Clever communication

Gaming is always better when among friends. Now there are loads of new ways to chat, check out, be matched up and more...

Chatting

Xbox Live® gave gamers the gift of communication - you could chat with fellow gamers, develop strategy and trash the competition.

With the release of Xbox 360™, your voice communication can reach another level with one-on-one chat. It's as easy as a flick of the Guide Button and a couple of button presses.

The chat feature allows you to hook up with a fellow Xbox Live Gold Member at any time. Whether you're playing a game, looking at streaming video or listening to ripped soundtracks, your fellow Xbox Live Member is just an invite away from chatting.

Imagine the possibilities:

• Troubled boss encounter: You're struggling with a brutal boss fight, but your friend that beat the game last week just logged in. Pause your game, push the Xbox Guide button and send a chat invite to get some advice.
• Rendezvous online: See a member of your friends list online and want to discuss that latest movie trailer you downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace or that game that's coming out next week? Just start a chat session.
• Secret strategy: Don't like to chat about strategy while opponents are eavesdropping? Have a confidential chat session going before joining a game to sort your tactics.
  The list goes on, but you get the point! Headset communication is no longer game specific. All it takes is an Xbox Live Gold Membership, an Xbox 360 Headset and a member of your friends list to talk to.

Next generation matchmaking

The finely tuned TrueSkill™ Matchmaking system makes it easy to find like-minded gamers of similar skill levels.

It tracks every match of every game you ever play in an effort to get a grip on your gaming skill. Then your TrueSkill rating is used to match you up in competitive ranked games against players of equal skill.

Don't worry! It's not set in stone. Get better, and so will your TrueSkill rating.

Gamer Zone: Within your gamer profile, you select a Gamer Zone. When searching for unranked games, the system takes your Gamer Zone into account and searches out other players in your zone to compete with.

Avoid/prefer: Use the avoid/prefer system to help ensure a better experience for all in unranked games. Gamers who try to cheat and ruin your experience rate can be given an 'avoid' tag, and in future games the system will skirt around games they're in. Likewise, slap a 'prefer' tag on cool players you had fun with, and you're more likely to compete with them again.

Friends list
It may not seem like a new feature, but now you can tap your Guide Button and see what your friends are up to, and look at not only your friends list, but your friends' friends lists as well.

Achievements
Friendly rivalries have always been a catalyst to new goals. Now you won't need a phone call from a friend boasting to spark you off - you can look up your friend's achievements online and see what they've been up to.

Spectator mode
Use spectator mode to check out matches without having to compete in them. Watch friends battle it out, see the masters of the leaderboard prove their skill, or simply get an active sneak preview of a map or track you haven't experienced.

With chat, an intelligent matchmaking service, an upgraded friends list, gamer profiles you can peruse at your leisure, and a whole lot more, Xbox Live offers not just an online gaming service, but a community of friends and like-minded people to thrive in.