On Friday, Nov. 15, the one-year anniversary of the launch of the most powerful
video game system on the planet, Microsoft Corp. will launch its Xboxâ„¢
Live online game service and propel the North American gaming world into the
future of video games. At launch, more than 5,000 North American retail outlets
will begin selling the Xbox Live Starter Kit for a suggested price of $49.95
(U.S.). For the price of a new game, the kit includes a one-year subscription
to the broadband-only service, the highly anticipated Xbox Communicator headset
and a minigame so gamers can start playing with their friends right away. Retail
programs will be supported by a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign that
will include advertising, retail communications and promotional activities.

With features like GamerTag ID, Friends list, and Content Download, it’s no
wonder 100,000 gamers have signed up for the beta-test, and by the end of the
month 10,000 lucky beta testers will be the first to try this exciting new service
. . .

In addition, at least six Xbox Live-enabled games are currently scheduled to
be available on Nov. 15, with more than 10 others to follow by the end of the
holiday season. Scheduled launch games for Xbox Live are “Unreal
Championship” from Infogrames Inc.; “Tom Clancy’s
Ghost Recon” from Ubi Soft Entertainment; “NFL
2K3” and “NBA 2K3” from Sega Enterprises
Ltd.; and “Whacked!™” and “NFL
Fever 2003” from Microsoft Game Studios. More than 50 Xbox Live-enabled
games will launch during 2003, including “Halo™ 2,”
“Counter-Strike” and “Star Wars:
Galaxies.” More than 60 game publishers are currently working
on Xbox Live-enabled games.

“We designed Xbox from day one to catapult console gamers online,”
said J Allard, general manager of Xbox at Microsoft. “Xbox Live is
the answer for gamers who want to take this next leap forward. Last year at
this time, we took gaming to the next level by launching Xbox; now we’re
in concert with our partners and the industry to ensure that Nov. 15 will once
again be a great day for gamers and the industry. Xbox Live is the first unified
gaming service that takes gamers beyond the box to a global gaming arena where
they become the superstars.”

The Xbox Live service was part of the initial design of the Xbox console, taking
into consideration specific feedback Microsoft received directly from gamers
and game developers about what they wanted and expected from an optimal online
gaming experience. Key to the service is the support of four datacenters: two
in Seattle, and one each in London and Tokyo. These datacenters will enable
Microsoft to assist publishers by managing the hosting, networking, security
and billing so game creators can focus on awesome game content, and gamers can
be comfortable with a single bill for all gameplay. In addition, gamers will
benefit from key, consistent features of the Xbox Live service across games
from all publishers, including these:

• Gamertag. A player’s Gamertag will be the
same for all games across the global gaming service.
• Friends
list. Players will be able to find their friends online and invite
them to a game, no matter which Xbox Live game they’re playing.

• Xbox Communicator. Voice communication functionality
is integrated with all Xbox Live multiplayer games, enabling teammates and
opponents to speak to one another during games. Key elements of this feature
exclusive to Xbox include voice masking, global muting and parental control.

• Matchmaking. QuickMatch allows gamers to enter
a multiplay experience with a single button click, and with OptiMatch, an
Xbox Live exclusive, players will be able to select games and opponents
based on similar skill levels.
• Ability to download
content to the Xbox hard disk. Only Xbox enables console gamers
to download and permanently store both free and for-a-fee content that can
include new levels, characters, missions and statistics.
Xbox Communicator
Xbox Communicator

The Nov. 15 launch date for Xbox gives a two-month head start to Sony, which on Aug. 27 will begin selling a network adapter that will let the PS2 tap into a broadband or dial-up Internet connection for online game play.

Besides Sony’s support for dial-up connections, the main difference between the two companies’ approaches is that Xbox Live will be a closed network, with Xbox gamers able to connect to each other only through the Microsoft-maintained Xbox Live system. The system will include games from Microsoft and third-party publishers.

Sony will leave it to game publishers to do the back-end work of maintaining servers and other infrastructure, with the PS2 maker providing the software to make it work.

Analysts and game publishers have modest expectations for both approaches, with few expecting online gaming via consoles to draw a significant audience until a new generation of Internet-ready game boxes enters the market in a few years.

To date, more than 100,000 gamers have signed up for an opportunity
to be beta testers for the Xbox Live service. Later this month, more than 10,000
of these gamers will be selected to participate in the final stage of the beta
test.
Details for the Xbox Live service launch in Japan and Europe will be announced
in those markets in the coming months.