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XBox Live provides, as standard, voice communications (through a headset bundled in the starter pack or available seperately), and a game-independent "Friends list" of online associates. Depending on the individual game in question, patches and new game content may also be available on the service, although downloadable content may come with an extra charge (billed to the credit card which XBox Live was registered on). Players may choose, on compatable games, to be alerted when a friend is online or has sent them a message, even if the game they are playing at the time does not support internet play itself. These games are known as "Live Aware".
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 gameA massively multiplayer online game MMOG is a type of computer game that enables hundreds or thousands of players to simultaneously interact in a game world they are connected to via the Internet. Typically this kind of game is played in an online, multips regardless of the platform, which on Xbox Live translates to paying in addition to the yearly fee, such as Phantasy Star OnlinePhantasy Star Online (PSO), released in 2000, was an online title for Sega Dreamcast. PSO was also later ported to Microsoft Windows, but this version was only released in Asia. A bugfix/upgrade edition was released the following year, entitled Phantasy Ss $9 USD a month. The centralized requirement of Xbox Live was also a reason why Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts is a leading video game developer and publisher. It was founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins. As such, it is the largest video game publisher in the world, with sales exceeding $2 billion ( US) annually. EA's success over the years was built up had not used the service.
At the Game Developers ConferenceThe Game Developers Conference GDC is an annual gathering of video game developers. The conference is comprised of an expo and a variety of tutorials, lectures and roundtables by industry professionals on game-related topics covering programming, design, in March 20042004 : January February March April May June July August September October November December Deaths • 08 Abu Abbas • 20 Queen Juliana • 28 Peter Ustinov • 30 Alistair Cooke More March 2004 deaths Ongoing events EU Enlargement Exploration of Mars: Rovers H, Microsoft announced plans to make newer versions of WindowsImage use policy. Microsoft Windows is a range of commercial operating environments for personal computers. The range was first introduced by Microsoft in 1985 and eventually has come to dominate the world personal computer market. All recent versions of support Xbox Live and opening the service to computer gamers.
Xbox Live received a major boost in May 20042004 : January February March April May June July August September October November December May 31, 2004 Memorial Day: President Bush honors the United States' war dead of past conflicts, and says that "two terror regimes are gone forever" in Iraq and Af when Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts is a leading video game developer and publisher. It was founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins. As such, it is the largest video game publisher in the world, with sales exceeding $2 billion ( US) annually. EA's success over the years was built up 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 EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se 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.
With the release of Halo 2, XBox Live gained a significant killer app. Bungie's website now hosts statistics for every Live Halo 2game a player has been involved in, including a graphical summary of the key events in the match. These statistics are also available as RSS newsfeeds.
Microsoft have also revealed some plans for an XBox Live webcam, for video chat. It might also be used in games, in a similar manner to the Eye toy .