the hosting, networking,
security and billing so that game creators can focus on
creating awesome game content.
Xbox
Live Key Features:
Gamertag -
Players have a single identity across the entire
global gaming service. Similar to one's
"handle," gamertags are one's call sign
or alias. Players only get one gamertag per
account, so their reputation's on the line.
Friends list
- Using the Gamertag's, players will be able to
find their friends online and invite them to a
game, no matter which Xbox Live game
they're playing.
Xbox
Communicator - Voice communication is
required to ship with all Xbox Live
multiplayer games, enabling teammates and
opponents to speak to one another during games.
Key elements of this feature exclusive to Xbox
include voice masking, global muting and parental
control.
Matchmaking
- QuickMatch allows players to enter a multiplay
experience with a single button click, and with
OptiMatch, an Xbox Live exclusive, players
will be able to select games and opponents based
on similar skill levels.
Ability to
download content to the Xbox hard disk - Only
Xbox enables console players to download and
permanently store both free and fee-based content
that can include new levels, characters, missions
and statistics.
Xbox
Live Pricing:
In the United States, the Starter Kit will be
available for $49.95. For the estimated retail price of a
single game, gamers receive a year's subscription to Xbox
Live, an Xbox Communicator headset that plugs into
the Xbox controller and facilitates all voice
communication with other players, and two pack-in online
trial versions of THQ's "MotoGP" and
"Whacked!" from Microsoft Game Studios.
In
Japan, the retail asking price of the Starter Kit is
6,800 yen, comparable to the price of one game title. The
Starter Kit includes a year's subscription to the
service, an Xbox Communicator headset, Phantasy Star
Online and some pack-in games.
Pricing
and specific offers in Europe will be announced locally
at a later date.
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