XBOX Live

[Ruined]

XBOX LIVE, KING OF ONLINE CONSOLE GAMING
What do half a million gamers in 19 countries have that you don’t? Xbox Live, baby! Xbox Live is the Ultimate Gaming Arena. It’s a place where something is always going on. You can find people to play with and talk to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s a place where you have a single, persistent identity—your Gamertag—across all games. A place where you can download new stuff for your games any time you feel like it. Most importantly, it’s a place where gaming is king.


Top 10 Reasons to Get Xbox Live

10. Signing up doesn't suck.
We were going to try to tell you that signing up is cool and fun, but we know you'd call us on that. So we're just going to point out that signing up is not a huge, nasty, painful process. When you get an Xbox Live subscription, you'll also get a subscription code. You enter this into the Xbox Dashboard, follow simple instructions on the screen, and bada bing, bada boom, you're signed up! How do you get a subscription code? It comes with your Xbox Live Starter Kit, of course.

9. You get a secret identity.
When you sign up you get to pick a "Gamertag" that will be your online identity. You can choose any Gamertag you want as long as it's not vulgar or offensive and no one else has already picked it. Your first instinct will probably be to pick something tough and intimidating like Headbasher or Spleenmuncher, but consider choosing something that will give potential foes a false sense of security like PansyLad or DiaperBaby. Just a thought.

8. Passcodes protect your rep.
So you've got your account all set up and you're plowing your way through the competition as DiaperBaby. The online world fears DiaperBaby. The thought of taking on DiaperBaby makes them need a diaper. Then someone—your roommate, your little brother, your evil twin—goes and signs in as DiaperBaby, says a bunch of lame stuff, and proceeds to get clowned by all and sundry. Your rep is demolished. That's the nightmare. Here's the sweet reality: you can protect your account with a password. Easy.

7. Download new stuff.
How cool would it be to buy new stuff for your games and have it automagically appear in your game? Yeah, we think so too. Download new cars and tracks for racing games, levels, skins, and weapons for shooters, updated rosters for sports games, spells and armor for RPGs—you name it. It's like getting an expansion pack, except that you choose (and pay for) only the content you want.

6. Find your perfect opponent.
DiaperBaby has played (and whupped) all his friends, his little brother, and even the aforementioned not-nice twin. DiaperBaby needs fresh meat. So he turns to Xbox Live Matchmaking. He can do a QuickMatch and grab the first available opponent, or use OptiMatch to find someone with a comparable experience level and other game-specific criteria. DiaperBaby is happy.

5. Build a posse of teammates and opponents.
Once you find the gamers you like to play with, add them to your Friends list. Every time you go Live you'll see whether or not your Friends are online and if they're playing a game or waiting around for someone to play with. It's sort of like a combo between instant messaging and a clubhouse. And if one of your Friends ticks you off, you can always delete him from your list.

4. Send and receive game invites.
So you check out your Friends list to see who's online and you notice that a couple of Friends are hanging out, loitering in the lobby. Send them an instant game invitation. Or, if one of them invites you to play, you can accept or reject the invitation. What's really cool is that if you're in the middle of playing a football game with a couple of Friends, you can still receive an invitation from someone else to go play a racing game. And you can accept the invite, pop in the game disc, and go!

3. Compete for world domination.
We've got the stats. We know the truth—that Spleenmuncher is about as aggressive a player as Mr. Rogers and DiaperBaby is the real threat. Since we're keeping track of all that, you'll be able to see how you rank against every other person playing online. This might suck if you're Spleenmuncher, but will definitely feel awesome if you're kicking butt on three continents.

2. Voice. Kicks. Ass.
Taunt your opponents, verbally high-five your teammates, groan in despair, and exult with a war cry! It's all in real time, and unless you've experienced it before—those who've played games over a LAN when you can hear the trash talk from the next cubicle (oops, did we imply people are playing at work?) know exactly what we mean—you have no idea how unbelievably cool it is. You have to try it. You'll see.

1. Games! Games! Games!
The best reason to go Live is to play games with and against real human beings. The games are all that really matter when you get down to it. What good are Voice, Matchmaking, Friends lists and all the other great Xbox Live features if the games suck? Well, we're in luck because the games are AWESOME. Play NFL Fever 2003 at 3:00 am. Play MechAssault for 15 hours straight. Download content for ToeJam and Earl.


Be Heard on Xbox Live

Voice Communication
One of the first decisions we made when creating Xbox Live was to make voice an integral part of our technology. Every Xbox Live-enabled game that supports multiplayer gaming also supports voice. Period. We wanted our service to be a revolutionary, fun, and social atmosphere. And it's hard to be social without talking to other people.

Taunt opponents, strategize with teammates, groan in despair, and exult with a war cry! It's all in real time, and unless you've experienced it before, you have no idea how unbelievably cool it is (those who've played games over a LAN and heard trash talk from the next cubicle know exactly what we mean).

And if other players get obnoxious—be it over-the-top trash talk or heavy breathing—you can mute them!

Voice Chat
Not only can you communicate with friends during gameplay, but you can also chat before and after games. Voice chat allows you to send and accept invitations to chat from the Dashboard. Simply set up a voice chat session from the Xbox Live Dashboard and send chat invites to your buddies. They work just like game invites. Chats can accommodate a maximum of 16 chatters (depending on your network performance, of course), though realistically 16 voices babbling at once might make it a bit tough to follow the gist of the conversation. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

And, these are not random, open-to-anyone chat sessions. You invite your friends, and they can accept your invite and even bring one of their friends with our “friend of a friend” feature. It's a great way to meet new gamers and not have to worry about creeps. Unless you've got creeps on your Friends List intentionally—and in that case you're on your own.


Get Hooked Up

One of the best features of Xbox Live is finding friends for an online game. After all, playing with your friends, whether they're across the street or on the other side of the planet, is one of the main reasons you want online gaming. But it's not much fun unless you know they're online.

The Xbox Live Friends List is exactly what it sounds like: a list of your friends who are Xbox Live subscribers. Actually, it's a list of their Xbox Live Gamertags. After you set up your Friends List, you'll see the same list no matter which game you play. You build your Friends List by sending and accepting friend requests. You can have up to 100 friends on your list at a time.

You can also set up private games from your Friends List. Select your crew, and they'll show up (hopefully on time!).

All of these features are just a button mash or two away and another step toward being a part of one big family. And you will be—you've always got friends with Xbox Live. You can check up on each other, send each other invites, and play the same games whenever you like. That's the way we set it up, to make the games that much better. After all, what are friends for?

Your Friends on the Web
When you link your Gamertag to Xbox.com and sign in to the My Xbox Live Web site, you'll see your Friends List and be able to immediately identify who’s online and what they’re playing. You'll also see whether you've got any pending game or friend invites. If you see that your buddies are playing or you've got some invites, drop the mouse and mosey on over to the Xbox for some online competition.


Xbox Live Features: Matchmaking

Get Your Game On… Line

Chances are most strangers aren't like you. At some point in your life, you figured out the world is full of some wacky people. But you have friends, right? (We hope you do. If not, see our Friends article.) Maybe it took years to find the right ones. You'd probably be pretty frustrated if it took that long to find great games online. Ever want to play someone at your own skill level? Or maybe find people to play your favorite map or track? What if you just wanted the first available game? Xbox Live lets you decide.

Why's that useful? Let's say you're a dominating force in capture-the-flag, but a bench-warmer in football. Flip a few options and Xbox Live will pair you with the fastest snipers in the world but keep you learning with the pigskin rookies. Tired of those people who quit your game when they're losing? We know that stinks hardcore. What about the bullies that prey on newbie blood? Xbox Live tags everyone with a reputation, because no one likes a cheater or a poor sport. It's your call how you act—but people will know if you've been naughty or nice. (Yep—Santa's got a day job, and he works cheap!) The possibilities are endless, but one thing's always for sure—we find you fast connections to your preferred games.

Because we have a centralized system, scores and stats are all kept in a single, safe place. It's also where we store other people's feedback about you (Santa's actually got nothing on large databases). We can also tell you who's playing in the games, how long they've been playing, the current score, and how many open slots are left. Dive right in if there's a slot free. If not, there are plenty of other fish in our sea.

Of course, maybe you're not so picky. Maybe you just want to find a game—any game—right now! Xbox Live understands your impatience and gives you Quick Match. A couple of button presses and you're playing.

Or maybe you're very specific. You want your friends all on one team to work on your cooperation skills. Who says gamers can't be well-rounded? Reserve slots and slip your friends a private invitation. Your opponents, the unsuspecting bunch, will wander in but won't take one of your friends' spots. (Hint: Use caution if they seem to know each other, too.)

Alice Pritikin, program manager for Xbox Live game matching, puts it this way: "We've taken the guesswork out of the system. All you have to do is decide who and what you want to play. We'll find you that lag-free, ideal game—it's up to you to stamp your name all over it."


Features: Content Download

The Feature that Keeps on Giving

We know you love your Xbox games. We love 'em too. But we also know that after you've logged 300 hours in ANY game (yes, even the almighty Halo), you start to wish for something new. And we all know how long sequels can take to come around. So for those hardcore gamers who just can't wait for Part 2 and are itching for something new RIGHT NOW, we have Content Download, courtesy of Xbox Live.

What is Content Download? Well it's stuff that you can get right from the Xbox Live service straight onto your Xbox hard disk (so that's why we put that in there!). No need to go to the store, no need to wrestle with that insidious shrink-wrap. Just click a couple buttons in the Xbox Live Dashboard, and ta-dah! New game content is flowing through those Ethernet cables right into your Xbox!

What kind of content, you ask? How do new cars and tracks for racing games grab ya? Weapons, skins, and maps for first-person shooter enthusiasts? How about whole new civilizations and technologies for strategy games? RPG your bag, baby? You'll be able to download armor, spells, weapons, characters, monsters… anything you can think of.

That all sounds great, but what's the catch? Is it gonna take all afternoon to download? Will it cost a fortune? Are any game developers going to take the time to create new content?

The bigger the chunks of stuff are that you want to download, the longer it's going to take. So, downloading a whole orc village is going to take a while, whereas downloading a spell or a broadsword will be done before you can blink. It'll be the same for pricing. Some stuff will cost money, but there's tons of free stuff, too. Don't worry, nothing will ever have hidden charges. Whenever you click the final "Okay" and start downloading, you'll always know exactly how much it's going to cost you. As for developers creating downloadable content, read what the developers of Unreal Championship have to say about the subject.

Downloading stuff on Xbox Live is like going to the best concert you've ever been to, and then getting to go backstage and meet the band. It takes a fantastic time and makes it that much better.


Take Xbox Live on Vacation

When cabin fever sets in and you realize you haven't left the house in weeks, it's time to pack up and hit the road. But if the thought of being without your Xbox Live fix for more than a few hours gives you the shakes, just take it with you! Let's see, you've got your toothbrush, Xbox, controllers, Communicator, 35-inch TV, power cords, Ethernet cables, and all your favorite games. Hmmm. Is this going to fit in your carry-on bag?

Hang on there, sport. You don't need to bring your whole system on vacation. All you need to play Xbox Live when you're on the road is your account. Play Phantasy Star Online in Boise, Ghost Recon: Island Thunder in Boston, MechAssault in Miami, and NFL Fever 2004 in Pasadena. How can you pull this off? The secret is an Xbox Memory Unit. "What?" you say. That little black plastic thing I plug into the controller to save my games on? You got it. (And if you don't have one—get one.)

Not only can you save games on your MU, you can save your Xbox Live account. This gives you the power to play anywhere you find an Xbox and high-speed Internet service. Simply plug in your MU and copy your account to it. Here's how:

-Go to the Xbox Dashboard Main Menu. Yes, this means leaving the Xbox Live Now Dashboard if you’re there.

-Select Memory.

-Select Xbox Hard Disk.

-Select Xbox Live Accounts.

-Select an Xbox Live Account and press A.

-Select Copy to copy it to any attached memory unit with a free account slot.

Then pop the MU in your pocket and you're on your way. Plug it into any Xbox console that's connected to Xbox Live, and your account, Gamertag, Friends list, and stats are all at your command—just like you never left home.

Just remember, if you change any of your information while you're "roaming," your console back home won't reflect those changes, so you'll need to plug in your MU and let the Xbox update your info.

Whether you love to roadtrip and visit friends, or the only time you leave the house is on forced marches to Grandma's, the MU will keep you connected to the Xbox Live community wherever you go.


How We Keep Xbox Live a Great Place to Play Online

One of things we strive to do with Xbox Live is to give you a great place to play where everyone can have fun as part of a community. Part of living in any community is making sure that every member lives and abides by the rules in terms of what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. What does that mean to you on Xbox Live? Because the Xbox Live community is managed by its users (you), it means you're empowered to let us know when you play with someone who makes the experience un-fun. This way, we can take action to help that person understand the error of their ways, and hopefully prevent that kind of behavior in the future. We've practiced this policy this since Xbox Live launched, but we've read the comments in the forums and talked to a lot of gamers, and we feel it's time to get more diligent.

What's considered bad behavior?
We're not talking about an occasional four-letter word. We're talking about the people who scream, make racially derogatory comments, or are so obnoxious that they affect the amount of fun everyone else has on Xbox Live. Check out the Code of Conduct here on xbox.com or in the Xbox Dashboard for examples of the sorts of things that aren't OK—for instance, choosing a Gamertag or nickname that's offensive, being abusive or using constant profanity over the Xbox Communicator, or just being an annoying jerk while playing.

What can you do if you play with someone who's exhibiting bad behavior and making the experience un-fun?
Send player feedback about them. All games include this option (from the Players List). You can send feedback on anyone you're playing or just played with.

What happens to the feedback?
All feedback is reviewed weekly and action is taken against the players who receive a significant numbers of complaints. Below is a list of current offenses and resulting banning actions:

* If you choose a Gamertag that violates the Code of Conduct and other gamers complain about it, you'll be forced to change it. And we're good at recognizing the hidden meaning in creative spellings, so you might as well pick something nice from the start.

* If you choose a nickname that violates the Code of Conduct in any game regardless of ESRB rating, and other players complain about it, your account will be suspended. First offense is a one-day suspension. Second offense is one week. Third offense and every subsequent offense is two weeks.

* If your use of voice violates the Code of Conduct and other gamers complain about it, you'll be voice-banned. Durations of the voice ban are the same as for suspensions. If you're voice-banned you can still play, but no one else will be able to hear what you say.

* If you violate the Code of Conduct by cheating or exhibiting "bad gameplay" and other gamers complain about it, you'll also find yourself suspended from one day to two weeks.

* If you are voice banned, locked out, or asked to change your Gamertag, you'll be notified in the Xbox Dashboard when you go to play. If you are voice banned or locked out, you'll also be sent an e-mail to the account you used to sign up for Xbox Live.


Xbox Live Members Get New Dashboard

If you're an Xbox Live subscriber, you can see some amazing improvements and additions to the Xbox Dashboard. We're calling these new features Live Now. Fire up your Xbox without a game in the tray and bask in the glory of the new look and new capabilities.

For starters, you can get to your Friends List right away, in the Dash, without going through Account Management or starting up a Live game. On your Friends list, see who's online and what game they're playing. If you want to invite them to join you in a new game, send the invite from the Dash! This makes it so much easier to hook up with your friends and get in a game.

You can also to set up a Voice Chat session from your Dashboard. How cool is that?

Account Management is also on the main screen and has all the fabulous and tantalizing account management options that you have all come to know and love. Okay, we know they're not quite as exciting as the Halo 2 trailer, but it's good to have 'em when you need 'em.

If you just can't deal with change, just select Main Menu, and you'll be right back in the comfortable old main menu.


Gamertag Linking: What’s in It for You?

Link your Gamertag now!
Why would you want to do that? We’re glad you asked. Here are the four best reasons to link your Gamertag:

It doesn’t suck.
All right, the process of linking probably isn’t going to end up on the highlight reel of your all-time greatest moments. But it’s pretty painless and should be smooth as butter if you have the info you need in front of you when you start. You’ll need the same information that you used to sign up for your Xbox Live account: “real” name, ZIP code, phone number, and the last four digits of your credit card number. You can get all this from the Xbox Dashboard if you can’t remember it. We’re not asking for any new information, just verifying that you are who you say you are—otherwise, everyone might claim to be two-time tourney champ hockeystud29!

XSN Sports, baby!
You need to be linked if you want to join or create leagues and tournaments. XSN Sports is revolutionizing sports video games, and you definitely want to be along for the ride. Other upcoming games (sports and others) will also feature leagues and tourneys on their own Web sites, and you’ll need to authenticate your Gamertag in the same way.

Scoreboards rule!
Any joker with access to the Internet can check out the top 100 scorers for a particular game on the xbox.com/live site. But only those with linked ‘tags have the ability to see just their scores, check the standing of a Friend or arch rival, search for the 50 gamers above and 50 below them on the leaderboards, and more.

Keep your Friends close…
Let’s not kid ourselves, the reason online gaming kicks so much ass is that you get to play against real people instead of AI. But you already know that. What rocks about the new xbox.com/live site is that—if you’ve linked your Gamertag—you’re able to see your Friends List right there on your PC. You’ll get all the same information you’d get in the Xbox Dashboard: which Friends are online, what games they’re playing. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your gaming buddies.

So what are you waiting for? Link your Gamertag now!


Xbox Live Aware Opens the Doors Between Online and Offline Games

Imagine this scenario: You get home from work, school, band camp… whatever, and you feel like playing a little Ghost Recon. So you pop the Ghost DVD into your Xbox and look around for a game. Only none of your clan members are online. This annoys you. How dare they? So you have two choices: You could go do your homework, mow the lawn, or practice playing the trumpet, OR you could pop in an Xbox Live Aware title and play a fun offline game while you wait for your buddies to get their butts on Xbox Live.

Xbox Music Mixer and other Xbox Live Aware titles will hit the shelves in time for the holiday season, which will make for incredible post-holiday gaming online AND offline.

Here's how it's going to work. You pop an offline game (or super-fun title like Xbox Music Mixer) into your Xbox and it automatically searches for an Xbox Live account. If you're an Xbox Live subscriber, you'll be logged into the service. Unfortunately, this doesn't make your offline game magically Xbox Live enabled (sorry, Halo fans), but it DOES give you the ability to keep track of what's happening on Xbox Live. You can quickly check your Friends List to see if any of those slackers have logged on. Plus, your friends will be able to see that you're online and send you game invites that will pop up in the game you're playing—just like a cross-game invite between two Xbox Live enabled games. So when your clan members start to log on to Xbox Live, they'll send you a Ghost Recon game invite, you'll pop in the Ghost disc, and away you'll go!

Xbox Live Aware opens the doors that once separated online and offline games. As Xbox Live Aware program manager Andrew Murphy said, "It's the icing on the cake. Once a lot of games use Xbox Live Aware, you'll wonder what you ever did without it."


About Xbox Live Tournaments

One of the greatest features of Xbox Live is the competition. Most of the time you play for fun or bragging rights. Other times you play to earn a spot on the scoreboards. And then there are times when you gotta give it up for a shot at fame and fortune! You’ve seen gamers win trips to compete in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and even France. If you’ve got the skills, you can win big prizes and even bigger experiences on Xbox Live.

So signup for XBOX Live today, and live a happier tomorrow!

[Notoriousaurus]

Xbox live is kewl!