Xbox Live Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
In 2002, Microsoft released the successful online gaming service Xbox Live on its first console, the Xbox. It quickly became the de facto standard for Internet gaming on consoless. By subscribing to Xbox Live people can play games with (or against) other Xbox Live players all around the world.Unlike other online multiplayer systems (including those used on the PC and PlayStation 2), Xbox Live is highly centralized. This means that while game companies supply the networking code and gameplay, Microsoft provides the server bandwidth and user frontend; this in turn removes much of the financial burden from game developers, adding incentive to add multiplayer modes to games. This system also means that instead of paying developer firms for access to individual games, users need to pay only one yearly fee (currently $50 USD) for non-massively multiplayer games. Also, because Xbox Live is broadband-only, it is much less susceptible to network lag. While some third-party services for online play also exist, they are unsupported by Microsoft.
Centralization does have its downsides though. On the PC for example, few games charge a separate fee to play online. Players pay monthly fees for massively multiplayer online games regardless of the platform, which on Xbox Live translates to paying in addition to the yearly fee, such as Phantasy Star Online's $9 USD a month. The centralized requirement of Xbox Live was also a reason why Electronic Arts had not used the service.
At the Game Developers Conference in March 2004, Microsoft announced plans to make newer versions of Windows support Xbox Live and opening the service to computer gamers.
Xbox Live received a major boost in May 2004 when Electronic Arts announced it would support the service for the first time (the company had formerly only supported the PlayStation 2's online capabilities), however with the concession that Electronic Arts' own servers could be used instead of the standard servers maintained by Microsoft for other Xbox Live titles. Many users in Europe have complained about the performance of EA's servers, however, particularly on the game Burnout 3, questioning the logic of providing a central service only to decentralise servers for certain titles.