Articles about Xbox Live

I had great hopes for Xbox Music when announced in October. It’s essentially the best of Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and Google music services all wrapped up into one. But the sheer number of problems with this initial offering leaves myself and others in complete disappointment.

Xbox Music replaces Zune on Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and the Xbox 360. The service includes the ability to purchase music a la carte, stream or download songs (via Xbox Music Pass subscription for $9.99 per month), sync playlists across devices, access a music locker, and more. Any tunes you purchase from the Xbox Music store, or playlists you create, sync across devices. Well, that's the idea, except, it’s not working for some people.

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Microsoft recently announced that it will now permit migrating Xbox Live accounts from one country to another. While the Xbox community rejoices in celebration, I reflect on my assiduous journey to have my account migrated, and wonder if my case along with that of a fellow friend and others who joined our cause, contributed to this outcome.

Back in 2002, I got a copy of Unreal Tournament for the original Xbox, and with that an update for the new and exciting Xbox Live service. To join the service, I had to create a Microsoft Passport account (aka Windows Live ID, or more recently Microsoft Account), which I did using an existing, non-Hotmail email address that I still use today.

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wants 2012 to be "the most epic year" for the company determined to make a splash in October with the launch of Windows 8, Surface, and Windows Phone 8 all within a few days of one another.

To complete the package, Microsoft has announced a major update for the Xbox dashboard, the launch of Xbox SmartGlass, and a cheaper Xbox 360 console.

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Eight days before Windows 8's big launch, Microsoft served up expected, dismal news about its successor, in the wake of disastrous third-quarter PC shipments. They sapped Windows division revenue and profit, keeping to a recent trend. There was never a question of negative impact, merely how bad -- as Wall Street analysts expected overall company revenues to decline. The question everyone should ask: Can Q4 be any better than this?

For fiscal first quarter 2013, ended September 30, Microsoft revenue fell 8 percent to $16.1 billion, year over year. Operating income: $5.31 billion, down 26 percent. Net income: $4.47 billion. Earning per share fell 22 percent to 53 cents. The results are impacted by a $1.36 billion, or 13 cents-a-share, deferral related to Windows 8 and Office 2013 launches.

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Whether you think Microsoft wants to be Apple, or not, the company continues to roll out products designed to compete with its major rival. Today’s announcement is for Xbox Music, a digital music service for the Xbox games console, which will also appear as the default music player in Windows 8.

The service, which goes live tomorrow and will be available in 22 countries from launch, is a cross between Spotify and iTunes. Users will be able to listen to songs or full albums for free, create artist-based streaming radio stations, and put together music mixes and playlists. The iTunes element comes in the form of a music store, which will allow users to purchase and download tracks. The store will reportedly offer over 30 million songs, some four million more than Apple's store. There will also be over 70,000 music videos on offer.

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Today, Microsoft's CEO released his annual shareholder letter, which also is meant for customers, employees and partners. Steve Ballmer's looking back-peering ahead missive comes as the company stands on a precipice between the PC and cloud-connected device eras and seeks reinvention through an unusually strong late-year release cycle that includes Surface tablets, Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Server 2012.

Under Bill Gates, Microsoft sought to put a PC on every desktop, with software innovation driving that effort. Ballmer describes post-PC Microsoft as a "devices and services company", which aptly describes the fundamental shift in progress. Services focus reminds of IBM, which dominated the mainframe era the PC displaced. This devices and services ambition "impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses".

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I'm not locked in to any one company's ecosystem right now. I have a Windows 7 Ultrabook, a desktop I built myself running Mint Linux, an iPad, and my trusty Galaxy Nexus. Each appliance serves the purpose I purchased it for very well, and I feel no need to switch away from any of them for the moment. When I perform basic daily tasks, things run smoothly. I use Dropbox and Google Drive for sharing much of my content back and forth, and it's a great experience.

When it comes to purchasing digital content like music, movies, or books, it feels like I am punished for not being locked in to any one content system.

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Microsoft on Thursday released the Xbox SmartGlass Software Development Kit (SDK) to partners that have agreements to develop Xbox games and entertainment applications for the Xbox 360.

The device-agnostic SmartGlass application was first revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo earlier in June, showing how users will eventually be able to pair their tablet or smartphone with their Xbox 360 for enhanced content consumption and gaming. Now that Microsoft's Surface and Windows Phone 8 initiatives have been revealed, the SmartGlass project has begun to take clearer shape.

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Amazon has been in the business of streaming video since 2008, and has offered its streaming on demand platform as a subscription service for a little less than a year-and-a-half. Today, Amazon's Prime Instant Video service launched on the venerable Xbox 360.

Xbox Live Gold members have had access to Netflix and NBC Universal content on their 360s for nearly four years, and in that time, the service has grown to include ESPN, Crackle, Epix, SyFy, Hulu Plus and more. Today's addition of Amazon Prime on Demand adds approximately 17,000 titles to the mix.

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Last week, we heard rumors that Microsoft would be releasing a Xbox 360 console with Kinect for $99, subsidized by a two-year Gold subscription commitment to the Xbox Live service, in a fashion similar to mobile phone subsidies.

Monday, the offer went live on the Microsoft Store site, and the plan, which got us excited here in the BetaNews news room, turns out to be no deal at all.

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Microsoft wonk Tom Warren reports that a new Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle will be offered at $99 with a two-year Xbox Live Gold subcription beginning next week. If this proves true, it will be the first example of a video game console using the mobile phone carrier subsidy model.

According to Warren's sources, the deal will only be available at Microsoft Stores, and it will include the 4 GB Xbox 360 console with a Kinect Sensor. The cost of a two-year Xbox Live Gold subscription is approximately $120.

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The state of New York has pulled more than 3,500 registered sex offenders from various online gaming platforms, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced on Thursday. The initiative, supported in part by Microsoft, Apple, Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Disney Interactive Media Group, Warner Brothers and Sony, is called "Operation: Game Over."

New York State's law requires convicted sex offenders to register all of their online identities with the state, be they email addresses, screen names, or whatever. "Operation: Game Over," however, is the first time the New York law has been applied to online video games.

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Steve Ballmer won't get a Christmas card from me this year. Or next.

Microsoft's assault on BetaNews' Xbox 360 dashboard review continues. I awoke to find a take-down notice waiting in Gmail, for photos posted with the review. A few hours ago, our reviewer, a BetaNews reader, informed me that Microsoft had kicked him out of the Preview program for violating the NDA. But did he?

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Here's something I don't wake up to everyday -- actually never. At 7:35 am ET, BetaNews received an email demanding that we remove photos from the excellent Xbox 360 review penned by one of our readers: "Microsoft requests that you remove the photos, but not the text, of this story, because the images are copyrighted and were released in violation of an NDA".

BetaNews is investigating the matter, and I will appropriately respond. BetaNews respects copyrights and non-disclosure agreements. It's one reason you see so few rumor stories and supporting photos here. We assume that the writer took the photos and that he participated in the Xbox 360 dashboard preview program. Reviewers take photos all the time while under NDA or embargo and publish them after the restriction lifts. BetaNews posted the review (and accompanying photos) after Microsoft publicly announced and released the autumn 2011 Xbox 360 updates. We assume for now that this is a misunderstanding.

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Do you like the sophisticated design of Microsoft's mobile UI, but can't part with your iPhone? Microsoft gives iOS users a taste of mobile life Redmond style, by releasing an Xbox Live app for iPhone and iPad. While basic, the app gives Xbox Live subscribers control of their accounts.

The app sports much of the transitions and user interface considerations that earned Windows Phone accolades from even the most vocal critics of Microsoft's mobile efforts.

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