Xbox Live:Will it Live?

Just a few months ago, when Microsoft was quizzed on whether it will offer free online services with its Xbox Live service, it gave a quick and short reply – no. With both of Microsoft’s rivals, Sony and Nintendo, offering free online services with their next-gen consoles, Xbox Live could be in a little trouble. And so, Microsoft’s reply means that when PS3 users and Wii users are going to be taking their consoles online for free in a few months’ time, Xbox Live users will still need to pay a fee. Take that, Microsoft! The situation is not the same as before anymore. Both Sony and Nintendo have strengthened their respective online services and will put up a fiercer fight this time round. The Wii will even stay connected after being switched off! So, here comes the main point of this article: Will Xbox Live survive? According to Microsoft itself, yes. It gave quite a confident reply. “We're very confident in the strategy that we have. We're well on our way to having 6 million connected members by this time next year,” Shane Kim, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios, said (Adapted from an interview by Electronic Gaming Monthly in the July 2006 issue). According to my opinion, the answer is also a yes. Yes, you may argue that PS3’s online service is going to be very similar to Xbox Live and that it will offer very much the same what Xbox Live offers, but for free. Yes, you may say that when Xbox Live first started, it was in the age of PS2 and GameCube, where online play (or online services) are almost non-existent. Yes, you may also argue that Xbox Live, which offers some budget PC titles and oldie games for download, may pale in comparison to the Wii’s online service, Wii24Connect, which will offer SNES (or Famicom in Japan), N64 and a host of games from older consoles for download. However, if you look beyond the external surface of Xbox Live, then you will not see it crumble, but instead, its winning card that will set it apart from its competitors’ online services: Live Anywhere. The Wii may be staying connected for 24 hours, but I think that this ‘Live Anywhere’ will have a bigger impact on the gaming scene. Okay, what exactly is this ‘Live Anywhere’? It means that PC (those on Microsoft Vista), mobile and Xbox 360 users will be going online to play games together. For example, an Xbox 360 user playing Halo 2 can challenge a gamer playing Halo 2 on Windows Vista online. This ‘Live Anywhere’ thing will open up many possibilities in gaming. For example, when an Xbox 360 game (one with multiplayer) is released, it may also be released on PC, but compatible only with Windows Vista. On the mobile front, I do not really know how the ‘Live Anywhere’ is going to be integrated, but I do know that Xbox Live will be successful if this ‘Live Anywhere’ thing works out. So far, Sony and Nintendo do not seem to have any similarly planned program. Wherefore, I must say that yes, Xbox Live will live to tell the tale. Now, it is only a matter of whether time will agree with me, because time tells the result of everything!