Xbox network

Shitbox Live

The Xbox Live logo
Developer	Microshit
Type	Online service
Launch date	November 15, 2002
Last updated	December 11, 2014 (details)
Platform(s)	Xbox (discontinued April 15, 2010) Xbox 360 Xbox One Windows XP – Windows 7 (as Games for Windows – Live) Windows 8 onwards (full integration) Windows Phone
Status	Online
Members	48 million
Website	xbox.com/live

Xbox Live (trademarked as Xbox LIVE) is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system in November 2002. An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at the system's launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One.

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. With Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Phone, full Xbox Live functionality is integrated into new Windows Phones that launched since late 2010. The service shut down for the original Xbox on April 15, 2010, and original Xbox Games are now only playable online through local area network (LAN) tunneling applications such as XLink Kai.

The Xbox Live service is available as both a free and subscription-based service, known as Xbox Live Free and Xbox Live Gold respectively, with most features such as online gaming restricted to the Gold service.

History

The original Xbox Live logo, used from 2005 until 2013.

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, called SegaNet and Dreamarena. 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 neither widely supported nor 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 networking capabilities.

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 Ballmer 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 it, 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 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.

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. It 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. 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 to both Gold and Free members for the week starting January 23 through January 27 as compensation.

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.

On February 5, 2010, Marc Whitten announced that Xbox Live had reached 23 million members. On the 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, including online play through backwards compatibility on the Xbox 360 and all downloadable content for original Xbox games.

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. The basic service was also renamed. Prior to October 2010, the free service was known as Xbox Live Silver.

It was announced on June 10, 2011 that the service is going to be fully integrated into Microsoft's Windows 8.

In October 2011, Microsoft announced live streaming cable television with various providers.

In February 2013, Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, shared that Xbox LIVE members now number 46 million, up 15 percent from a year ago. during the D: Dive into Media conference in Southern California.

In June 2014, Microsoft retracted the Xbox Live Gold requirements to download streaming media apps (including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Internet Explorer, Skype, and others), though various rental or subscription fees may still aplly.

On December 25, 2014, both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live suffered network disruption after a denial-of-service attack. Functionality was restored on December 28, with some users experiencing difficulties in the days that followed.

Xbox Live chart

Comparison of Xbox Live Free and Gold services

Feature	Live Free	Live Gold	Additional requirements	Available on Xbox 360	Available on Xbox One
Avatars	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Cloud game saves	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Free-to-play games	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Game DVR 5 minutes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Games with Gold	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Live broadcasting Twitch	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Media sharing OneDrive, YouTube	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Online multi-player	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Video Kinect	No	Yes	Headset (wired or wireless) and Kinect	Yes	No
Voice/party chat	No	Yes	Headset (wired or wireless) or Kinect	Yes	Yes
Voice messaging	No	Yes		Yes	Yes
Web browser Internet Explorer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Xbox Live Arcade point results	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
First-party apps and entertainment services
Avatar Kinect	No	Yes	Kinect	Yes	No
Bing	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Game Room	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Kinect Fun Labs	Yes	Yes	Kinect	Yes	No
Upload Studio	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Skype[d]	Yes	Yes	Skype account and Kinect	No	Yes
Sports Picks	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Xbox Music[e]	Yes	Yes	Xbox Music Pass	Yes	Yes
Xbox Video[e]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
A selection of third-party apps and entertainment services
4oD[c]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
ABC iView[g]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Amazon.com Instant Video[b][e]	Yes	Yes	Amazon account (optional Amazon Prime subscription available)	Yes	Yes
BBC iPlayer[c]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Crackle[d][e]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Canal+[h][e]	Yes	Yes	Canal+ subscription	Yes	Yes
Crunchyroll[m][e]	Yes	Yes	Crunchyroll premium membership	Yes	Yes
Demand 5[c]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
ESPN[b][e]	Yes	Yes	WatchESPN affiliated ISP	Yes	Yes
Facebook[m]	No	Yes	Facebook account	Yes	No
Foxtel On Xbox Live[g][e]	Yes	Yes	Foxtel On Xbox Live subscription	Yes	Yes
Halo Waypoint[d]	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Hulu Plus[b][e]	Yes	Yes	Hulu Plus subscription	Yes	Yes
iHeartRadio[k]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Live events	Yes	Yes	Requirements vary by event	Yes	Yes
Live TV	Yes	Yes	Cable provider subscription and set-top box (Xbox One)	Yes	Yes
Miss Teen USA[n]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
MLB.tv[e]	Yes	Yes	MLB.tv subscription	Yes	Yes
Movistar TV[e][i]	Yes	Yes	Movistar TV subscription	Yes	Yes
NFL on Xbox[e][k]	Yes	Yes	NFL account and cable provider subscription (Xbox One)	Yes	Yes
Netflix[b][c][e]	Yes	Yes	Netflix subscription	Yes	Yes
Network Ten[g]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
OneDrive	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes
SBS on Demand[e][g]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Sky Go[c][e]	Yes	Yes	Sky TV subscription or pay-per-view; additional subscriptions required to access some content.	Yes	No
TELUS Optik TV[e][l]	No	Yes	Optik TV subscription & kit	Yes	No
Twitter[m]	No	Yes	Twitter account	Yes	No
Twitch.tv[d]	Yes	Yes	Twitch.tv account	Yes	Yes
AT&T U-Verse TV[e][k]	Yes	Yes	AT&T U-Verse Subscription & Kit	Yes	No
Verizon FiOS TV[e][k]	Yes	Yes	Verizon FiOS TV and Internet accounts	Yes	Yes
Vodafone Casa TV[e][f]	Yes	Yes	Vodafone Casa TV subscription	Yes	No
Xfinity[e][k]	Yes	Yes	Xfinity Digital Preferred and Xfinity Internet accounts	Yes	Yes
Ultimate Fighting Championship[e]	Yes[l]	Yes	Credit card (to purchase fights)	Yes	Yes
Vevo	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
YouTube[d]	Yes	Yes	YouTube account	Yes	Yes
WWE Network[e]	Yes	Yes	WWE Network subscription	Yes	Yes
ZDF[j]	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
^ a Some content available one week after Gold subscribers ^ b Available in U.S. and Canada only ^ c Available in UK and Ireland only ^ d Over 18's only/parental permission required ^ e Various rental/subscription fees apply ^ f Available in Portugal only ^ g Available in Australia only ^ h Available in France only ^ i Available in Spain only ^ j Available in Germany only ^ k Available in U.S. only ^ l Available in Canada only ^ m Discontinued from Xbox live marketplace ^ n Available in selected markets

Xbox 360 Features

• 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.
• Xbox Live Marketplace offering downloadable content for games, music and movies.
• Voice and Video chat.
• Multiplayer gameplay for up to four players via system link or Xbox Live.
• Cross-platform multiplayer with Windows gamers on select games via Games for Windows - 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 offering unlimited streaming for thousands of television shows and movies. (requires Netflix Unlimited account)
• Xbox Video marketplace offering streaming of video content instantly in 1080p HD with 5.1 surround sound. (Requires Gold Membership)
• Last.fm music streaming service offering artist radio stations and related music. (Discontinued)
• Halo Waypoint multimedia hub for all Halo-related content.
• Game Room virtual arcade space offering a library of classic retro games.
• MSN entertainment portal providing the latest news and gossip in the world of celebrities, music and movies.
• ESPN live and on-demand sports service offering streaming of up to 3,500 sporting events. (Requires Gold Membership)
• AT&T U-Verse and Telus Optik TV set-top box functionality.
• Windows Phone compatibility allowing users to manage their Xbox Live profiles, send and receive messages, play video games, as well as earn achievements exclusive to Windows Phone titles.
• Xbox Music marketplace offering unlimited streaming of music and music videos. (Requires Gold Membership)
• Avatar Kinect social media service allowing users to interact with one another and create media using their Avatars.
• Hulu Plus video streaming service offering commercially supported television and movie content from networks such as NBC, Fox and ABC (US). (Requires Hulu Plus account)
• Kinect Fun Labs development hub allowing users to play, create and share their own Kinect experiences.
• Bing search engine allowing users to search for any piece of content on their console.
• Internet Explorer allows users to browse the internet using their console. (Requires Gold Membership)
• Cloud storage allowing users to access their profiles and save data from any console.
• iHeartRadio streaming service, which streams over 800 US-based radio stations (requires Gold membership and iHeartRadio account)
• YouTube application allowing for unlimited access to shared video content (requires Gold membership and YouTube account).
• IPTV service offering region-specific television content. (Requires Gold Membership)
• Epix offering movies-on-television content. (Requires Gold Membership)
• Dailymotion allowing users to access television and movie content (requires Gold Membership and Dailymotion account).
• UFC on Xbox Live allows users to view pay-per-view events in 1080p HD, access a library of live and on-demand video content, connect with friends to predict fight results and have the ability to compare fighter statistics and records.
• MLB.tv offering out-of-market Major League Baseball games (requires Gold membership and MLB.tv subscription) (Requires Gold Membership)
• Live event streaming, including video game announcements, award shows, concerts, sports, beauty pageants and news events (most events require Gold membership and fees)
• Sports Picks allowing users to predict the outcome of sporting events, including UFC, NBA and NHL games, with future support for MLB games and Miss Universe Organization pageants (requires Gold membership)
• Various TV on-demand services which are available to all users (no Gold subscription required), albeit restricted by region. Such services include:
  • Australia: ABC iView
  • Germany: ZDF Mediathek
  • UK: BBC iPlayer
• Various TV on-demand services which require a Gold subscription. Access to these services varies by region and some require a separate subscription to the provider. Such services include:
  • Australia: SBS on Demand and Foxtel On Xbox Live
  • France: Canal+
  • UK: Demand 5, 4oD and SkyDrive
  • U.S.: Xfinity On Demand and Verizon FiOS
  • Canada: Tou.TV

Exclusive Xbox One Features

• Ability to record gameplay using the Upload app and Game DVR (requires Gold membership)
• Ability to use Kinect voice commands to navigate the system interface and activate features
• App "snapping", a feature that allows using two apps at once divided on two sides of the screen
• Access to "OneGuide", a customizable electronic program guide that integrates TV content and internet content – such as Hulu Plus – into one screen
• Ability to sign-in to the system using Kinect Facial Recognition
• Skype support allows users to video chat and voice chat with each other while playing games and using apps (requires Skype account and Kinect)
• Ability to edit saved gameplay clips in the Upload Studio and upload to SkyDrive (requires Gold membership)

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 an Xbox One or Xbox 360 console (first time is free, then for a price of $10), the Xbox 360 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 Games for Windows – Live, Zune, XNA Creators Club, and of course on Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Gamertags also contain avatar images (or "gamer pictures"), sometimes associated with certain games or game characters. On Xbox 360, individual gamerpics cost between $0.17 and $0.25, but they are usually bundled into packs; packs of four or five gamerpics usually cost $1, while packs of ten typically cost $1.87. 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) which can be taken of avatars while using the avatar editor.

Users were formerly 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. 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." Changes announced in March 2010 permit Xbox Live members to express sexual orientation in their gamertags and profiles.

Gamerscore

The Gamerscore (G) is an achievements point accumulation system that reflects the number of achievements accumulated by a user on Xbox Live through the displaying of the amount of points accumulated. 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 and other various in game challenges.

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 also allow players to obtain Gamerscore, initially up to 200 Gamerscore with additional points up to 50 Gamerscore via downloadable content (for a total of 250 points), but some XBLA games now contain up to 400 Gamerscore without DLC.

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".

The development of the Gamerscore system has created a new niche in the internet economy. Many websites have been created to provide gamers with tips and tricks for getting achievement points. Some sites are solely devoted to these achievement guides, and some blogs provide gaming guides in addition to their other content.

On March 13, 2014, Ray Cox IV or "Stallion83" became the first player in history to reach 1 million Gamerscore.

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 do not tend to affect the gameplay experience or the matching of players in online games.

TrueSkill

Main article: TrueSkill

TrueSkill is a ranking and matchmaking system which was first implemented as part of the Xbox 360's Live services. Developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge (United Kingdom), the TrueSkill ranking system is now used in over 150 titles for the Xbox 360 and in the Games for Windows – Live game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. 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.

Xbox Games Store

Main article: Xbox Games Store

Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) is a unified storefront which offers both free and premium content for download including Xbox Live Arcade titles, Xbox indie games, 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 the Xbox 360 into a Zune device. Once one downloads 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, one is 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.

Xbox Live Gold

Xbox Live Gold

Developer	Microsoft
Type	Premium online service
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 Xbox One
Website	US website

Xbox Live Gold is a paid subscription service for the Xbox community. Signing up to Xbox Live is free, but in order to play online and access some core services, a periodic fee is required. Features that require a Gold subscription include online gaming, matchmaking/smartmatch, private chat, party chat and in-game voice communication. Other features, such as game recording and media sharing also necessitate Gold membership. Similarly, ordinary Xbox Live members can download and access the Twitch live streaming application, but in order to broadcast gameplay of one's own, a Gold subscription is necessary. Free-to-play titles also remain behind a paywall. Subscribers are benefited with space "in the cloud" for storing files, and granted early or exclusive access to betas, special offers, Games with Gold, and Video Kinect.

Games with Gold

See also: List of Games with Gold games

Xbox 360 Gold subscribers receive a complimentary game twice a month, while Xbox One subscribers receive one—occasionally two—games a month.

Announced at E3 2013 and beginning in July 2013, the program, titled Games with Gold, began with the 360 games Defense Grid: The Awakening and Assassin's Creed II. In June 2014, the program expanded to Xbox One, with Halo: Spartan Assault and Max: The Curse of Brotherhood as its first games. The program on Xbox One is different from Xbox 360: instead of being able to get two games per month to download and keep, games are added to a non-revolving library of games to play as long as the player retains their subscription.

In 2014, Xbox Live gave away $584 in free games to subscribers, whereas competing service the PlayStation Network gave away over $1,300 in free games to subscribers.

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 Round 4 and Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, 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 only available in the U.S. and Canada, and requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription and Netflix Unlimited. Users are also able to watch Netflix titles with their friends in a party of 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 (similar to the PS2 HD LOADER Feature). For most games this feature also reduces the amount of time spent reading the disc, thereby 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. On July 15, 2010, Microsoft confirmed that 1 vs. 100 would be cancelled.

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 user's 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 would be redesigned once again. The new design would incorporate the Metro interface used in other Microsoft products, such as Zune HD and Windows Phone. As well as a new color scheme and other minor tweaks to the overall layout, the update would 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 program, which opened on September 29, 2010. The new dashboard officially went live on December 6, 2011.

On June 6, 2011 at E3, it was announced that the dashboard would be updated again to include the Bing search engine, allowing users to search for games, trailers, movies etc. Kinect would also be updated allowing users to navigate the dashboard and Bing using their voice. Other updates would include cloud storage, YouTube access and live television streaming. The dashboard update was delayed till December 6, 2011.

On May 13, 2014, Microsoft announced changes to the Xbox Live Gold membership that would allow subscribers to access available apps such as Netflix, Twitch, MBL.tv, etc. without a Gold membership on both Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles, though various rental or subscription fees still apply. Microsoft would be offering pro-rated refunds for the service for requests up until August 31, 2014. The company also announced "Games with Gold" that would give subscribers free games on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One with one single membership, and "Deals with Gold" for exclusive discounts for Xbox One games at the Xbox store.

Xbox Video

On November 6, 2006, Microsoft announced the Xbox Video (formerly 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. 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, Victoria Justice, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Scissor Sisters, Paramore, Korn, OK Go, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Dream Theater, Linkin Park and Green Day and Insane Clown Posse

"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 a current promotion providing Xbox LIVE Members Microsoft Points when they renew their Gold Membership, buy something on the Marketplace, etc.

"Xbox Live Labs" was a program found in the community section and was available from March 10 to March 27, 2011 for members in the United States. If a player chose to participate, they were rewarded with avatar items and 3 zero-point achievements.

SentUAMessage was a show which aimed to answer questions sent in by viewers on anything related to the world of Xbox. The show ran for four series and was released every other Saturday. The show was driven entirely by user-generated questions. To ensure the volume of questions remained high, fans could contact the show in a variety of ways, including sending questions to the SentUAMessage Gamertag over Xbox LIVE, writing an email, or using social network websites.

Social network integration

On November 19, 2009, integration with Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm was added with access available to all Xbox 360 XBL 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.

The Facebook and Twitter applications on Xbox Live were removed with the new Xbox 360 Dashboard update that was released on October 16, 2012. Microsoft suggests that users now access Facebook and Twitter through Internet Explorer on Xbox 360 instead.

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."

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.

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

In October 2011, users of Xbox Live reported having unauthorized access to their Xbox Live accounts, with Microsoft points subsequently being used and/or bought to purchase various in-game items for FIFA 12. Microsoft is responding to such incidents by restricting access to the account for 25 days whilst the fraud team investigates. Both EA and Microsoft have denied that there is a problem with security.

Availability

As of December 16, 2012, Xbox Live is currently available in 42 countries/territories:

Worldwide Xbox Live availability.

• Argentina
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Chile
• China ( Limited )
• Colombia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany

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• Greece
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• India
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Philippines
• Poland

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• Portugal
• Russia
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• Turkey
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States

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. The country selected during account creation affects the payment options, content, and services available to the user. Previously, users were unable to change their account region, but in October 2012, Microsoft introduced an account migration tool as a pilot project, which allows the user to change their region and maintain their Xbox Live profile. Subscriptions, such as that for Xbox Music, cannot be transferred with this method.

On May 18, 2011, Microsoft announced that it planned to launch Xbox Live in the Middle East within the next twelve months, but it never occurred during that time period. However, on October 20, 2012, Microsoft officially announced the service will be launching in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in three days time. On November 4, Microsoft announced that the service would be launched on November 29 in Argentina and Israel. The service also appeared in the following month in Slovakia and Turkey.

Live Anywhere

Main article: 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, Microsoft Windows (XP SP2/SP3, Vista and 7), Windows Phone, Java-based phones and Zune. The concept service for mobile devices has been demonstrated at E3 and CES 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. With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has integrated full Xbox Live functionality into Windows Phone.

Revenue

Bloomberg estimates that Xbox Live probably made over $1 billion in revenue in the 2010 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2010.

See also

• DSi Shop
• Games for Windows
• Games for Windows – Live
• List of Games for Windows titles
• List of Games for Windows – Live titles
• MSN Games
• Nintendo Network
• Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
• PartnerNet
• PlayStation 2 online functionality
• PlayStation Network
• PlayStation Store
• Xbox Live Arcade
• Xbox Live Indie Games
• Xbox Live Marketplace
• Xbox One
• Wii Shop Channel
• WiiConnect24
• WiiWare
• Windows Live

External links

• Official website
• Major Nelson's Blog, by Larry Hryb, Xbox Live Director of Programming
• The U.S. Xbox Live site
• Xbox network at Curlie