AfterDawn: News

Xbox Live to celebrate 5 year anniversary

In celebration of the 5th anniversary of Xbox Live, on November 15th Microsoft will be giving all Xbox Live users the chance to download Carcassone for free.

The company also boasted that “more than eight million members are now actively engaged in the largest social entertainment network on TV.”



Any active user that joined in 2002 will receive 500 free Microsoft Points as a reward for being loyal.

"In just five short years Xbox Live has revolutionized the way friends and family have fun in the living room," said John Schappert, corporate vice president of Live, software and services at Microsoft. "On its fifth birthday, Xbox Live truly is the place for hanging out with friends and enjoying downloadable TV shows, movies, videos, game add-ons, and now downloadable Xbox games on demand."

Source:
Dailytech

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Nov 2007 18:05

• Previous article

• Interact-TV unveils 3.75TB MediaPool

• Next article

• Envision unveils Omni series high def displays

• 22 comments

• limelight

  Carcassone? How about SFIIHF??

  14.11.2007 22:37 #1

• vinny13

  'Bunch of cheap-a$$e$! You'd think they'd be generous and give up a month of Live for free and then like 3 for a '02 subscriber...
  
  It's nice that they're doing something, but I just think that the people deserve more since they have to pay so much a year for it.

  14.11.2007 22:48 #2

• wabashman

  It's nice that they're doing something, but I just think that the people deserve more since they have to pay so much a year for it.pay so much?? its 50 bucks a year, or $4.16 a month, or 13.6 cents per day. since when did that become so much money? hell, just eat at Macdonald's one less day per month and you saved enough money for live......

  14.11.2007 23:27 #3

• ZippyDSM

  They are making money off of digital sales they no longer need the 50 a month to stay afloat, thus they need to drop the premium altogether or add a ton of freebies to it..

  15.11.2007 00:02 #4

• saltynuts

  Originally posted by vinny13: 'Bunch of cheap-a$$e$! You'd think they'd be generous and give up a month of Live for free and then like 3 for a '02 subscriber...
  
  It's nice that they're doing something, but I just think that the people deserve more since they have to pay so much a year for it.
  
  hate to break it to you but where i live 50.00usd is not alot of money.iam not trying to sound funny or anything but its not sorry.

  15.11.2007 02:57 #5

• BIGnewb

  and again screws over their loyal fans,,,

  15.11.2007 06:41 #6

• DoomLight

  still should be cheaper after spending all that moola for the games and system...
  
  the only thing they should charge for is the marketplace content. multiplayer should be free.
  
  ever notice the lack of 2 player games (simultaneously) on a single console? ur friend has to have a 360 and a copy of the game lately. just to play 2 player games.
  
  now u have to spend 8 bux a month or 20 for 3 months or 50 for a year to play ur friends. sounds like BS to me.
  
  and that Carcassone game? what the hell. that game is about as fun as crashing into a pole with a Bentley Contintental

  15.11.2007 08:43 #7

• wabashman

  well if it sounds like BS to you, then dont play on live and enjoy the free crappy online play provided by sony.

  15.11.2007 08:48 #8

• spydah

  Originally posted by wabashman: well if it sounds like BS to you, then dont play on live and enjoy the free crappy online play provided by sony.I figure somebody would drop the Sony bomb around here never fails. Furthermore M$ should lower XBL prices for people whom had it since they started these services. Topically thats what happens with a lot of places you pay a membership to some lower prices and give better rates to those whom have been loyal to them. Thats called dedicated customer appreciation. Its not a matter of being cheap its a matter of showing your fans/customers that you appreciate their business and loyalty.

  15.11.2007 11:10 #9

• spydah

  Originally posted by DoomLight: still should be cheaper after spending all that moola for the games and system...
  
  the only thing they should charge for is the marketplace content. multiplayer should be free.
  
  ever notice the lack of 2 player games (simultaneously) on a single console? ur friend has to have a 360 and a copy of the game lately. just to play 2 player games.
  
  now u have to spend 8 bux a month or 20 for 3 months or 50 for a year to play ur friends. sounds like BS to me.
  
  and that Carcassone game? what the hell. that game is about as fun as crashing into a pole with a Bentley Contintental
  Yes i have. A lot of games you want to play locally you cant which does suck royally. What they are actually doing is being their current features is what they do with everything they own is charge you twice or more the same things. I know their goal as well as others is to maximize profits but they are getting a serious capital gain on their system and digital software. Its going to be the same for the games you can soon buy that they dont support through BWC.

  15.11.2007 11:14 #10

• Pop_Smith

  Well this sucks, I originally saw this article on a different site and it said that we could pick any Arcade (or something to that point) game for free, that made me happy but I didn't think that it would be true.
  
  Really they should give one item you get to pick for free with exceptions to the most expensive items but Micro$oft is too cheap to do that.
  
  Also, if you've kept your account active since 2002 you should get something like 1000 points, or 3-months free of Live, with the user getting to pick.
  
  Peace

  15.11.2007 12:39 #11

• SProdigy

  Quote:Originally posted by DoomLight: still should be cheaper after spending all that moola for the games and system...
  
  the only thing they should charge for is the marketplace content. multiplayer should be free.
  
  ever notice the lack of 2 player games (simultaneously) on a single console? ur friend has to have a 360 and a copy of the game lately. just to play 2 player games.
  
  now u have to spend 8 bux a month or 20 for 3 months or 50 for a year to play ur friends. sounds like BS to me.
  
  and that Carcassone game? what the hell. that game is about as fun as crashing into a pole with a Bentley Contintental
  Yes i have. A lot of games you want to play locally you cant which does suck royally. What they are actually doing is being their current features is what they do with everything they own is charge you twice or more the same things. I know their goal as well as others is to maximize profits but they are getting a serious capital gain on their system and digital software. Its going to be the same for the games you can soon buy that they dont support through BWC.All of the Xbox Originals announced so far for Live are supported by BWC...
  
  Zippy, I do agree with you on this one. For all the money they make on Live Arcade and marketplace, they need to strip the fees altogether. Its good you can get on with a "Silver" membership, but ridiculous that you need to shell out $50 for "Gold" just to play multiplayer. It really %&*$ me off that they shove advertisement down to your dashboard now on top of it. If I pay for "Gold" I want NO ADS.
  
  That's also a good point about local multiplayer, and the reason the Wii is so hot right now. Most of the Wii games have some sort of local multiplayer. Why on earth doesn't Halo 3 have bots for some splitscreen action? Do they not realize that's what made games like Goldeneye so great to begin with? Who cares about all this horsepower and graphics! Just give me some fun sniper shots on that camper sitting next to me!

  15.11.2007 12:43 #12

• ZippyDSM

  SProdigy
  5+ years ago the whole 50$ thing made sense, its all aprt o buildign the brand and their network, now adays its just nickel and dimming the consuemrs,now if they gave away 20$ish worth of live points and other things then it would not be so bad, innovate the pricing to keep the consumer happy and competitors scrambling!

  15.11.2007 12:47 #13

• spydah

  Originally posted by ZippyDSM: SProdigy
  5+ years ago the whole 50$ thing made sense, its all aprt o buildign the brand and their network, now adays its just nickel and dimming the consuemrs,now if they gave away 20$ish worth of live points and other things then it would not be so bad, innovate the pricing to keep the consumer happy and competitors scrambling!
  This whole thing is all about customer appreciation and the only thing M$ appreciate is money $$$$$$$$$$$$$

  15.11.2007 13:02 #14

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Originally posted by ZippyDSM: SProdigy
  5+ years ago the whole 50$ thing made sense, its all aprt o buildign the brand and their network, now adays its just nickel and dimming the consuemrs,now if they gave away 20$ish worth of live points and other things then it would not be so bad, innovate the pricing to keep the consumer happy and competitors scrambling!
  This whole thing is all about customer appreciation and the only thing M$ appreciate is money $$$$$$$$$$$$$pretty much nin is about the only one to appreciate the consumer but then only so much...., if sony didn't go with a 40GB BWCless system as their cheap unit, I really am losing faith in the industry....

  15.11.2007 13:37 #15

• DoomLight

  Originally posted by wabashman: well if it sounds like BS to you, then dont play on live and enjoy the free crappy online play provided by sony.i am no ps3 fanboy. i just think its bunk that you have to pay to play ur friends. its weaksauce.
  
  i have no idea whats sony's network is about but last time i checked they have diddly squat for games so sony isnt even competition online wise for microsoft.

  15.11.2007 17:31 #16

• ZippyDSM

  Sony is building up their online service with HOME being their focus, the service it self will not be "worse" than what MS offers for Silver Live membership,it should offer cam/voice and other services for free, live will have to change sooner or later as competition ramps up.
  
  Live is solid but the whole 50 a year thing needs to be dropped its no longer needed.

  15.11.2007 17:40 #17

• saltynuts

  you people need to stop working your low paying jobs and step it up.since when did 50.00 usd= alot of money hell your cell phone bill cost more than that a month so whats wrong here.is it the money or just hate for M$.

  16.11.2007 06:30 #18

• REAM

  r you an idiot. its nto liek you are paying a pound very week. you pay it in one go. and it costs a lot to pay in one go. £35 is alot of money. and you might aswell say you can buy a car thats £1,000,000, but only pay 1p a day for it.

  16.11.2007 07:22 #19

• vinny13

  Why should we continue to pay the richest company in the world? I'm pretty sure they can afford it...

  16.11.2007 17:45 #20

• saltynuts

  Originally posted by REAM: r you an idiot. its nto liek you are paying a pound very week. you pay it in one go. and it costs a lot to pay in one go. £35 is alot of money. and you might aswell say you can buy a car thats £1,000,000, but only pay 1p a day for it.
  
  
  
  now who sound like a idiot? i live america and here 50.00 is not alot of money calling me names will not change that fact.now dont get me wrong i do understand that there are some people that cant afford to pay it,in that case dont buy a 360 buy a ps3 its a good machine and the online is totally free.again iam not trying to sound like a smartass.but come on guys of all the things we can cause a rukas over 50.00usd for a whole year of service is not one of them.

  16.11.2007 20:40 #21

• borhan9

  i dont even know wat that show is so hence it must be crapp.

  2.12.2007 21:21 #22