Xbox Live: A Retrospective

Added January 21st, 2005 by Cougrrr

It has been a little over two years since Microsoft launched the online console gaming service that would set the bar for future consoles and online games for years to come. When the Xbox was announced, many avid console gamers mocked Microsoft for trying to dip their hands into the console gaming realm. This feeling was only enhanced when Xbox Live was launched, with many gamers saying that online console games were never going to do well or attract the same popularity as online PC games like Half-Life. Microsoft proved many gamers wrong however, with one of the most successful online gaming services in the history of the industry.

For most players, the original launch titles for Live were a little suspect. Main titles included NFL Fever 2003, NBA 2K3, MechAssault, Whacked! and Unreal Championship. Not one of these games shared the same success and popularity as some of their like-genre competitors, but Microsoft took the leap of faith, and eventually succeeded where Sega and Sony had very limited success.

So what has changed in the last two years? Besides bringing in the all mighty dollar for Microsoft, has anything good happened for the gamer? Well, yes. Live has brought about a whole new army of online players, and has also turned the casual console gamer into the net gaming junky. People love the fact that they can play their favorite games with someone that speaks a different language, from a different culture, or a former friend that has moved away.

Microsoft can credit some of its success to the all-inclusive fee (for most games) that is a part of Live. For the small fee of $5.99 a month, or $49.99 a year, all Live games can be played on the service. Unlike some gaming services that require a fee per game, Microsoft took a decent step in trying to make an all-inclusive online gaming community. This is a big draw for players that want to try online games for the first time. If that person tries one game, and hates it, they’ll probably stop playing these games all together. However, if they have a two month free Live trial, and during that time try another game and love it, a new customer is hooked because they didn’t have to pay for both.

Much success can also be attributed to the quality games now helping build the Live player base. Titles like Halo 2 have dramatically increased the player base of Xbox’s service, as well as Electronic Arts finally jumping on the Live bandwagon with their 2005 line of EA Sports games. Microsoft currently has over 100 Live or Live Aware games that offer either online multiplayer or content download, with more coming out every month.

But not everything is perfect in the world of Xbox Live. Players still have a few gripes about certain parts of the setup. Lag is a concern for many players. Although broadband connections are required, it is true that not all broadband is created equal. Those with good connections run into players with connections that are suspect at best, and have to play at the lower bandwidth level, causing headaches and annoyance in the middle of a game. There are also many less-than-quality games out for Live now as well. Most of the games that are just decent use Live to try and hold player interest in the game slightly longer, and it works sort of, but can get boring and stale fast.

Another large gripe from players is the lack of promised downloads for some games. A few games have done very well with content downloads. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell had three additional levels available for download through Live, all of which were complete with new scenery, scenarios, and full objectives. Other games have been suspect at best in content available for downloading. Gamers are also screaming for cheat patches available through the Live services for known level glitches. It’s not as easy as it sounds however. Online PC gaming has the ability to release developer packs and have all the gamers take a shot at level creation and development (a la – Counter-Strike) while console gaming doesn’t have that same ability. Most of the future development for games like Halo 2 and its levels will be done in house. Cheat patches are not so easy either. Most games on consoles run off the disk only, unlike a PC where files can be installed, and then patched over to fix glitches, and on the disk things can’t be fixed on the fly.

One other factor that deters people from Live is the mix of all ages online. There is an undeniable lack of maturity from some online gamers, especially in the younger sector. Kind of like when the seniors at a school have to share lunch tables with ninth graders. Not to say that the seniors are all mature and well mannered, but it’s a different level of maturity that should be looked into. Perhaps a “Play with age range” feature available to future games, based off a Live profile. This problem isn’t exclusive to Live though, Counter-Strike proved that when you hand a 13 year old a microphone, an empty house because his parents are still at work, and a PC, he’s going to be an annoyance to everything and everyone on the server. Not much has changed either, as six years later, those same people are complaining about the 13 year olds today, and how they were never like that. *cough*. Either way, this is another hard problem to fix, because regardless of age, people will always find a way to be annoying with a microphone and an internet connection.

Two years later, and a hundred plus games in the bag, Live has proven that success can be had in console gaming, both business and consumer. People seem generally positive towards the Live experience and what it offers those interested in games but are PC shy, or don’t have the hardware to compete in the PC realm anymore. It looks like the only foreseeable feature for Live is up, as the popularity and anticipation of new games steadily builds. To review…

Pros

-Large number of games, one of them is bound to fit someone’s style.
-All-inclusive fee, priced well, and fairly inexpensive.
-Quality games making a push towards Xbox Live.
-Large amounts of Microsoft backing, they aren’t going to bail on the setup

Cons

-Lag, lag, did someone just say Lag?
-Lack of promised content for download.
-Immaturity. You stupid face.

Overall

As an overall score, Xbox Live gets a five out of five (5/5) for a few reasons. It has changed the face of the online gaming community, bringing out thousands of players that would have otherwise been stuck in their house and LAN games if it was not for Live. Even though it has a few drawbacks, the service offers far more pros than cons, and many of the cons are not feasible fixes on a system based on console online play.