Xbox Live Hits 2m, Prepares to Split
In case you're keeping count, that's 100,000 nice people and 1.9 million cheaters and bad losers.
Microsoft's debut video game system has been a success for the company and perhaps the best part of the package has been Xbox Live. The company has shown that online console gaming can work and revealed that the fee-based service has reached 2 million subscribers. The next hurdle is making the transition to the next generation.
Xbox 360 is Microsoft's herald of the so-called HD era. In addition to supporting high-definition TV, all Xbox 360 games will also have some sort of Xbox Live component.
Earlier this year, Microsoft's Peter Moore said the firm is hoping to get up to half of all Xbox 360 owners on Xbox Live - only roughly 10 per cent of Xbox owners are subscribed to the current online platform.
To get these sorts of numbers in the next generation, Microsoft is introducing two levels of service.
Xbox Live Silver is a free service focussed on community and communication, while the subscription-based Xbox Live Gold is more similar to the current Xbox Live and allows everything that Silver level offers and also opens up online gaming.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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