Evaluation of Xbox
The Xbox was released on November 15, 2001 as Microsoft’s attempt to enter the video console market. Major features with the Xbox led to a must in future consoles to come. This also helped Xbox succeed in the market. The major feature was the ability to connect to internet via broadband. The internet connectivity helped Microsoft and game developers offer the first ever widely used multiplayer experience on a console. This also led to expansion of any individual game to further entertain audiences and help fix errors found in the game after release.
The idea of using internet to bring users to game together was brought to be by the Dreamcast’s attempt at supplying internet to consoles. Unfortunately Dreamcast’s attempt was a failure, but this would allow Microsoft to capitalize in the future. The failure of the Dreamcast was because of the lack of broadband internet. This made the online gaming experience extremely slow and unrewarding. Microsoft determined to supply intense online game play by requiring broadband connection and the storage of a hard disk drive. While most critics felt internet on a console was a failure, Microsoft sought to succeed where Dreamcast failed. In 2002 Microsoft launched it’s then named Xbox LIVE. Microsoft announced that 50 Xbox Live titles would be available by the end of 2003. This service would feature a single identity along with a Friends List across all titles. Xbox LIVE also supported standardized voice chat, which was still new even to the PC.
Mircosoft’s LIVE service also offered the ability for publishers to fix the errors in their game by allowing them to update. They would also be able to add new features or maps to the game. This was called Downloadable Content (DLC). This was available for many titles including Splinter Cell, Halo 2, and Ninja Gaiden. This content was mostly offered free but some were offered for a fee. Xbox was the first successful attempt at DLC because of the...