Xbox Live (trademarked as Xbox LIVE[4]) is an onlinemultiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system in November 2002. An updated version of the service became available for theXbox 360 console at the system's launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One.[citation needed] Xbox Live is a competitor of Sony's PlayStation Network and Nintendo's relatively new Nintendo Network.
The service was extended in 2007 on the Windowsplatform, named Games for Windows – Live, which makes most aspects of the system available on Windows computers. Microsoft has announced plans to extend Live to other platforms such as handhelds and mobile phonesas part of the Live Anywhere initiative.[5] With Microsoft'smobile operating system, Windows Phone, full Xbox Live functionality is integrated into new Windows Phones that launched since late 2010.[6] The service shut down for the original Xbox on April 15, 2010 and original Xbox Games are now only playable online through Lan Tunneling applications such as XLink Kai.[1]
The Xbox Live service is available as both a free and subscription-based service, known as Xbox Live Free[7]and Xbox Live Gold respectively, with most features such as online gaming restricted to the Gold service. Prior to October 2010, the free service was known as Xbox Live Silver.[8]
Xbox Live features[edit]
| Feature | Live Free[7][8] | Live Gold | Additional requirements | Currently available | Available on Xbox 360 | Available on Xbox One |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatars | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Avatar Kinect | Yes | Yes | Kinect | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bing | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Crackle[d] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Downloadable content | Yes[a] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free-to-play games[29] | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Game DVR | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Games with Gold | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Game Room | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Halo Waypoint[d] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Explorer | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kinect Fun Labs | Yes | Yes | Kinect | Yes | Yes | No |
| Live broadcasting[30] Twitch | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Media sharing[31] OneDrive, YouTube | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| MSN[b] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Online multi-player | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Party chat | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Sports Picks | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Upload Studio[32] | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Video Kinect | No | Yes | Headset (wired or wireless) and Kinect | Yes | Yes | No |
| Voice chat | Yes | Yes | Headset (wired or wireless) orKinect | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Xbox Live Arcade point results | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Xbox Live Cloud | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Xbox Music[e] | Yes | Yes | Xbox Music Pass | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Xbox Video[e] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social networking services | ||||||
| Skype[d] | Yes | Yes | Skype account and Kinect | Yes | No | Yes |
| Twitch.tv[d] | Yes | Yes | Twitch.tv account | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Twitter[m] | No | Yes | Twitter account | No | Yes | No |
| Facebook[m] | No | Yes | Facebook account | No | Yes | No |
| Television & other entertainment services | ||||||
| 4oD[c] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ABC iView[g] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon.comInstant Video[b] | Yes | Yes | Amazon account (optional Amazon Prime subscription available) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BBC iPlayer[c] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Canal+[h] | Yes | Yes | Canal+ subscription | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Crunchyroll[m] | Yes | Yes | Crunchyroll premium membership | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Demand 5[c] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ESPN[b] | Yes | Yes | WatchESPN affiliated ISP | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Foxtel On Xbox Live[g] | Yes | Yes | Foxtel On Xbox Live subscription | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hulu Plus[b] | Yes | Yes | Hulu Plus subscription | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iHeartRadio[k] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| last.fm[m] | No | No | last.fm account | No | No | No |
| Live events | Yes | Yes | Requirements vary by event | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live TV | Yes | Yes | Cable provider subscription | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Miss Teen USA | Yes | Yes | No | Annually | Yes | Yes |
| Miss Universe | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| MLB.tv | Yes | Yes | MLB.tv subscription | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Movistar TV[i] | Yes | Yes | Movistar TV subscription | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NFL on Xbox[k] | Yes | Yes | NFL account and cable provider subscription (Xbox One) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Netflix movie streaming[b][c] | Yes | Yes | Netflix subscription | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network Ten[g] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OneDrive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| SBS on Demand[g] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sky Go[c] | Yes | Yes | Sky TV subscription or pay-per-view; additional subscriptions required to access some content. | Yes | Yes | No |
| TELUS Optik TV[l] | No | Yes | Optik TV subscription & kit | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AT&T U-VerseTV[k] | Yes | Yes | AT&T U-Verse Subscription & Kit | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Verizon FiOSTV[k] | Yes | Yes | Verizon FiOS TV and Internet accounts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vodafone Casa TV[f] | Yes | Yes | Vodafone Casa TV subscription | Yes | Yes | No |
| Xfinity[k] | Yes | Yes | Xfinity Digital Preferred and Xfinity Internet accounts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ultimate Fighting Championship[e] | Yes[l] | Yes | Credit card (to purchase fights) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vevo | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube[d] | Yes | Yes | YouTube account | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| WWE[e][k] | Yes | Yes | WWE account | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ZDF[j] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
^ a Some content available one week after Gold subscribers
^ b Available in U.S. and Canada only ^ c Available in UK and Ireland only ^ d Over 18's Only/Parental Permission Required ^ e Various Rental Fees Apply ^ f Available in Portugal only ^ g Available in Australia only ^ h Available in France only ^ i Available in Spain only ^ j Available in Germany only ^ k Available in U.S. only ^ l Available in Canada only ^ m Discontinued from Xbox live marketplace | ||||||
Windows Live Messenger allows users of Xbox Live, PCs (Both on the Windows and Macintoshplatforms), and Windows Mobile devices to connect and directly message each other. It is possible for eight people to chat with one another at one time, while playing games, listening to music, or watching movies. This complements the existing voice and video chat of Xbox Live. Users will see at a glance if their existing contacts on Windows Live Messenger have Gamertags. As of the December 4, 2007 dashboard update, Windows Live Messenger on Xbox Live is now available to child accounts if the user is 13 years of age or older.
On September 4, 2007, Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit, which included a smallQWERTY keypad known as the Xbox 360 Chatpad that connects directly into the Xbox 360 controller, either wired or wireless, to support text and instant messaging.
Xbox 360 Features[edit]
- Virtual avatars representing the user's likeness.
- Achievements earned during gameplay.
- Gamerscores amounting the total of a user's Achievement points.
- Rep voted by other users preferring or avoiding the user. Rep defaults to five stars over time after the user has been preferred by at least one other user.
- Friends list displaying the user's chosen friends of up to 100.
- Recent players list displaying the last 50 players the user has met.
- Complaint system allowing users to file reports of other users that have broken Xbox Live Terms of Use.
- Windows Live Messenger integration.
- Xbox Live Marketplace offering downloadable content for games, music and movies.
- Voice and Video chat.
- Multiplayer gameplay for up to four players via system link or Xbox Live.
- Cross-platform multiplayer with Windows gamers on select games via Games for Windows - Live
- Matchmaking depending on the user's cumulative gamerscore, rep, location, language and gamer zone.
- Party system for up to eight users for playing games and watching movies.
- Family settings controlling younger users' exposure to other users.
- Inside Xbox video newsletter detailing Xbox 360 news, events, products, interviews and games. Content is streamed directly from the Xbox 360 Dashboard.
- Netflix video service offering unlimited streaming for thousands of television shows and movies. (requires Netflix Unlimited account)
- Xbox Video marketplace offering streaming of video content instantly in 1080p HD with 5.1 surround sound. (Requires Gold Membership)
- Last.fm music streaming service offering artist radio stations and related music. (Discontinued)[33]
- Halo Waypoint multimedia hub for all Halo-related content.
- Game Room virtual arcade space offering a library of classic retro games.
- MSN entertainment portal providing the latest news and gossip in the world of celebrities, music and movies.
- ESPN live and on-demand sports service offering streaming of up to 3,500 sporting events. (Requires Gold Membership)
- AT&T U-Verse and Telus Optik TV set-top box functionality.
- Windows Phone compatibility allowing users to manage their Xbox Live profiles, send and receive messages, play video games, as well as earn achievements exclusive to Windows Phone titles.
- Xbox Music marketplace offering unlimited streaming of music and music videos. (Requires Gold Membership)
- Avatar Kinect social media service allowing users to interact with one another and create media using their Avatars.
- Hulu Plus video streaming service offering commercially supported television and movie content from networks such as NBC, Fox and ABC (US). (Requires Hulu Plus account)
- Kinect Fun Labs development hub allowing users to play, create and share their own Kinect experiences.
- Bing search engine allowing users to search for any piece of content on their console.
- Internet Explorer allows users to browse the internet using their console. (Requires Gold Membership)
- Cloud storage allowing users to access their profiles and save data from any console.
- iHeartRadio streaming service, which streams over 800 US-based radio stations[34] (requires Gold membership and iHeartRadio account)
- YouTube application allowing for unlimited access to shared video content (requires Gold membership and YouTube account).
- IPTV service offering region-specific television content. (Requires Gold Membership)
- Epix offering movies-on-television content. (Requires Gold Membership)
- Dailymotion allowing users to access television and movie content (requires Gold Membership and Dailymotion account).
- UFC on Xbox Live allows users to view pay-per-view events in 1080p HD, access a library of live and on-demand video content, connect with friends to predict fight results and have the ability to compare fighter statistics and records.
- MLB.tv offering out-of-market Major League Baseball games (requires Gold membership and MLB.tv subscription) (Requires Gold Membership)
- Live event streaming, including video game announcements, award shows, concerts, sports, beauty pageants and news events (most events require Gold membership and fees)
- Sports Picks allowing users to predict the outcome of sporting events, including UFC, NBA and NHL games, with future support for MLB games and Miss Universe Organization pageants (requires Gold membership)
- Various TV on-demand services which are available to all users (no Gold subscription required), albeit restricted by region. Such services include:
- Australia: ABC iView
- Germany: ZDF Mediathek[35]
- UK: BBC iPlayer[36]
- Various TV on-demand services which require a Gold subscription. Access to these services varies by region and some require a separate subscription to the provider. Such services include:
- Australia: SBS on Demand and Foxtel On Xbox Live
- France: Canal+[37]
- UK: Demand 5, 4oD and SkyDrive
- U.S.: Xfinity On Demand and Verizon FiOS
- Canada: Tou.TV
Exclusive Xbox One Features[edit]
- Ability to record gameplay using the Upload app and Game DVR (requires Gold membership)
- Ability to use Kinect voice commands to navigate the system interface and activate features
- App "snapping", a feature that allows using two apps at once divided on two sides of the screen
- Access to "OneGuide", a customizable electronic program guide that integrates TV content and internet content – such as Hulu Plus – into one screen
- Ability to sign-in to the system using Kinect Facial Recognition
- Skype support allows users to video chat and voice chat with each other while playing games and using apps (requires Skype account and Kinect)
- Ability to edit saved gameplay clips in the Upload Studio and upload to SkyDrive (requires Gold membership)
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