A Letter from Marc Whitten: Xbox LIVE @ E3 2009
Dear Xbox LIVE Members,
Last week we announced that Xbox LIVE has reached a staggering 20 million active members, reinforcing that Xbox LIVE isn't just an online gaming service; it's a community. That's why we're committed to offering entertainment for everyone on Xbox LIVE, from the core gamers with us since the beginning, to our newest members just learning about all the fun of Xbox 360.
We took a great step toward that goal last November when we re-imagined the Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE with the New Xbox Experience.
I talked then about our commitment to innovation on LIVE, and today we continue to deliver on that promise as we showcase new blockbuster games, technologies and partnerships that will transform the way people think about home entertainment. With Xbox LIVE at the center of your living room, you can watch your favorite movies in instant on 1080p HD and 5.1 channel surround sound with Zune video, or update your Netflix instant Queue and share the fun with a virtual movie party.
You can take your entertainment experiences to the largest social network on the planet with Facebook on Xbox LIVE, and even post a snap shot of your favorite gaming moments through Facebook Connect. And with Twitter, you can stay connected and keep your social circle up to date by reading, posting and replying to tweets right on your Xbox 360.
And for music lovers like me, our partnership with Last.fm will bring personalized streaming radio stations right to your Xbox 360.
We're also thinking globally, and delivering custom experiences from one of the biggest names in European home entertainment—BSkyB, bringing great local content and live football to our members in the United Kingdom.
We're excited about all the innovations we unveiled today, and I want to share some of the new gaming and community features coming to Xbox LIVE this fall:
• Games on Demand: Xbox LIVE has changed the way you play your games, and now we're changing the way you access them, with the digital distribution of full Xbox 360 games. The Games on Demand channel will launch with a library more than 30 great games, from classic hits like Mass Effect, BioShock and Assassin's Creed, to family favorites like LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Sonic the Hedgehog. You'll have access to a wide variety of great games, downloadable in only a few hours and at the touch of a button. We've also added the option to purchase Games on Demand directly with your credit or debit card.
• Great games on Xbox LIVE and Xbox LIVE Arcade: Xbox LIVE Arcade is keeping the fun rolling all summer long. We are continuing our commitment to quality and innovation by delivering five weeks of downloadable blockbusters with the second annual Summer of Arcade—bringing you the biggest and best smash hits of the season including Shadow Complex, Trials HD, Splosion Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, and MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2. And of course I'm excited to see the launch of our beta season of 1 vs 100 Live today. I'm also already playing a ton of our newly announced game, Joy Ride, and I can't wait for you to experience it this holiday.
• Avatar Marketplace: Since the launch of NXE, millions of Avatars have been created on Xbox LIVE, giving our members a whole new way to express themselves online, in games, and in their social experiences. Starting this summer, you will see some great new ways to make your Avatar truly your own. First, we heard loud and clear from you that you wanted to get new avatar items as awards when playing games, and I'm happy to announce support for in-game Avatar Awardables. Second, you're going to see some great new options with animated Props and full costumes to add to your Avatar. Finally, we're continuing that spirit of customization and self-expression with a virtual closet full of premium clothing and interactive props to download and purchase for your Avatar. Whether its game-inspired gear or the latest fashion trends, there will be creative options for everyone to enjoy. You'll also be able to easily access the new Avatar Marketplace directly through the Avatar editor.
• User Ratings: We're adding a five-star rating system that lets you easily rate any content in the Games Marketplace. Now you'll be able to show your support for your favorite games and Game Add-ons on Xbox LIVE and also quickly organize by user rating to find the community's favorite content. This has been one of your most-requested features, and we're very happy to bring it to you this summer.
• Performance Updates: We know that the details also matter. That's why we're making a series of updates based on your feedback. First and foremost, the entire Xbox LIVE service is being upgraded for improved performance including better guide and friends access. Some other things we've done based on your feedback include revamping the friends sorting list, Achievement views and improving our matchmaking support. There's always room to improve, and your input really matters to us … so keep it coming!
I've never been more proud to be a part of this team, and I truly believe that there's never been a better time to be an Xbox LIVE member—there are more entertainment choices than ever before for our members. With today's announcements, I can confidently say that an Xbox LIVE Gold Membership is hands down the best value in home entertainment, giving you exclusive access to Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Sky, Last.fm, 1 vs 100 Live beta, and the best gaming and entertainment network on the planet.
There's much more to come, and you'll hear even more details soon. But in the meantime, we hope you're having as much fun as we are.
See you online,
Marc Whitten
Comments
Anonymous
June 01, 2009
Thank you so much for all of the hard work XboxLive and Microsoft has put into the platform. It continues to improve each year and I totally look forward to see where it goes. I think one of the best part is the staff you have, with people like Major Nelso, KP, Trixie360, etc who help make the community more enjoyable, it makes it that much more fun to interact with other people and try things out.Anonymous
June 01, 2009
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June 01, 2009
Your xbox teams have setup quite the obstacle before Sony and Nintendo! I'm curious to see not only how Nintendo responds to the leap in technology that is Project Natal, but also the overall dominance that Sky and Netflix are affording XBL over Sony's PSN. I can only hope the upcoming innovations (especially the tech in Natal) bring about change instead of the typical notion of "Wow that's a neat gimmick! Where's the next Madden?"Anonymous
June 01, 2009
Whatever happened to XBox being used as a front for BT Vision? http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/jan08/01-06MSBTXboxPR.mspx Has this now been replaced with the SKY announcement? -JamieAnonymous
June 01, 2009
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June 01, 2009
And what about a date? I just want to know when I can get last.fm on my Xbox.Anonymous
June 01, 2009
Also, Why can I not watch a presentation about 360 enhancements on my 360? Why do I have to watch it on a website. C'mon...that's just noddy stuff isn't it? Making your own content available on your own network? -JamieAnonymous
June 01, 2009
Just to to extend my thanks and gratitude for all the hard work you guys have done and how much you listen to the community. I know my requests such as new avatar material and Sky integration have been answered. Was thoroughly impressed with the E3 briefing and exceeded my expectations. Thanks again.Anonymous
June 01, 2009
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June 01, 2009
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June 01, 2009
another year, another lack of Blu-Ray external drive for the 360. Nobody's buying the HD-DVD drive, guys. Time to bury the hatchet and work this out with Sony.Anonymous
June 01, 2009
"There's always room to improve, and your input really matters to us" With that said a feature request. Add an optional Remote Desktop client addon to the Xbox 360 so that I can access a selected PC on my local network from my couch and view it on my HD TV. Adding Remote Desktop would enable people to easily access the content beyond the Xbox 360 - for example it would allow users wanting a web browser to access that in a safe manner since you would actually be using your PC's which in most cases is run along side an antivirus program. I just want to program my XNA games on my big screen without having to move around my PC, which simply can't be done at the moment due to space reasons & the fact it wouldn't look good next to the TV. Think about it, thats all I ask.Anonymous
June 01, 2009
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June 01, 2009
I recently purchased this "lovely community" product on March 30th, 2009, 20...made a profile and now on June 1st, 2009 the Xbox360 decides not only to freeze, but also to erase my profile and I could not restore my information because it said I didn't even have a storage device?!!!! I thought that's what my Hard-drive is for!!! So, being a new gamer, I am not satisfied and a bit angry at how this has discouraged me to continue to purchase these products. I expect to get a full refund from purchasing my year subscription and 4,000 game points!Anonymous
June 01, 2009
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June 01, 2009
Twitter And Facebook On Xbox LiveIn an announcement made at E3 Expo 2009 edition, Microsoft informs that Xbox Live will integrate Twitter and Facebook social networking services starting from this...Anonymous
June 02, 2009
Wow. I can't even begin to say what an impressive job Microsoft and Xbox have done reinventing "the video game console." People thought Xbox Live was big, then the Xbox Live Marketplace... but did anybody really expect it to take on a life of it's own in such a short time? You have done a fantastic job not only making the product great, but keeping up with it's exponential growth. 500GB HDD please. :) NuAngelAnonymous
June 02, 2009
great show, best in show for 09". twitter and facebook, very good move but i would like to see a kind of app store / blade for all kind of widgets. personally i don't think that facebook and twitter should be a big announcement they should be just 2 of many apt avail on xbox 360.Anonymous
June 04, 2009
All that research, upgrading, etc. What about upgrading support? Nothing against India, but good luck getting results from them. Microsoft please upgrade your customer service/support. No one should have to contact them 3/4 times for results to be obtained.Anonymous
June 05, 2009
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June 08, 2009
Project Natal can't launch soon enough.Anonymous
June 12, 2009
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June 12, 2009
P.S Hopefully Project Natal is going to change gameing as wee no it an give all the nitendo wii fan's chance to join xbox360 in makeing the best consol they ever made. ThanksAnonymous
August 06, 2009
Just think hundreds of games at one place sounds cool...Anonymous
October 16, 2009
how do I get my facebook and twitter preveiwAnonymous
October 19, 2009
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October 26, 2009
The Facebook, Twitter, Zune, and Last.FM all awesome just wish that you could send and receive messages live on FacebookAnonymous
November 08, 2009
they need to put blu-ray on xbox360Anonymous
November 19, 2009
Hey that's great! One addition that I think make xbox live better now is allowing people to listen to last. fm while they play games like you can do with the rest of your music on your hardrive. I think that would be amazing. Please message me back about this. Gamertag: RIP xLifelessAnonymous
December 01, 2009
last fm needs to be accesable from games its useless otherwiseAnonymous
April 08, 2010
hi my name is Angel Gamer Tag: xRIPxVENGEANCEx i was just wondering if its possible to come out with and update that will let you check off names of people you want to invite to your game instead of just hitting invite for each and every person, You kno something kind of like the messages how you can send one to all your friends well it would be helpful for all players to have this feature that will let them invite multiple friends to a party or game just be checking off there gamertags.Anonymous
April 08, 2010
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April 08, 2010
Another thing in Dashboard they need to change are those green boxes and that gray area in the bottom. We as gamers should have the option of choosing what colors we want them in so that we can match it with our THEMES.Anonymous
May 04, 2010
Im not getting xbox live till you guys put an internet browserAnonymous
May 26, 2010
I'd like to tell you think that if you want to advertise your product so go through this <a href="paris4u.net/">New Communities</a> that will give you nice benefit.Anonymous
August 31, 2010
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September 06, 2010
If anything at all, the price for Xbox gold memberships should be going down. With over 20 million members,the price for servicing Live should not even be an issue. For gamers who primarily use Live for online gaming, it is an utter shame too have to pay extra for services they will never use. Considering these extra features will have an addition cost alone. We as loyal gamers if anything deserve compensation! The fact that a 60dollar game requires you to spend a addition 10-15dollars,sometimes even more, to access the full game, is too me, price gouging. How about some sort of trade in system for DLC that is no longer need. At least when I'm done playing a game for good, I can take it too a GameStop, receive a little credit toward a new game. As a loyal member of Live,since Xbox360 came out,I'm very disappointed in the way we, as Online Consumers are being taking too the Bank! I imaging many of the 20million+ members are just kids,who their parents dish out the money for these services@content, don't even realize the wrong in these transactions. Someone like myself, who spends their own Hard earned money on Live content,can weigh the issue and realize, this just doesn't add up for me anymore. All though I enjoy Live very much @ will continue my Gold Membership for one more year,thanks to a most appreciated discount. My future in gaming thou,is most likely heading in a different direction, one which will not include anything;MICROSOFT!