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Microsoft gives free XBLA game on fifth anniversary of Xbox Live

On November 15, Microsoft’s Xbox Live service will have been in operation for five years, now with “more than eight million members now actively engaged in the largest social entertainment network on TV.”

To celebrate the anniversary, Microsoft is giving all Xbox Live users the opportunity to download the XBLA game Carcassone free of charge between 12:01 A.M. PDT on Nov. 15 and 11:59 P.M. PDT on Nov. 16.

Microsoft will also be rewarding early adopters of its online gaming service. Every active member who joined the service in 2002 will receive 500 free Microsoft Points.

"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."

Yesterday, DailyTech reported that Microsoft will be introducing a new service for Xbox 360 gamers to download original Xbox games for play on their current generation consoles. Classics such as Fable and Halo will be available for 1,200 Microsoft Points, or around $15.

For more on Xbox Live’s fifth anniversary promotions, see the “Live is 5ive” website.

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There's no way it's 8 million.
By JonnyDough on 11/14/2007 10:26:15 PM , Rating: 2
For one, I know that I'm no longer on XBox Live, but that the guy I sold my XBox to is. I had about 4 XBox Live accounts, and many of my friends on Halo2 had numerous accounts as well. Therefore, I think it's probably about 25% less than the number they're saying.




RE: There's no way it's 8 million.
By mcturkey on 11/15/2007 12:28:55 AM , Rating: 2
Considering that the Silver service is free, I have no trouble believing there are 8 million active accounts.


RE: There's no way it's 8 million.
By XToneX on 11/15/2007 2:29:43 PM , Rating: 2
^^^^ Exactly. Plus, what about people who had accounts on a system that was about to expire, and then the RROD came along and they got a new box in which they made a new account? Sure there might be 8 million users, but remember, they have a 33% failure rate which means that there could be almost 2 million users that are just duplicate accounts from 1 million users.


RE: There's no way it's 8 million.
By Wolfpup on 11/16/2007 3:54:26 PM , Rating: 2
I've had multiple accounts too, and have never given Microsoft a dime for their service, but I'm sure I'm being counted at least three times. I actually got locked out of one account as I hadn't logged in to it often enough-it dumped the associated Hotmail account.


the part they left out...
By maverick85wd on 11/14/2007 7:09:59 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
"In just five short years Xbox Live has revolutionized the way friends and family have fun in the living room,"


..."which has contributed to American obesity second only to Fast Food... and here at Microsoft we're very proud of that"




WoW has more subscribers?
By CRimer76 on 11/14/07, Rating: -1
RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By FITCamaro on 11/14/2007 4:38:16 PM , Rating: 2
Very few people in China buy 360s and sign up for Live. They can't make money spamming you with offers to buy gold or power level you on Live.

It makes me sad that WoW exists. Every other MMO has to stoop to its mediocrity. The sheeple want it easy like WoW.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By SavagePotato on 11/14/2007 4:53:24 PM , Rating: 4
Saying people like WoW because it is easy would be a poor analysis.

People like WoW because it has cracked the perfect combination of addictiveness to get a few million people to repeat the same tasks over and over again, with the goal of improving their image among the other addicts.

When it comes down to it, it is quite diffucult to play. Due to the rate people with this level of addiction chew through content the encounters are extremely scripted and difficult. Requiring perfect timing out of a large group of people, where one false move rewards 5 hours work with failure.

Something has to keep these people playing. Padding that time requirement with hours on end of mindless repetitive tasks to be able to afford to, or be equipped to go spend 5 hours jumping through hoops for the promise of rewards is the best it seems they can come up with. It certainly may suck, unfortunately it is a massive success, and success draws imitation in the hope of success.

However I certainly wouldn't call it having it easy.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By Gnoad on 11/14/2007 6:06:59 PM , Rating: 2
WoW used to be challenging and rewarding, even for doing the repetitive stuff, I think. Then the expansion came out, and now the game is just flat out boring.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By OblivionMage on 11/14/2007 10:34:40 PM , Rating: 2
In their latest patch they have reduced the amount of experience points needed to get from lvl 30-60 and increased the quest reward xp.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By clovell on 11/14/2007 4:47:49 PM , Rating: 3
What difference does it make?


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By CRimer76 on 11/14/07, Rating: -1
RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By Etsp on 11/14/2007 4:57:54 PM , Rating: 2
I think you are being quite presumptuous about clovell's mom... I mean, how do YOU know that she is a good artist?


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By clovell on 11/14/2007 5:05:24 PM , Rating: 1
Idk, but I wouldn't have picked him to be a necrophiliac.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By clovell on 11/14/2007 5:02:44 PM , Rating: 1
You seem to be taking this news rather personally.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By clovell on 11/14/2007 5:04:31 PM , Rating: 1
I should add that your response doesn't address my question. One may be good and the other may suck, but seriously, why do you care so much?


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By CRimer76 on 11/14/07, Rating: -1
RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By SavagePotato on 11/14/2007 5:14:03 PM , Rating: 4
People that like to make your mom comments likely haven't had the experience of spitting most of their teeth on the ground, which from observation it would seem most of them direly need to experience.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By kinnoch on 11/14/07, Rating: 0
RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By arazok on 11/14/2007 5:40:29 PM , Rating: 5
This from a guy who calls himself Rimmer. I can only imagine what the C is for.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By CRimer76 on 11/14/07, Rating: -1
RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By clovell on 11/14/07, Rating: 0
RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By murphyslabrat on 11/15/2007 10:05:28 AM , Rating: 2
Too late for that, he's definitely worse off than he started.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By jadeskye on 11/14/2007 5:37:09 PM , Rating: 2
The Pc is the most popular gaming device in the world bar none. You're essentually comparing the number of PCs in the world compared to xbox 360. Which is kinda silly you have to admit. i wouldn't even know the figures for PCs except to say it must be in the hundreds of millions yet i think there is only 15 million xbox 360s (correct if wrong, guess :p)


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By mmntech on 11/14/07, Rating: 0
RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By ZaethDekar on 11/14/2007 6:26:00 PM , Rating: 2
PC Gaming isn't becoming a rich mans sport. You can buy a computer for the same cost of a xbox 360 and still play games that are new.

Crysis is a brand new game meant to tax every computer. Look at what Far Cry did. The graphics were ahead of their time as well, it crushed computers when it came out just as Crysis is doing. Interesting enough, same developers.

My brother built a $300 computer with onboard graphics and can still play HG: L and Crysis on low settings in a low resolution. They both still look good as well.

People just want a simple solution. 'Buy this box and buy this disc that looks like this box'


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By BansheeX on 11/15/2007 3:20:25 AM , Rating: 2
C'mon, that's not true. Putting up with crappy performance on new games isn't the same as using a $300 PS3 or 360. Crysis is one game, that in order to play right now at a decent framerate requires a fairly expensive system. Period. PC gaming is always facing a problem where developers choose to intentionally undercut graphical potential in order to reach the highest number of buyers while still maintaining graphical incentive. Few companies are willing to risk going headfirst into new standards, especially when it's not a popular genre like FPS. This is why current arguments about PC gaming superiority no longer apply.

There used to be a time when televisions weren't progressive like monitors and consoles had s-video output at best. There is nothing better than digital, so consoles have now at least reached parity with PCs in that regard. There also used to be a time when new Windows releases and new hardware had a substantial overall productivity value in most people's minds. Now, I can't really say I need Vista or a new graphics card for anything OTHER than games, so it's much harder for me to justify spending all that dough when everything else I do is either instantaneous or sufficiently quick.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By SavagePotato on 11/14/2007 6:10:59 PM , Rating: 2
The reason we likely see numbers like this from a game like WoW is because it attracts many non gamers. Games like wow have tons upon tons of 30-40 year old housewives who have never played a console game, or many other games if any.

Of course the majority I would wager to be 20-30 year old males in the various stages of being either college students to college flunk outs depending on how long they have been playing.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By maverick85wd on 11/14/2007 7:08:23 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
either college students to college flunk outs depending on how long they have been playing.

That's hilarious... Personally I find WOW to be silly, much like I thought Everquest was. Paying for a game and then paying to play it every month doesn't make sense to me. Then again, I'd rather go outside and go dirt biking or play football.

I'm not against gaming by any means, I was addicted to Diablo II, UT, and Metal Gear Sold just to name a few... but then I beat them and that was that. I don't get the repetitive "let's play for 500 hours" games


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By darkpaw on 11/14/2007 7:42:52 PM , Rating: 2
Sad thing is 500 hours is nothing. In the six years I played EQ I had over 180 played days on my main. So glad that addition is busted. My bro has tried to get me into a few other MMOs, but thankfully I have zero interest in playing them now.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By ryedizzel on 11/14/2007 8:08:05 PM , Rating: 2
I put over 5,200 hours into WoW, which is equivalent to working a full-time job for 2.5 years. I led an end-game raiding guild of 50+ people and we accomplished some great things. But I finally quit so I can spend more time with my other interests... like girls. Although I must admit that I met a few women on WoW too, some of which I still talk to today.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By SavagePotato on 11/14/2007 11:46:39 PM , Rating: 2
Welcome to the world of the Introvert. Not everyone gets something out of going outside playing football or dirt-biking.

The thing I tend to find about Extroverts, is they have a way of thinking what they like is the only thing that defines if someone has a life or not. The things that make an extrovert function suck the life out of an introvert and make them miserable.

It doesn't mean that anyone that plays wow for 5200 hours is automaticaly an introvert, however it's a definate possibility. I wouldn't look at someone that spent 500, 1000, even 5000 hours playing WoW and say oh that person has no life. If they were doing something they enjoy good for them.

So the moral of the story is, while paying to play a game every month might seem silly to you. Going outside to play football may seem silly to someone else.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By augiem on 11/15/2007 4:15:34 AM , Rating: 2
Yes, but who in the hell would play football for 5200 hours?! The key word is PLAY. The reason MMO addicts "have no life" is because they choose to entertain their lives away.

I am an introvert and do not like football. But 24/7 self-indulgence is a really bad way to live in my book.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By SavagePotato on 11/15/2007 9:47:56 AM , Rating: 2
Your comparing two different things. If someone does a task to the point where they ignore all other aspects of their life. Such as their job, their family, their health. That is an addiction scenario that is typical of any addict, not just a gamer.

If someone just likes to play their game for 100% of their entertainment, so long as it isn't being done in a destructive way, what does it realy matter.

Sure there are people that go way overboard. End up divorced, lose their job, grossly overweight. Aside from the grossly overweight sound familiar? Just like a drug or alcohol addict. Thats what those scenarios entail, simple addiction. No matter how you slice it destructive addiction is bad. But I have no problem with how someone spends their entertainment time. Even 5200 hours worth of it.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By Chaser on 11/15/2007 9:54:35 AM , Rating: 2
Well you're back to a fundamental reason why MMORPGs are so popular: because Joe nobody can sit in his chair, quest out that uber raid armor set and feel better about himself as he walks around his fantasy world getting noticed by admiring n00bs.

Compensation for getting little attention in real life from just about everyone from a chick at a bar he'll never meet or even the supermarket bagboy.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By SavagePotato on 11/17/2007 1:37:50 AM , Rating: 2
Cause obviously unless you meet a chick at the bar you had just as well be dead right?

Because that's what society says is living if you aren't doing it that way you should kill yourself right now.

The guy that met his wife online who he plays games with should do the same too I presume. Because of course he doesn't know it but he just isn't living, Iwannabecoolinternetguy#4323 said so after all.


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By maverick85wd on 11/15/2007 11:29:10 AM , Rating: 2
I never said gaming was bad, in fact I even said I enjoy gaming myself from time to time. My point was that gaming every spare moment you have is a waste. People spend countless hours playing a video game that, at the end of the day, gets them nothing but experience points on a server somewhere as well as some cool game items. On the other hand, if you spend your free time exercising (or doing something active like sports of some kind), reading a book, going out and experiencing new things, you have something to show for it (better health/physical fitness, knowledge, meeting new people, experiences). Balancing your life is important... I play games every now and then and I enjoy it... but I don't focus my life on a game because in the end it earns me nothing.


By brightgreenpupil on 11/15/2007 9:30:13 AM , Rating: 2
And Steam has more subscribers than WoW! (I realize that this is somewhat unfair because Steam is free to use, but the stuff you buy in it are often more expensive than stuff on Xbox Live)

Whoever says that PC gaming is dead is plain ignorant


By brightgreenpupil on 11/15/2007 9:31:33 AM , Rating: 2
And Steam has more subscribers than WoW! (I realize that this is somewhat unfair because Steam is free to use, but the stuff you buy in it are often more expensive than stuff on Xbox Live)

Whoever says that PC gaming is just plain ignorant


RE: WoW has more subscribers?
By PWNettle on 11/16/2007 2:17:44 PM , Rating: 1
Why would it make you sad that one (mostly) PC game has more subs than all of XBox?

WoW is a great game and the best MMORPG around. There are some really illogical and goofy people out there that bash on it for no good reason. Yeah, 9+ million people love it, so it must suck. I think most of the haters played the game obsessively for a year or more, burned out on it, and feel obligated to say they hate it now. That or they've never played it at all and are talking out their backsides (I got to level 20, never grouped, never did anything, but I know everything about it and it sucks).

Yeah, WoW sucks because it took the unnecessary tedium out of MMORPGs, offers more gameplay options than any other MMORPG, has the most customizable and scriptable interface of any game - period - and it's 3 years old and nobody has still even come close to matching it, is designed around the concept of fun, runs well and looks great on a wide variety of PCs, is run by one of the best gaming companies of all time who continue to add tons of free new content and feature upgrades, has a dev and design team that listens to (reasonable) players and gives them what they ask for, and is more addictive than crack.

Yup, terrible design, terrible execution, terrible ongoing experience.


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