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Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and content delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It was first made available to the Xbox video game console in November 2002. more...

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An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at that system's launch. Games for Windows - Live makes certain aspects of the system available on Windows Vista PCs, with plans to extend Live to other platforms such as handhelds and mobile phones as part of the Live Anywhere initiative.

History

As Microsoft developed the original Xbox console, online gaming was designated as one of the key pillars for the greater Xbox strategy. Opting to create a unique console experience, it was decided that a hard disk drive and an ethernet port were vital to the platform, allowing for a more PC-style experience. The former would allow for downloadable content, such as new levels, maps, weapons, challenges and characters, while the latter allowed adaptability to standard ethernet equipment. The ethernet port also served as an end to a means, since Microsoft decided that their online gaming service for the Xbox console would require a broadband connection, stating that dial-up connections would not allow them to standardize features (such as voice communication) and were inappropriate for intense online gaming. Critics scoffed at the idea, citing poor broadband adoption at the turn of the century. Sega made a similar attempt to capitalize on the ever-growing online gaming scene when it launched the Dreamcast video game console in 1998. The console shipped with a dial-up modem while a later-released broadband adapter was not widely supported or widely available.

When the Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, the as-yet unnamed online service was destined for a Summer 2002 deployment. Xbox Live was finally given a name at E3 2002 when the service was unveiled in its entirety. Sound dampened booths and broadband connected Xbox consoles - featuring an early version of Unreal Championship - demonstrated the service on the show floor. The Epic title was one of the flagship titles for the service, which was now slated for a debut on November 15, 2002, marking the anniversary of the Xbox launch. Microsoft announced that 50 Xbox Live titles would be available by the end of 2003. Utilizing the required broadband bandwidth, Xbox Live featured a unified gaming "Friends List", as well as a single identity across all titles (regardless of the publisher), and standardized voice chat and communication; a feature that was still in its infancy, even on the PC.

Leading up to the launch, Microsoft enlisted several waves of beta testers to improve the service and receive feature feedback. When the service debuted, it lacked much of the functionality that later titles included, but Xbox Live grew and evolved on the Xbox and many aspects of the service were included with the Xbox 360 console out of the box, rather than through a later update. Microsoft's 5000th patent was a Live-related patent which gives Xbox 360 users access to watch other gamers compete against each other over Xbox Live.

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