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XBOX Live Australian release date CONFIRMED!

14th March 2003, 6:22pm
Microsoft today announced their launch strategy for Xbox Live in Australia, confirming that Xbox Live will be available to Australians by October this year.

Xbox Live enables users to play online games via broadband with other gamers around the world, while simultaneously chatting to them via the Xbox Voice Communicator.

Xbox is the only video game console that has been designed from the ground up especially for online gaming. With a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port, using Xbox Live is fun, extremely user-friendly and always fresh.

"Xbox Live dramatically transforms the way we play games, making the experience an entertaining, social interaction that we can share with people all over the world while playing our favourite games," said Alan Bowman, Regional Director of Xbox.

Gamertag, Finding your friends, Voice, Matchmaking and Content downloads are the key features that make the Xbox Live service a fun, easy and social experience for gamers.

Exclusive additional game content like extra characters, levels, maps and missions are all easily downloadable onto the built-in Xbox hard-disk. This extends the life of an Xbox game even after a player has completed all the levels, which keeps games challenging and exciting. Downloading extra game content is only possible because of the built-in Hard Disk in Xbox, which can store huge amounts of data. No other console has a built-in Hard Disk.

"It is clear from the success of Xbox Live in the launched territories that live gaming is going to take off in Australia - and Xbox is leading the way!" said Alan Bowman.

Exceeding all expectations, over 350,000 starter kits have been sold in the US since launch last November. And with more than 172,000 MechAssault downloads in the first week of availability, it is clear that the built-in hard-disk is important to Xbox gamers.

Japan launched Live in January, and today the global Xbox Live community is expected to grow even more, as players from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, and Sweden go live after months of successful consumer beta testing.

Xbox Live will roll out in three distinct phases in Australia:

  • Inter-operability Testing (March - August 2003): Localised development to trial, check and develop inter-operability between ISP's and the game server.

  • Gamer Beta Test (September 2003): A limited beta test with several hundred selected gamers participating across Australia, the Gamer Beta Test is a testing phase designed to capture anticipated levels of usage to the service in Australia. It's also where Microsoft ensures the customer experience is optimised.

  • Xbox Live Retail Launch (October 2003): Xbox owners in Australia can purchase an Xbox Live starter kit at their local Xbox retail outlet and go live right away*.

The Xbox Live Starter Kit will go on sale in October for a recommended retail price of $99.95. It includes:

  • 12 month subscription to Xbox Live service

  • Xbox Live voice communicator

  • Xbox Live starter disk

  • 3 demo Xbox Live games


This is great value considering Xbox owners will not have to purchase any additional add-ons, as required with other consoles, as the hard-disk and Ethernet port are both built-into the Xbox.

"So let the countdown begin for the gaming revolution to hit Australia - and stay tuned for further details," concluded Bowman.
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by Greg Laspatzis