Xbox Live Changed the Industry & A Lot of That Wouldn't Have Happened Without Xbox360 - Bach & Moore

Industry veterans Robbie Bach and Peter Moore look back to the importance of Xbox360 and Xbox Live for the gaming industry as a whole.

[Phil32]

It's a really fantastic online system, but I don't like how it made players and influenced Sony to have to pay for online multiplayer.

[Alexious]

It was amazing at the very beginning and truly revolutionary. Since then, though, it has stagnated a lot and as a PC gamer I cannot but frown at the fact that there's still a paywall.

[naruga]

yes....it changed the industry to the worse...

[donwel]

Don't forget that MS tried a PC paywall with games for windows live and so few people used it they had to drop the charge.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

To me that was the best thing to happen to PSN. it is much better now because of it

[Alexious]

That's definitely true, Sony borrowed some things from Live.

[magiciandude]

Lol no. XBL is still superior to PSN.

[Christopher]

@magiciandude: don't see where XiKurapikaKurta said one was better than another. Merely that PSN was better because of XBL...

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed. MS format very much showed that you need some basic things to have online work correctly and be able to build on that.

A store, friends list, messaging etc. I remember when PS3 first launched and those functions were so bare, but now they grew into something more solid. Now both XB and PS have many of the basic features one looks for, messaging, friends list, a store etc.

Though Dreamcast had it first, MS made the blueprint to how console online could work.

This is one of the best examples of how competition can help the industry. Sony being more so hardware then software, MS being more so software then hardware. Sony needed to see that such features could help its consumers, publishers and even Sony themselves.

Publishers got a place to put their games, content and functions for MP games.

Gamers got more options for games, more options for post launch content through digital distribution and got to play MP games with their friends with ease.

Everyone won from such a thing. In order to compete, you must KNOW you're enemy. In business, what you're enemy is doing that works, means its something that is valued by consumers and can work for you. Ignoring that is a grave mistake.

[jb227]

I don't mind the paying for mp part (probably because I'm not a big mp guy), but the fact that streaming services like Netflix used to be behind that paywall for MS during that entire generation & the beginning of this one was pretty ludicrous.

[LavaLampGoo]

The 360 was a very big console and it did everything. I think the digital console market and console menus would be very different without it

[Garethvk]

It also brought Red Ring Of Death to the lexicon.

[darthv72]

Two acronyms became apparent that gen. RRoD and YLoD.

[jb227]

I'm pretty sure we heard the RRoD roughly 99% more often than YLoD. My 1st slim PS3 from 09 is still kicking today, never had a single issue. RRoD was obviously a much more widespread issue.

[Null1980]

I worked at Gamestop for 3 years in an Assistant Manager position during the PS3/XBox 360/ Wii launches. The XBox 360 was the only time we had an internal email notifying us of a system failure epidemic how to handle the influx of customer returns with abnormally high failure rates. Around 30% of total systems at that particular time. We had tons of people coming into my store's location with Red Ringed 360s. Every week. You'd see the occasional PS3 YLOD, but it was far less common. A few every now and then, well within the norm of most new console. No internal email from Gamestop about an epidemic with the PS3.

Me personally, I went through 3 XBox 360's between 2006 and 2009. It's the reason I gave up on Microsoft as a hardware developer. They rushed the system out before it was ready, despite prerelease reports of mass failures even before the first launch! They were so desperate to be first to market, despite knowing they were faulty. I loved the system in the beginning, software support wise... but I got fed up with the faultiness of the hardware and have still sworn off the brand for this reason. I'll be more likely to support their games on PC when they make that move, because that is what they excel at... software.

Edit- My first Xbox 360, which I got at launch, was dead within the first 8 months. In comparison, it took my Fat 60gb PS3 4 1/2 years before it fell victim to the YLOD.

[darthv72]

Cool story Otter. My Nov 05 launch 360 got the RRoD in 2007 so I got about 2 years worth of gaming out of it before it died. Luckily it died right when MS was offering free repairs so i did not have to worry about returning it to the store.

[ArmrdChaos]

You mean you just didn't buy a new one like many others claim? /s
I had mine dump on me twice. Sent it back twice no charge, no shipping charge. Fixed and still running.
Where as my PS2 that took a dump because of the DVD drive I had to buy another because Sony chose to pretend like there wasn't a problem.

[_-EDMIX-_]

RROD was like console AIDS!

[Garethvk]

How can anyone dispute this as before it nobody had ever heard of that phrase. The closest we had was ironically another Microsoft creation called the Blue Screen of Death.

[darthv72]

If you are referring to the disagrees as being related to disputing the claim then you would be incorrect. Nobody is disputing the RRoD. It happened to many (myself included). MS fixed their problem (for the most part) unlike Sony and the issues that plagued the original PS1 as well as the PS2. In both cases the problems of overheating and laser failure happened to quite a bit. Maybe not to the full extent as RRoD but you had to either pay Sony to fix the problem (which I did on the original PS1) or buy another unit (which many probably did).

Bottom line is these were issues and each company handled the situations differently. Personally I prefer the option that doesn't cost the consumer anything out of pocket but to each their own. Coincidentally I have not had any system failures with a Nintendo or Sega product like I have with Sony and MS being part of the industry.

[98xpresent]

The 360 was the best system last gen.

[Goldby]

most popular in NA yes, as for use and accessibility, PS3 had that covered with internal Wifi, and HDMI, as well as early firmwares allowed Linux installation on the PS3. they each had their merits that helped create the industry we are in today. for better or worse

[CaptainObvious878]

You mean the console MS purposefully rushed to market knowing full well of how faulty it was? That console?

The console that basically had it's first party support dropped only half way through the generation? That console?

The console that paved the way for pay online? That console?

I could go on.

[Morgue]

I'm not even gonna bother reading this. Yet I'll give credit where credit is due and XBL was pretty amazing at it's peek and the groundwork it has laid out. But where I can't give credit is and that's to all the journalists who are writing these " Xbox gloom or remember the ol' days " articles as if the brand is in dire trouble or something. The only reason I said that is because this site was flooded with the same type of articles when the PS3 didn't have a good grip in market sales or exclusive games.

People really need too let go of the past because if you're not going to learn from it then what's the point of remembering it.

[Alexious]

What does this even have to do with this article? nothing.

[Morgue]

I commented about the article in the first line and what I said after that speaks for itself and since you've been on here long enough, you know that those gloom articles existed. Just because you submitted the article doesn't mean I was going after you when I mentioned journalism so if you want to flag what I said as spam or off topic feel free.

[hardcorehenry]

360 really fleshed it out, but IMO it was Xbox original that laid the fundamental groundwork for online console gaming. Built in Ethernet port and a dedicated online service from 2002 forward.

I beta tested XBL and there was nothing like it at the time. Some of my fondest memories at the advent of online console gaming. Or even before when I would FTP-syslink through XBconnect and play 16p Halo CE in almost always laggy matches. Mechassault, Splinter Cell, Halo 2, Rainbow Six 3. Whacked, Crimson Skies, MotoGP... good times.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

What's with all the 360 slobbing over the last week?

[Ruggadagod]

Discontinued lmao.

[darthv72]

When Sony discontinued the PS2, there were several articles about it. So with the 360 being discontinued it can't have a similar reception?

[KwietStorm_BLM]

I didn't say anything about PS2. I asked a question.

[darthv72]

360 being discontinued is why lots of stories the last week. Your question was more of a snide remark than a question which is why I made the relevant point about the PS2 having lots of stories when it too was discontinued.

I don't seem to recall you saying "What's with all the PS2 slobbing over the last week?" when that system was discontinued. You might have, but then again you might also have more respect for it than the 360 (thus your remark).

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Or maybe, just PERHAPS you're reading into it way too much lmao it ain't that serious. Maybe I didn't know anything about 360 being discontinued. Maybe I did and it slipped my mind. Maybe I shouldn't have ate that sandwich in the back of the fridge. These are all possibilities, but you went with what suited you. The PS2 doesn't even factor into what I asked. You just made up a whole scenario to prove some phantom point. Chill.

[Dexwix]

Microsoft really does innovate the most out of the big 3.

[Ruggadagod]

What innovation is that?

[Dexwix]

Matchmaking system, achievements, party chat, Xbox Live, TrueSkill, XBLA

[InTheLab]

Can't believe these guys are aping credit that largely belongs to the Genesis and Dream cast.

Google "Sega channel".

[donwel]

It would have happened without the 360, maybe at a much slower pace though. Don't forget Sony already had the infrastructure in place for PSN, so as time went on the service would have evolved naturally.
Maybe the trophy system wouldn't have happened though, because they did seem to be more of an afterthought on Sonys part.

[magiciandude]

I regret avoiding the 360 last gen. Truely an amazing console with top notch exclusive games!

[game4funz]

I see a lot of people say stuff like it changed the industry for worse...etc..blah blah.

I have to assume these people didn't try playing online games on consoles before 360 era...cuz it was not pleasant.

Xbox live set a standard for online console gaming.

[Whitey2k]

Both have copied each other sony took the paywall for psn and xbox started doing GwG y sony already had been doing it so yea good as each other

[TeamLeaptrade]

It really did a lot for gaming that's for sure. I can agree that it is annoying to have to pay to play online, but there are great deals online and it was never really a big problem for me.

[PhoenixUp]

"The things you do on there, voice, communication, friends list, play games with others, share things…all of the things you do on Xbox Live started in 2002."

Actually those features started on SegaNet, the first centralized online system on consoles, in 2000.

[PixelGateUk]

I still remember the original XBL, god bless it

[marioJP87]

It definitely showed how much racism exists.