I was sent this, and it's definately worth posting here. I'd like to hear what you think of Xbox Live. Is it something you'd be interested in? Some of the features and games lined up look quite nice..
Play Online: Talk Online
Xbox Live leads the way in online video gaming.
World's first console-based online video gaming service set to launch in Australia
Xbox Australia is set to revolutionise the world of entertainment with the arrival on 8 October 2003, of Xbox Live.
Picture a unified gaming arena, where players can go from game to game, meet with friends, chat with real voice, and stay as long as they want. This single destination is Xbox Live - the video gaming equivalent of the world's best theme park.
Xbox Live lets you chat with real voice the minute your system is fired up, easily track down your friends in any game, or find new gamers to take you on. With over 20 games ready for launch, and 50 scheduled for launch before Christmas, Xbox is leading the way for online console gaming and has something for everyone - from sporting and car racing games to action shooters and adventure titles.
Alan Bowman, general manager Xbox Asia Pacific, says, "Xbox Live is the world's first online gaming service and revolutionises the way people play games. Because we offer a unified service we can ensure all gamers enjoy the same consistent, cheat-free experience across all Xbox Live enabled games. Simply purchase an Xbox Starter kit, plug your broadband connection into your Xbox and in no time you will find a fast growing community of over half a million people ready to play!"
A raft of unique features on Xbox Live will give gamers an unprecedented online gaming experience. From being able to pick up your Xbox messages through your PC or mobile, through to only needing to sign up once with your individual GamerTag - Xbox Live has been designed with consumer needs in mind. Set up a tournament, use Matchmaking to search for similar-skill levels (or find someone you can be sure to beat!), or download additional content to update your existing games - it's all at one destination, Xbox Live.
To ensure gamers have the best possible Live experience, Xbox has partnered with Australia's two largest broadband suppliers - Telstra and Optus - to provide a number of exciting broadband connectivity offers and marketing programs.
"By partnering with both of Australia's leading ISP's we continue to offer consumers a great choice. Basically consumers will benefit from all our pre-launch compatibility testing and some truly great marketing partnerships," said Bowman.
Xbox Live starter kits (including Xbox Live Voice Communicator headset, used to chat both in and out of games, Starter Disc with 2 game demos - Moto GP and Mech Assault, and a 12 month subscription to the Xbox Live service) will be available anywhere you can purchase Xbox for RRP $99.95.
Unique and exclusive features of Xbox Live include:
1. Voice supported by every Xbox Live game, which means you can shout winner chants when you win and get your trash talk in, too!
2. Finding your friends, no matter where they are playing or what game they are playing;
3. Gamertag across all games, which means you only need to sign up for the service once, something that will take all of five minutes;
4. Matchmaking to other players at your skill level;
5. Content downloads that extend the life of games. Imagine new levels, characters, vehicles or weapons.
Xbox Live Enabled Games on Launch:
Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO
Gamers expect incredible fighters from both of the legendary Capcom and SNK franchises. For the first time ever, players can compete head-to-head across the Internet via Xbox Live.
MechAssault
Take control of a 40-foot walking tank! With Xbox Live, players can battle friends or foes online, taunt them in real time, download new 'Mechs and missions, and much more!
Midnight Club II
The speed and style of Midnight Club II comes to Xbox Live with five unique multiplayer game modes. Battle the world's best or use the Race Editor to create your own track.
Midtown Madness 3
Get behind the wheel and hit the streets of Paris or Washington D.C. with Midtown Madness 3! Now enabled for Xbox Live, prepare to test your racing skills against the world!
MotoGP 2
The fastest, most advanced form of motorcycle racing is back and better than ever with numerous game modes, customisable attributes, and online gameplay.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Match wits with your buddies and put a stop to the Nazis! With Xbox Live, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War brings the action up close, personal, and online!
Soldier of Fortune II
As a military consultant for the top-secret agency known as "The Shop," you'll tackle a wide range of missions, including hostage rescue, intelligence gathering, and search-and-destroy operations.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Take your battle online and engage in great Episode II battle scenes. Defend the Republic against destruction as one of three heroic characters: Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, or Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Join the elite U.S. Army Green Berets. Patience and skill are of the essence-snap the wrong twig, and you could send a team-mate home in a body bag.
Unreal Championship
The stunning Unreal series comes to Xbox Live. Combining a brilliant single-player experience with unparalleled multiplayer, Unreal Championship is the first-person shooter that takes sports combat to the next level.
Whacked!
Up to eight players can compete in this zany combat game. Online multiplayer modes include the likes of Combat, Chicken, King of the Hill, Grab 'n Run, Fragfest, and Dodgeball
NFL 2K3
Now SEGA Sports NFL 2K3 players can talk smack while running up the score on their online opponents, and then update their rosters with the latest Xbox Live downloads.
NFL Fever 2003
Compete online against football fanatics from around the country, download roster updates, and because Xbox Live tracks players' wins and losses, see if potential opponents are champs or chumps.
Sega Sports NBA 2K3
Sega's winning basketball series features a revamped passing game, all new low-post moves, more player animations, and real NBA playbooks. Plus, players can talk up their game while playing online.
Sega Sports NHL 2K3
It's the first online console hockey game ever, and it's only playable on Xbox Live. Up to eight players (four on each Xbox) can take the ice to compete online.
Brute Force
Take control of any one of four highly specialised super-commandos in Brute Force, a new action-packed sci-fi, squad-based shooter game.
Burnout 2: Point of Impact (upload scores only)
The follow-up to the original arcade racing hit with better graphics, gameplay, and more spectacular crashes that are bigger, badder, and more heart-stopping than ever before!
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Participate in a spectacle like no other by combating the greatest beasts on a colossal scale as the world's future hangs in the balance. Download new content via Xbox Live!
MX Superfly featuring Ricky Carmichael
Now with Xbox Live, players can access nine new riders and two more levels. Pull insane tricks, find underground tunnels, ride on roofs, rip up and down stairs, and fly over statues and fountains.
Run Like Hell
You're an exiled military hero on a mining station in deep space. Returning from a mission, you find the crew wiped out by aliens. Discover the aliens' plans and rescue any survivors.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
A third-person stealth action game involving cyber-terrorism, shadow agencies, and covert operations. Take control of Sam Fisher, a "black-ops" field operative for an NSA sub-agency called THIRD ECHELON.
ToeJam & Earl 3: Mission to Earth
The original alien duo is back in a hilarious new adventure. ToeJam, Big Earl, and their homegirl Latisha embark on a mission to retrieve the 12 sacred Albums of Funk.
hey, im from the states. i got live. just thought id let ya'll know, its not as huge as they say it is. well, for me it wasn't. first two weeks thats all i did was play it. well, mebe first 3 months. but then i just got kinda bored. not enough games and content like they promised, and after a while, you get tired of peoples attitudes. its really rare to find good games to play in.
couple of suggestions for those that do get it. find gamers who are cool, add them to your friends, and try to play with them, mebe forming clans and such, then play other clans. public gameing is just a waste of time on live, as people want to be lame asses and shout in the mic or be obscene or just dumb.
aside from that, im waiting for citizen/idenity zero to come out.
oh yea, one last thing. p2p networking for the gaming is horrid. bandwidth issues for most people on some of the games. only time it works out ok is on dedicated microsoft servers, or someone with optical or someone with a t3 line.
come to think of it, it just seems to be reliance on the games. i can play ghost recon with 10 people and no lag just fine. [ gah, 10 people sounds so small compared to pc online gameing ] but i can't play rtcw on my xbox for nothin'. just terrible lag.
Big fan of xbox live, although it's a year late :)
If i manage to get broadband in the future i'd definitely be signing up.
CYer, Blitz