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As a Microsoft Xbox 360 owner, what does the date November 15 mean to you? Are any bells ringing? No? There should be two big ones. We're not talking about hot game release dates here. If you still can't remember, we'll give you a hint: It's the birthday of two very important parts of your gaming life.
If that didn't help, here goes: November 15 marks the sixth anniversary of the original Microsoft Xbox's launch. More importantly, the same date marks the fifth birthday of the world's premiere online gaming service for home consoles. You guessed it right, Xbox Live is five and it's bigger and better than ever!
On November 15, 2002, Microsoft made public its revolutionary online gaming service which, as of August, 2007 has attracted more than 7.1 million active subscribers. Today, Xbox Live is the most comprehensive online service for any console, showcasing features that go far beyond simply connecting with others for some online play.
Microsoft's Xbox Live service was originally conceived as an integral part of the first Xbox's battle strategy in its war with the Sony PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo Game Cube. Guided by the vision of creating an interactive, high-end and unique console experience, Microsoft designed the Xbox with the inclusion of two unprecedented key components: a hard disk drive and a built-in Ethernet port.
The hard drive's inclusion was geared towards supporting downloadable content which was to come for future games, while the Ethernet port was a means to standardize user connections for the sake of getting everyone more or less a uniform online experience. Microsoft made it clear that broadband was the only way to go for Xbox Live, stressing that dial-up connections just won't be able to handle the kind of service that Xbox Live wants to offer.
A good number of pundits berated this idea, pointing out that broadband was not as widely adopted as Microsoft would like to think (during that time, at least) to warrant a viable user base. Some even went as far as to compare Xbox Live with earlier attempts to bring online play to home consoles made by Sega with its NetLink for the Sega Saturn and later on with its dial-up modem bundled with the Sega Dreamcast system.
   
Damning the torpedoes and sticking to its plan, Microsoft unveiled Xbox Live in E3 2002 and put Epic Games' Unreal Championship on display. From that moment on, the promise of a Friends List, voice chat, and a single identity regardless of which game you play captured the collective imaginations of gamers and critics everywhere.
After the Xbox Live launch coinciding with the Xbox's first anniversary, it became clear that Xbox Live would not fall like other attempts at online console play. As broadband became more and more of a necessity rather than a luxury, the numbers of Xbox Live subscribers grew. In July of 2004, Xbox Live hit its first major milestone by reaching the one million user mark. The Microsoft online service user growth then experienced exponential growth, ballooning to six million by March of 2007.
With the release of AAA titles such as Bungie's Halo 3, Activision and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Valve's The Orange Box, Xbox Live user numbers and activity have experienced another big spike. Sports titles and driving games are also pitching in major contributions to our birthday celebrant's cause.
On its fifth birthday starting at midnight, Microsoft kicks off its Live is 5ive celebrations for its subscribers. In addition to the intense online gaming, a Play & Win Sweepstakes has been put together to reward people playing during the party with goodies such as accessories, full year subscriptions, and Microsoft Points.
On that note, we're inviting you in Microsoft's behalf to join the online shindig. Get out there, own some fools and win cool prizes. This is gaming history right here, and you can become part of it simply by logging on. Happy fifth birthday, Xbox Live!
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