Xbox celebrates 5 years of Live
Free XBLA game, Xbox originals.
Microsoft is celebrating five years of Xbox Live by showering its eight million users - many of whom subscribe - with free gifts and introducing downloadable Xbox 1 games.
First up, any of you who venture online between 12.01am PST on 15th November and midnight the following evening will be able to download Carcassonne for free, while every active member who joined in 2002 - when the service first got going - will receive 500 Microsoft points as a token of Microsoft's appreciation for all the money/loyalty you've shown them.
And, as announced yesterday, the upcoming 4th December Dashboard Update will kick off a programme of Xbox 1 releases. All will be downloadable, priced at 1200 Microsoft points (GBP 10.20 / EUR 13.96), and Halo's among the openers.
The other games are Psychonauts (hurrah!), Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, Fable, Fuzion Frenzy, Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex and Burnout 3: Takedown. Fahrenheit was mooted yesterday, but seems to be absent from the official launch list.
Microsoft says it's "only the beginning", although it's worth bearing in mind that since Xbox 1 playback relies on software emulation there will be a few minor bugs to watch out for, helpfully detailed on the official Xbox website, the worst of which seem to be Fable's "random bursts of audio static" (wow, can we pre-order?) and Psychonauts not working in 720p on PAL Xbox 360s. "Running the game in 720p over HDMI will result in the game locking up for PAL users," says the website. "If you are using HDMI output, set the resolution to 1080i or 1080p (anything but 720p)." Hopefully they'll sort that out.
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Comments (37) Latest comment 4 years ago
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I hope so, anyway. I want to play Psychonauts in 720p!
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8 million subscribers. 0_o If only 2 or 3 million of those sign up for live, it could easily be the most profitable enterprise of the ms HED.
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+100000000
It fucked my profile last night, and wouldn't let me recover it - it better work tonight...
/seethes..
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Booted up this morning, seems oke again.
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Whether that means that millions of people are mugs or I am a tightwad would depend on your interpretation
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Charging for money for old rope.
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Much as sony have been doing with PS1 games on PS£ and Ninty have been with NES, SNES, PCE etc games since the wii was released.
Keeping up with Jones AFAICS.
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I do wish they'd given us a choice of games, though. I've already got Carcassone, but I'd quite like Catan
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Again, dont buy it if you dont want it, so people who do download old Xbox games woud be doing it for a reason, other than just to fill up their 120GB hard drive!Those with bog standard 20 GB should just forget Xbox titles downloads!
I had at one point thought that Sony seem to be doing BC better (more updates, more titles) but now with 40gb SKU BC-less (which is according to Sony going to be the standard) so thus PS3 will go no further than PS1.
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What's this on GMT please?
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Midnight PST should be ...hmmm... 8.00 in the morning then.
Carcassone for free, thanks. And maybe some MS points. Is it confirmed all offers are for Europeans, too?
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And there was me thinking of what game i was going to get! bastards made the choice for me now!
Probably won't bother at all now
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Can't really complain, I suppose, as I've played it far, far more than any other XBLA title, but I wish it had been something I've been milling over, like Sonic 2, Bomberman, or Jetpac...
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I was there since literally day one, but had to make a new account for the 360 due to a combination of forgetting my details for the old one and a knackered Xbox 1.
So I'm not going to get rewarded for my loyalty
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I'm in the same boat. I was on the beta when they were testing it in Ireland and I got a free years sub with the same gamertag after that, but when it came time to renew it myself itwouldn't let me and I had to create a new account
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shame, I was beta bait too, no probs keeping my a/c alive - ur unlucky :/
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Live wasn't about here in 2002.
I bought Carcassone when it came out.
I've been using some form of xbox for the past 4 years now... cheers for "rewarding" me MS, love you too!!!
... Wankers.
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