Xbox Gears up for Holidays

Xbox Live, the online gaming network for Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console, became available in North America on Nov. 15, exactly one year after the launch of the console. However, Microsoft does not expect the network to significantly affect console sales this holiday season. Instead, Microsoft is counting on new offline games and discounted bundles to drive sales in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, Xbox continues to face difficulties in Japan, and the head of the Japanese business development unit has stepped down.

Xbox Live: Slow Ramp-UpMicrosoft expects only a small portion of Xbox users to subscribe to Xbox Live by the end of 2002 (including 30,000 beta testers who will be transferred to the production service) and is not counting on Xbox Live to draw many new customers into stores to buy the consoles this holiday season. Rather, Microsoft is counting on new games, such as MechAssault (which will also be available for Xbox Live) and UbiSoft’s Splinter Cell. The company has also announced a package available in North America and Europe that bundles the console, a new type of controller, and two games (Sega’s Jet Set Radio Future and GT 2002) for US$199. According to Microsoft, since this bundle was introduced in North America on Oct. 15, Xbox has outsold PlayStation 2 (PS2) in that market for the first time.