The Xbox Live FAQ
Read this, and you'll know everything we know about Xbox Live.
June 05, 2002 - Below we present our accumulation of information on Xbox Live, the online gaming service for the Xbox videogame console. From the very beginning, Microsoft designed the Xbox to lead the way in the online console gaming revolution the company believes is right around the corner. The lofty idea behind Xbox Live is to take the guaranteed fun of multiplayer gaming and reproduce it on a global scale over a high speed internet connection. A successful and comprehensive online program is intended to be Microsoft's contribution, via Xbox, to the videogame console market in the same way Sony and Nintendo made 3D gaming the standard a few years ago.
In the words of Xbox General Manager J Allard, this new "worldwide sofa" can only work if it's easily accessible, totally secure and completely reliable. Microsoft, drawing on its considerable experience and resources as a software giant, is investing tremendous amounts of money to create a centralized service and physical network that will serve the needs of consumers, videogame publishers and developers, broadband service providers and retailers.
This FAQ will be updated regularly up to and through the launch of the service in the Fall of 2002. All information included here is presented as true and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publish and is subject to change as details of Xbox Live become more clear.
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What is Xbox Live?
It's Microsoft's online service that will enable Xbox owners to play games online through a broadband connection that was unveiled at E3 2002. Gamers will need to have existing broadband service to access Xbox Live with the idea that the most powerful gaming console shouldn't be constrained by the limits of dial up connections.
Online gaming is intended to be the defining characteristic of the Xbox console itself and Xbox Live is the complementary piece of the puzzle to unlock the system's potential.
When will Xbox Live be available?
Originally scheduled for the Summer of 2002, Xbox Live is now expected to launch in Fall of 2002. A more precise date is hard to come by, but conventional wisdom points to a September release since NFL Fever 2003, one of the first Xbox Live compatible games, is scheduled to release in time for the kickoff of the NFL's 2002 season.
How much will Xbox Live cost?
For $49.99 gamers will receive the Xbox Live Starter Kit. The Starter Kit includes 12 months of Xbox Live service (NOT broadband service), a Voice Communicator Headset and a starter disc. This disc will allow users to register for the service through their Xboxes and will come with at least one demo/minigame (Acclaim's Re-Volt is the early favorite) that users will be able to play online. This disc will also contain the software that will unlock all of the, to this point, dormant online gaming capabilities of the Xbox.
Pricing plans beyond the $49.99 for 12 months hasn't been revealed yet by Microsoft. The company is comfortable with a 9.95/month value for the service, but this hasn't been translated into any long term pricing.
What is the disc in the Starter Kit going to give me?
In essence the starter disc is going to unlock all of the online gaming potential of your Xbox. In a strange way, connecting consoles to actually play games online is actually one of the easier things to do, as evidenced by the Sega Dreamcast. It's the handful of features that have sprung up around connecting gamers that make Xbox Live unique.
Single User Identity - The user ID you create for your Xbox Live is the ultimate tracking, security and gaming key for the system. It will identify you and to some extent your Xbox to the Xbox Live system and grant you access to any and all games, services and future services that Microsoft might come up with. Basic applications for the user ID will be stat tracking and gaming profiles where you favorite character or car is automatically selected when you load up a game. The gaming profile will also be used to pit similarly skilled players against each other, but more on that later.
This username and ID are permanent but there's still the potential for specific in-game "handles" and nicknames if a company makes a game that supports it. You can sign up for another user ID but that means opening another Xbox Live account to go with it. If you have four Xbox gamers in the house and they each want their own XBL ID then somebody is going to have to spend that $49.99 for each of them.
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