Thanks to a very nice gift I am finally on Xbox Live. I’ve only been playing Mech Assault online but hope to try out some other Live enabled games such as Crimson Skies or Halo 2. Overall the entire process, from obtaining Xbox Live to signing up for the Xbox Live service clearly reflects well on Microsoft’s vision for the Xbox.
For example some of the experiences that helped meet and exceed my expectations of the Xbox Live Service:
1) Sales representatives who spoke of the service with experience, knowledge and passion
2) Microsoft’s commitment to the Xbox has been clearly revealed through posts on the blogosphere and excellent community support from sites such as Xbox or TeamXbox
3) John Porcaro has talked about branding for the Xbox in some of his recent blog posts. The power of the Xbox brand was made very clear to me when exposed to feature sets such as MSN Alerts, Voice Chat, Statistics, Friends – all of which have been seamlessly integrated and tied to the “It’s good to play together” tagline. In my opinion a brand succeeds when the end user is not overwhelmed by the brand but is still aware of its presence.
4) Content, content and more content have continued to keep me on Xbox Live for hours, much longer than my eyes would have me.
5) Perhaps the last aspect that keeps me going back for more is the community surrounding Xbox Live. Having quite an active offline life, I find less time to spend online, but Xbox Live can mould to fit your life style by offering a community that is not only growing but also one that lives your kind of life style.
Have you added the Xbox Live Starter Kit to your Christmas list yet?