Xbox Live on the Original Xbox | Xbox Overview

Xbox Live on the Original Xbox

Active 11/15/2002 - 4/14/2010

Xbox Live made its debut on November 15, 2002, exactly one year after the initial system launch. Microsoft were by no means the first to offer online functionality on a home gaming console, but there were several aspects about the service that they got right the first time around and later became industry standards.

Sony beat Microsoft to the punch by quite a bit, with the online service for the PlayStation 2 making its debut in Japan back in July 2001. North American users would receive online support for PS2 in August 2002, a good 3 months before Xbox users were playing online. There are some key differences between what the 2 companies were providing. The biggest difference that most will bring up immediately is the fact that Xbox Live was a paid subscription service while the Sony online broadband was free (as long as you had an existing internet connection). While Microsoft's online service was unified under Xbox Live and ran through official servers, the PlayStation 2 online offerings were completely left up to the third-party developers, meaning there was less consistency between online experiences. While the Xbox was built with an ethernet port from the beginning, those who owned the early fat PS2 models had to buy an adapter in order to hook up an internet cable. So while Sony's online was free, there were several aspects about Xbox Live that were ahead of the competition.

The online servers enjoyed almost a full 8 year life-span, which is longer than I think most people expected it to stick around. Many players hold fond memories of playing Xbox Live; An old friend of mine used to wax nostalgic about playing Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell online on his Xbox back in the day, telling stories that obviously left a lasting memory. Many people fondly recall playing Halo 2, which was likely the most popular game on the service. Personally, I had a PlayStation 2 back in this time so my memories of Xbox Live on the OG Xbox are very limited, though I do recall playing Capcom vs SNK 2 EO at a friend's place and being impressed by option to fight  an opponent online. While these days everybody knows and expects Xbox Live to be a primary feature of any Xbox console, t's interesting to think back about the times when online gaming was fresh and exciting for many.

Over the course of its active years, Xbox Live also allowed you to download new content for some games and even digital-only titles that could be downloaded via the Xbox Live Arcade. Xbox Live on the original Xbox helped pave the way for easy access to online gaming from your console, a feature that had been mostly limited to computer users in the '90s, and this is one of several reasons why the Xbox was such an important release in the history of game consoles.

Related Links:
Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox - Xbox Overview