Microsoft Unveils
Xbox Live Heralding the Next Frontier in Video Games
LOS ANGELES — May 20, 2002 —
Today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3),
Microsoft Corp. became the first video game company ever
to announce a comprehensive online game service fully
dedicated to fast-action, always-connected broadband
gaming experiences. The online console gaming service,
named Xbox™ Live, launches in North America, Japan
and Europe this fall for the Xbox video game system and
ramps up with consumer beta programs starting this
summer.
Xbox Live will enable 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.
“Online technology is the next revolution in video
games, and it will fundamentally transform gaming into a
new form of social entertainment,” said J Allard,
general manager of Xbox at Microsoft. “Together with
our partners we will combine exceptional gaming
experiences, a world-class service and a viable business
model so all parts of the online ecosystem thrive.”
Jump-starting the online title announcements, Allard said
Xbox Live will support five Xbox Live-exclusive games
this year: “Unreal Championship” (Infogrames);
and “MechAssault™,”
“Whacked!™,” “NFL Fever 2003”
and “Midtown Madness® 3” (Microsoft Game
Studios).
To date, 60 game companies have committed to create games
for Xbox Live, and at least 50 Xbox Live-enabled games
are planned to release by the end of next year. Some
upcoming Xbox Live titles include “Shaun
Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder™ 2” from
Activision, Inc.; “Tom Clancy’s Ghost
Recon™,” “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow
Six™ RavenShield™” and “XIII”
from Ubi Soft; and “SEGA Sports™ NFL
2K3,” “SEGA Sports™ NBA 2K3” and
“Phantasy Star™ Online” from SEGA® of
America, Inc.
As the grand finale to the Xbox Live unveiling, Allard
announced a lineup of games in the works for the future
of the service, including “Star Wars®
Galaxies™” (LucasArts Entertainment Company),
“Counterstrike” (Valve Software for Microsoft
Game Studios), and future versions of Xbox original
blockbusters like “Halo™,”
“RalliSport Challenge,”
“Amped™” and “Project Gotham
Racing™.”
With the service approach, Xbox Live is poised to deliver
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 is building four datacenters — 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.
Key, consistent features of the Xbox Live service across
games include the following:
• Gamertag. Gamertag is a
gamer’s unique online ID for all games across the
global gaming service.
• Friends list. This feature
allows gamers to find friends online and invite them to a
game — no matter which Xbox Live game they’re
playing.
• Xbox Communicator. Voice
communication is integrated with all Xbox Live
multiplayer games and enables voice interaction with
teammates and opponents. Key elements of this feature
exclusive to Xbox include voice masking, global muting
and parental control.
• Matchmaking. QuickMatch
enables players to enter a multiplay experience with a
single button-click, and OptiMatch, an Xbox Live
exclusive, helps them select games and opponents based on
similar skill levels.
• High-speed content downloads to the
Xbox hard disk. Only Xbox offers console gamers
the ability to download and permanently store both free
and for-a-fee content that can include new levels,
characters, missions and statistics.
Allard painted a bullish picture for the future of online
console gaming and the promise of Xbox to lead the
category. “Within five years every important game
will be online,” he said. “There will be new
categories of collaborative and competitive console games
that are possible only online. The ability to download
new worlds, levels, characters, weapons, vehicles, teams,
statistics and missions will change the way developers
think about creating games, and will change the way
gamers play them.”
At launch, U.S. consumers can purchase a starter kit for
$49.95.* For the estimated retail price of a single game,
the consumer receives a year’s subscription to Xbox
Live, an Xbox Communicator that plugs into the Xbox
controller and facilitates all voice communication with
other players, and “ReVolt,” a fun online
racing game from Acclaim Entertainment Inc. Pricing and
specific offers in regions outside the United States will
be announced locally at a later date.
With a hard drive, Ethernet port and slots for the Xbox
Communicator built in to all controllers, Xbox was
designed by Microsoft to facilitate online play right out
of the box. Moreover, with more than 20 online service
sites and 270 million unique monthly users worldwide on
the MSN® network of Internet services, and the No. 1
online PC gaming site with Zone.com, Microsoft is
uniquely qualified by its resources and experience to
lead the way in online console gaming.
Microsoft will be exhibiting new games and the Xbox Live
online console gaming service at E3, which begins
Wednesday, May 22, and runs through Friday, May 24, at
the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is a trade show
open only to professionals in the interactive
entertainment industry.
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