Editing Xbox network (section)

===Launch with the original Xbox===
[[File:XboxLivelogo.png|thumbnail|right|The first Xbox Live logo, used from 2002 until 2010]]
As [[Microsoft]] developed the original [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] console, online gaming was designated as one of the key pillars for the greater Xbox strategy. [[Sega]] had made an attempt to capitalize on the ever-growing online gaming scene when it launched the [[Dreamcast]] video game console in 1999, including online support as standard, with the [[SegaNet]] service in North America and [[Dreamarena]] in Europe.<ref name="SegaNet launch">{{cite web|last=Satterfield |first=Shane |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/seganet-launches/1100-2625699/ |title=SegaNet Launches |website=GameSpot |date=September 7, 2000 |access-date=October 30, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713030636/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/seganet-launches/1100-2625699/ |archive-date=July 13, 2015}}</ref> Nevertheless, due to lack of widespread broadband adoption at the time, the Dreamcast shipped with only a [[dial-up]] modem while a later-released [[broadband]] adapter was neither widely supported nor widely available. [[Downloadable content]] was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection and the size limitations of a [[memory card]].<ref name="Culturalist Press">{{cite web | url = http://culturalistpress.com/why-do-xbox-games-updates-take-so-long-to-download/ | title = Why do Xbox games & updates take so long to download? | date = March 2, 2022 | access-date = March 2, 2022 | archive-date = March 2, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220302181550/http://culturalistpress.com/why-do-xbox-games-updates-take-so-long-to-download/ | url-status = live }}</ref> The [[PlayStation 2]] did not initially ship with built-in networking capabilities.

Microsoft, however, hoped that the Xbox would succeed where the Dreamcast had failed. The company determined that intense online gaming required the throughput of a [[broadband Internet access|broadband]] connection and the storage space of a [[hard drive|hard disk drive]], and thus these features would be vital to the new platform. This would allow not only for significant downloadable content, such as new levels, maps, weapons, challenges and characters, to be downloaded quickly and stored, but also would make it possible to standardize bandwidth intensive features such as voice communication. [[Steve Ballmer]] and [[Bill Gates]] both had a vision of making premium download content and [[Video game accessory|add-ons]] that would attract many new customers. Based on this reasoning, the console included a standard [[Ethernet]] port (10/100) in order to provide connectivity to common [[broadband networks]], but did not include a modem or any dial-up support, and its online service was designed to support broadband users only. Critics scoffed at it, citing poor broadband adoption at the turn of the century.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Dean Takahashi|title=Opening The Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution|year=2002|page=[https://archive.org/details/openingxboxinsid00taka/page/339 339]|publisher=Prima |isbn=0-7615-3708-2|url=https://archive.org/details/openingxboxinsid00taka/page/339}}</ref><ref name="bloomberg oral">{{cite web | url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-06/xbox-the-oral-history-of-an-american-video-game-empire | title = Xbox: The Oral History of an American Video Game Empire | first = Dina | last = Bass | date = January 6, 2021 | access-date = January 6, 2021 | work = [[Bloomberg News]] | archive-date = June 14, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210614013349/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-06/xbox-the-oral-history-of-an-american-video-game-empire | url-status = live }}</ref>

When the Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, the as-yet unnamed online service was destined for a Summer 2002 deployment.<ref>{{cite web|author=Microsoft |title=Xbox Erupts on the Scene |website=[[Microsoft]] |url=https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2001/nov01/11-15xboxeruptspr.mspx |access-date=July 27, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410163009/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2001/nov01/11-15xboxeruptspr.mspx |archive-date=April 10, 2008 }}</ref> Xbox Live was finally given a name at [[E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo)|E3]] 2002 when the service was unveiled in its entirety. Sound-dampened booths and broadband-connected Xbox consoles—featuring an early version of ''[[Unreal Championship]]''—demonstrated the service on the show floor. The [[Epic Games|Epic]] title was one of the flagship titles for the service, which was slated for a debut on November 15, 2002, marking the anniversary of the Xbox launch. Microsoft announced that 50 Xbox Live titles would be available by the end of 2003.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Microsoft]] |title=Xbox Live Turns up the Volume on the Future of Gaming |url=https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2002/may02/05-20e3briefingpr.mspx |date=May 20, 2002 |access-date=December 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314071440/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2002/May02/05-20E3BriefingPR.mspx |archive-date=March 14, 2007 }}</ref> Utilizing the required broadband bandwidth, Xbox Live featured a unified gaming "Friends List", as well as a single identity across all titles (regardless of the publisher), and standardized [[voice chat]] with a headset and communication, a feature that was still in its infancy.

Leading up to the launch, Microsoft enlisted several waves of [[development cycle|beta testers]] to improve the service and receive feature feedback. The first wave of beta testers were given ''[[Re-Volt]]!'' (which was never released officially) and ''[[NFL Fever 2003]]'' to beta test. Once beta testing concluded, Microsoft sent these beta testers a translucent orange memory card, a headset carrying case, and a beta tester t-shirt with the slogan "I've got great hands".  When the service debuted, it lacked much of the functionality that later titles included, but Xbox Live grew and evolved on the Xbox and many aspects of the service were included with the [[Xbox 360]] console out of the box, rather than through a later update. Microsoft granted Live-related patent that gives Xbox 360 users access to watch other gamers compete against each other over Xbox Live.<ref>{{cite web|author=Console Watcher|title=Microsoft's 5,000th Patent: Allowing Users To Spectate Other Players Through Live|url=http://www.consolewatcher.com/2006/03/microsofts-5000th-patent-allowing-users-to-spectate-other-players-through-live/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502164926/http://consolewatcher.com/2006/03/microsofts-5000th-patent-allowing-users-to-spectate-other-players-through-live/|archive-date=May 2, 2006|access-date=2020-08-25}}</ref>

The packaging for playable Xbox Live titles on the original Xbox console featured a trademark luminescent orange-gold bar underneath the Xbox header. ''[[Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (video game)|Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell]]'' and ''[[Brute Force (video game)|Brute Force]]'' sported a Live "bubble" design, as they only featured downloadable content. It was changed later, wherein all Xbox Live titles included the universal orange-gold Live bar. By the time of the Xbox 360, all titles were required to provide at least a limited form of Xbox Live "awareness".{{clarify|date=December 2013}} In July 2004, Xbox Live had reached 1 million online users.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.activewin.com/interviews/microsoft/37.shtml |title=ActiveXbox.com: Interview with Larry Hryb, Director of Programming: Xbox Live |access-date=November 4, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201104901/http://www.activewin.com/interviews/microsoft/37.shtml |archive-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref> In July 2005, Xbox Live had reached 2 million online users.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2005/07/778/|title=Xbox LIVE users top 2 million|date=July 21, 2005|access-date=December 30, 2016|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801212404/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2005/07/778/|url-status=live}}</ref>