Operation Sports:

It's Good to Play Together

By Shawn Drotar

NFL Fever 2004 is the first Microsoft Game Studios title to use XSN Sports, a remarkable confluence of Xbox Live® and the Internet that brings you the most in-depth online football competition to date.

XSN Sports allows you to create tournaments and leagues online via the Internet, play them on Xbox Live, and track the details of your creation on a personalized XSN Sports Web site.

Administering a league or tournament is quick and easy—and today, we’ll find out how you can utilize XSN Sports with NFL Fever 2004 to enhance your online play with Xbox Live.

First, you’ll want to direct your browser to XSNsports.com. From there, you can quickly set up your XSN Sports user account, link it to your Xbox Live gamertag, and connect to your own personalized XSN Sports home page.

At your home page, the first thing you’ll be able to see is your profile. Your sportsmanship rating, active competitions, and stats for NFL Fever 2004 are front and center. As you play XSN Sports games, your stats and other pertinent information will be added to the site automatically.

The next step is to play in a league or tournament. First, let’s see how we can join an existing one. Select NFL Fever 2004 from the top menu on the page. Click “Join Competition.”

The screen will change, and a host of options will become available for you to use. You’ll see a list of competitions that are available and currently need players. You can further refine your search by using the filters at the top of the list. You can filter the list by the type of play (league or tournament), the number of players in each competition (4, 8, 16, or 32), or by the start date of the league. Additionally, you can also search by gamertag name, in case you have a friend in a league you’d like to join.

After you find a competition that you’d like to join, click it, and you’ll be taken to that league or tournament’s page. You’ll see the commissioner’s gamertag and all the pertinent deadlines for your games. On the right, you’ll see more league options. The “Competition Home” page not only shows the deadline dates and commissioner information, but also the list of all participants and the league’s message board. Use this to set up your games or meet new friends online! “Competition Activity” will show you how many games each user has played and how many games they have left to play. XSN Sports is a flexible system, and you don’t necessarily have to wait for everyone else to play their games before you play your next one. This page will give you an overview of the league and let you know where everyone else stands. “View All Stats” is the last selection and the most in-depth one, as well. From here, you can view detailed statistics for every player in your competition. It’s perfect for scouting the opposition … or for bragging rights!

Now that you’ve seen what XSN Sports can do, you may wish to create your own competition. Here’s how:

Select NFL Fever 2004 from the top menu as before, but this time, select “Create Competition.”

There are eight easy steps to creating your new league or tournament. Let’s go through them now.

First, you’ll choose a play style—season or tournament. Next, you’ll name your competition and decide if your new league or tournament should be public—allowing anyone to join—or private—where only players you’ve invited can participate. After that, you’ll want to decide how many gamers will play in your league or tournament—4, 8, 16, or 32.

Now, you’ll select your “Sportsmanship Rating.” The rating is derived from many factors; the largest two are the number of games you’ve completed and the number of times you’ve forfeited. Everyone starts with five stars, so your rating will go down only if you don’t play nice …

The default setting in a new competition is “All Stars,” but if you’re the selective sort, you can decree that only four or five-star players can join you.

Next, you’ll select a league motto and a “Commissioner’s Statement.” Be sure to make this helpful and informative for the players in your league or tournament—they’ll be looking to you for guidance, you know.

There’s only one step left: It’s time to set your dates. Select a start date, a season end date (for season play only), and a round length (in days) for playoffs or tournaments. XSN Sports will fill in the rest for you.

After you have enough players, your league will begin.

XSN Sports will enforce league deadlines, track all the stats and standings, and run your league through the climactic championship game. All you have to do is play.

When you play an online game in NFL Fever 2004, simply connect to Xbox Live like you normally would, and select the “XSNsports.com Game” option. Enter your competition’s name and be ready to play for the championship.

NFL Fever 2004 is the first XSN Sports-enabled title, but it won’t be the last. So what are you waiting for? Get a head start on the competition, and start your league today!