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View Full Version : Behind the Scenes Interview about Xbox Live



Shadow20002
11-21-2003, 08:20 PM
Question: Let's clear up any misconception about the Xbox Live service. Yes, there is a monthly subscription fee, but what do people actually get for that? Are there any hidden charges after they pay that fee?

Andre: To be clear, there is either a yearly or a monthly subscription fee. An existing subscriber can chose whether they’d like to pay $49.99 a year for service, or pay $5.99 a month. We just wanted to give people a choice (and a way to get a slight break if they choose to subscribe yearly).

The subscription fee gives you a unique ID on Xbox Live (your Gamertag), the ability to quickly find games and get into them, and access to Live services such as statistics and downloads. Over time we’ve expanded the service with new features that are also included – one example is Game Clips, which is how the ghosts in Project Gotham Racing 2 are supported.

There are no hidden charges. However, it is possible for publishers to charge for premium content or services – you could imagine downloads that a publisher might charge for, or an MMO with a monthly fee. These fees are clearly disclosed to the user, but to date we haven’t had much of this sort of premium content. The primary example we can point to is Phantasy Star Online by Sega, which charges a monthly fee.

Source@ (http://xbox.gamezone.com/news/11_20_03_02_10PM.htm)