Xbox Live Basics

Owners of Xbox and Xbox 360 game systems can connect to the Xbox Live network via a broadband connection (such as a cable modem). Microsoft's servers allow players to compete against or cooperate with other players on the system. Xbox Live also allows personal messaging, voice chat, online scoreboards, ranking systems and downloadable content.


Photo courtesy HowStuffWorks Shopper
The top five most popular Xbox Live games

Xbox Live games come in two flavors: Live Enabled and Live Aware. A Live Enabled game uses all of the features of Xbox Live. You can play against other people, participate in tournaments and have your scores publicly ranked. A Live Aware game doesn't allow you to play against other people, but you can log in to the Xbox Live system while you're playing to receive chat messages and post high scores depending on the features that the game's developers have included.


Photo courtesy Xbox
Marketplace downloads include add-ons for games
like "Halo 2."

On the Xbox Live Marketplace, gamers can purchase and download entire games, new game levels, new characters, themes for the Xbox Live Dashboard, images and more. Many of the downloadable games are puzzle games like "Bejeweled" or classic arcade games like "Joust" and "Gauntlet" -- in fact, the downloads section is called the Xbox Live Arcade.


Photo courtesy Xbox
In the Arcade, users can download new and classic
arcade games.

Microsoft has also integrated Xbox Live and MSN Messenger. Users can link their Gamertag to their MSN ID or Hotmail e-mail account and receive notifications on Xbox Live when their friends IM them or when they are invited to join a game. Users can also receive a notification when there are new games in the Arcade.

Next, we'll learn about the new levels of Live membership that Microsoft rolled out with the release of Xbox 360.

What's in a Gamertag?
A Gamertag is a persistent ID that a gamer uses across all Xbox Live games and applications. All high scores, content purchases, tournament records, friend lists and other data are associated with the Gamertag. Because each Gamertag connects to an Xbox Live account, the only way to get a new one is to buy a new Xbox Live starter kit.

Xbox Magazine Online recommends that you put some effort into finding the right tag -- one that reflects the image you want the Xbox Live world to see, and is easy to pronounce. "Rtx7f6e5f "doesn't exactly roll off the tongue when players are chatting live during a game of "Halo 2."