Xbox Live

Xbox Live is an online multiplaying games service. It was developed by Microsoft in 2002, and is serviced by them. It was the first online gaming service for a mainstream games console. But, it is now the only online games service which has an annual or usage fee attached to it.

Xbox Live was not the first console to ship with a network adapter. The Sega Dreamcast was the first, but because that console relied on dialup, and small memory cards, you could only download limited content. It was therefore a failure, but it may have inspired Microsoft to develop a more extensive online service for the Xbox in 2002.

The Xbox launched in 2001 with an Ethernet port. But, it took Microsoft a further year to announce and launch Live. The service soon caught on, and within two years had attracted over one million subscriptions. With the launch of the Xbox 360, Live's growth overwhelmed Microsoft, the service suffered intermittent downtime during 2008. By 2009 there were seventeen million Live subscribers.

The major features of Xbox Live are as follows,

  • Marketplace - Contains free and fee based content for download.
  • Gamertag - Contains a universal name for a user.
  • Gamerscore - Lists all the achievements points for a user.
  • Gamercard - Provides a summary of a user's profile.
  • Trueskill - Aims to match-make multiplayer games on user ability.
  • Live Messenger - Private messaging service for all users.

Xbox Live Cards

Xbox LIVE Gold 12-Month Membership Card

Xbox LIVE Gold 3-Month Membership Card

Xbox LIVE 2100 Points Card

Xbox LIVE 4200 Points Card


The Gold cards allow complete access to play all your games online, to download free content and access every other service on Xbox Live. The points cards allow you to download fee based content from the marketplace, without the need to own a credit card.

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