A World of Possibilities

mar·ket·place n.

1. An open area or square in a town where a public market or sale is set up.

2. The world of business and commerce.

Source: American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Xbox Live Marketplace n.

1. Your one-stop shop on Xbox Live® for downloadable content, trailers, casual arcade games, card/board games, demos, and more for Xbox 360™.

Source: Xbox.com

You can't miss Xbox Live Marketplace.

As you can see, Xbox Live Marketplace is one of the most important locations on the online service that's gotten a complete overhaul with the release of Xbox 360. While some features may be familiar to original Xbox® owners (who've been downloading premium content and picking up various Xbox Live Arcade games for quite some time now), even the most jaded gamers have never seen anything quite like this.

Xbox 360 is so darned smart, it helps you sift through
all the game content to find the stuff you want.

• Easy access: Xbox Live Marketplace is accessible as soon as you sign on to Xbox Live, whether you're a Silver or Gold Member. Sign in to Marketplace as soon as you're connected and, as you've no doubt heard, your Xbox 360 connects right out of the box! Just plug it into your existing broadband connection and you're in.
• Membership levels: Xbox Live now comes with two levels of service: Silver and Gold. When it comes to Xbox Live Marketplace, everyone gets access—you just have to plug in.
• Point purchases: The Marketplace does not accept cash. Instead, purchase Microsoft® Points for Xbox Live Marketplace—the coin of the realm—with prepaid cards or your credit card. The Points system even allows very, very small purchases if those are all you want to make. Gamer pictures, for example, only run a few points, making a gamer picture what jargon-happy types like to call a "micro-transaction." And micro-transactions don't break the bank!

Great content at your fingertips.

The Shelves are Packed
So what can you get on Xbox Live Marketplace? Glad you asked …

• Demos and trailers: Another tab open to all levels of membership, these are sneak peeks at upcoming games, some playable, some not. There's a good chance you may even see movie trailers here in the future.
• Skins and themes: Spice up the look of your interface! Get skins and themes that modify the appearance of your menus, gamer profile, and more.
• Download history: Hey, it happens to the best of us—you accidentally delete something you meant to keep, and then you're up a creek, right? Not with Xbox Live Marketplace. Your purchases are all linked to your gamer profile, so if you somehow delete a killer download, you can usually grab it again, free.

Xbox 360 knows just what you're looking for.

Marketplay
Okay, so it's easy, and you get demos, themes, gamer pictures, and so on. Don't think I'm ignoring your obvious question: What about the games?

• Game content: For most gamers, this is going to be the reason to sign on to Xbox Live Marketplace. And because Xbox 360 is so darned smart, it helps you sift through all that game content to find the stuff you're most likely to want—go to the "My Games" tab and see all the games you've ever played on your Xbox 360, along with any content available and whether you've downloaded it.
• Xbox Live Arcade: This is sure to be one of the most popular locations in the Marketplace. Here you can download entire games, from classics like Joust to new smash hits like Mutant Storm Reload, for a low price—and once you do, they're yours to keep. More "casual" gamers (that is to say, my mom) may find this is all the gaming they need, while others may suddenly find themselves addicted to a "new" retro title.

That's just the beginning for Xbox Live Marketplace. In the future, expect to see even more features, possibly including user-to-user transactions, player-created content, and more!

Article by Danny Chihdo

• Gamer profiles.
• Xbox Live memberships.