XBox Live

Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service. A service with limited functionality is free, but the main service is subscription based.

Type: Proprietary platform.
Launch: 2002 as a gaming service. 2006 with a V.O.D. service.
Pricing: Hardware from £149. Xbox Live gold £40/year or £5/month (Xbox Live Free is free). Paid for movies, TV and music streaming V.O.D. via Zune with subscription (£8.99/month), games purchased through games marketplace.
Services: Zune, Last FM, Games marketplace, SkyPlayer, Apps (twitter, facebook), Party Chat, Windows Live Messenger.  Integrated across other Microsoft platforms including Windows 7 and Windows games on PC.
Confirmed content providers: music publishers, film publishers, Sky, social networks, an extensive games developers network including indie developers.
Demographics: 4,000,000 UK Xbox users. 50% use Xbox Live Gold, 50% of which don’t use games.  80% male, 70% 18-34.  Revenues estimated at $1billion globally in 2010.
Developer information: Only game developers able to publish to Xbox360 via Xbox SDK.
Stakeholders: Microsoft.
Investment: Upwards of $1billion in the server network. Xbox started turning a profit in 2005.
Transactional Model: ‘Microsoft points’ virtual currency for games and movies, Xbox Live sub and all other V.O.D. services (eg. music via Zune) charged direct to debit card.
Key people: James Allard (CTO, Entertainment and Device Division).
Website: http://www.xbox.com/live

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