Xbox 360 Flourishes
At A Glance
- Find out why all the kids (and adults) on the block are glad they bought Xbox 360.
Back in November 2005, when Xbox 360™ hit the shelves, it was no more than a seed. In a very short time, however, it has sprouted and grown delightfully green. Although the console itself has not changed, the number of games available for it has risen exponentially. After just one year on the market, you can look for more than 100 games for Xbox 360. These games were designed for the next-gen console and utilize its fancy processor and hard drive.
You can also play many regular Xbox® games, designed for the first Xbox, that have backward compatibility with Xbox 360. More than 200 Xbox games work well on Xbox 360. That increases the total number of games available for the Xbox 360 to over 300—and still growing!
Three Million Friends
If you're not playing games on Xbox Live®, then you're leaving a vast resource of friends untapped. Everyone on Xbox Live has at least one thing in common: They love games!
Xbox 360 continues to evolve as a means
of communication, as a game console,
and as a multimedia player.
Games break down cultural and language barriers and open the world to you. Xbox gamers come from all over the United States and from 24 other countries. All in all, more than three million players maintain accounts on Xbox Live, and they're all waiting for the chance to join you in a game.
Many players use Xbox Live as a way to stay in touch with distant friends. With the headset, you can chat with your friends for as long as you want for the cost of keeping your Xbox Live account active. With the Private Chat feature, you don't have to be in a game to chat, but can simply send an invitation to your friend and open a virtual room for it.
In addition, send text messages to your friends. When your friend logs into Xbox Live, the message will be there waiting for him. If he's already logged in, but involved in a game, the message will reach him the moment he finishes. You don't need to pick up the phone or skip over to your PC to send e-mail. All your communication can happen directly through Xbox Live.
Calendar of Events
Xbox Live doesn't just turn you loose and expect you to make all the fun yourself. You'll find many scheduled gaming events designed to get you into the throng without a hitch. The monthly Calendar of Events is the place to start. Check out the opportunities to game with some of the best players out there, with women gamers, and with famous people.
Xbox 360 is more than just a game console,
it's the centerpiece of today's digital lifestyle.
Xbox Live Arcade has also put itself to a schedule. Every Wednesday at 8:00 A.M. GMT (Midnight Pacific Time) a new arcade game goes live. Everyone who's anyone arrives online at that time, looking to hook up with a game. The excitement is electric as players gather for the new offering. Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays—be there or be square.
Multimedia Mania
Xbox Live doesn't just do games any more. It also presents you with a smorgasbord of music videos, movie trailers, and music. With all this downloadable material available, it's important to have an efficient download manager. Xbox Live now features Background Downloading, which lets you select and queue up six high-definition downloads at a time.
The download manager then keeps track of your downloads, pausing them when you play online multiplayer, so you experience no lag because of the download. Whenever you're logged into Xbox Live and have a download in your queue, the manager does its thing without infringing on your game time. When a download completes, it lets you know.
Every month Xbox Live presents a new Artist of the Month. A group or solo artist from Epic Records takes the spotlight for a whole month. Watch their video on Xbox Live and learn more about them on Xbox.com. With each new Artist of the Month, you can enter a drawing for a Grand Prize that lets you play against them on Xbox Live, win a copy of the artist's CD, and more.
Something Completely Different
Most games come with their own popular soundtracks for you to enjoy. You can, of course, also upload your favorite tunes from audio CDs and play them while racing around the track or shooting your way through an onslaught of aliens. If you prefer, you can simply turn on the jukebox and listen to your tunes while you read, vacuum, snuggle, or whatever.
Of course, if you get tired of games and want to kick back, you can always drop in a movie DVD. Another feature of Xbox 360 allows you to pause a movie, pop over to play a game for awhile, then go right back to the movie without having to rewind or search for the spot you left. Xbox 360 remembers where you were and takes you there.
Xbox 360 continues to evolve as a means of communication, as a game console, and as a multimedia player. Since its initial burst onto the scene, it has branched out into different areas and it continues to grow.
It takes many gardeners to cultivate your Xbox 360 experience. Xbox personnel work continually to improve things (the Big Spring Update, for example) and to organize events for players. Partnerships with others such as Epic Records and Plantronics bring fabulous perks to players and the world. Xbox 360 is more than just a game console, it's the centerpiece of today's digital lifestyle.
Article by Angel Leigh McCoy
