Lots of exciting Xbox Live News coming down the pipeline as we head into launch! Check out the fun filled facts below, and check out the announcing of Xbox Live Pricing and the removal of the credit card barrier for Xbox 360!

Facts 'n Stats
September 2005

Every day, more than two million people from 24 countries, across 16 different currencies and using 15 languages, are easily connecting with friends and family on Xbox Live - the first global, unified online console games service.

Care to take a guess at which U.S. city is the most connected on Xbox Live? It's not New York and it's not Chicago. Believe it or not it's actually Houston, TX. What about internationally? Of all the Live cities throughout the world, London is the most connected outside the United States. In fact, on a combined worldwide basis, London would be the number three city ahead of San Diego. Who knew?!

Want more facts and statistics? Take a peek inside the Xbox Live community and the new era of online gaming.

Customer Satisfaction and Online Prevalence
There's no doubt about it - people playing on Xbox Live are very happy with the
service. According to Xbox Research conducted in July 2005: In the US, 98% of Xbox Live members are very satisfied with the service and 74% would recommend it to a friend. Only 4% claim they do not plan to renew their subscription. This puts Xbox Live at the same level as some of the top tier consumer products and services like Tivo (98%) and well ahead of other online subscription services like AOL (71%) and Yahoo (80%). Source:? American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Not only are Xbox Live members very satisfied, but online gaming as a whole is rising in popularity. According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers Global 2005 Entertainment Study, the world of online gaming is about to explode. Just the facts:

* Online games are expected to reach up to $3.8 billion in revenue by 2009 and account for 28.5 million online video gamers. This is a 42% annual growth rate from 2004, which accounted for only 4.4 million online gamers in a $647 million industry.

* By 2009, in the US there will be 28.5 million online video gamers, up from 4.4 million in 2004.

* In Europe, the number of online video gamers is expected to grow to 28.7 million, also by 2009, matching that of the US.

Xbox Loyalists
The dynamic community of more than two million Live subscribers is loyal, even more loyal than their offline Xbox gaming counterparts. Facts and stats as follows:

* Xbox Live subscribers globally are three times more likely to purchase Xbox 360, as well as recommend Xbox to a friend, than offline owners. In the U.S., 63% of consumers state that online gaming capabilities are extremely or very important when choosing a next-gen console. To compare, just two years ago, only 15% claimed online as a key feature.

% Xbox Loyalists US EMEA Japan
Xbox Owners * 25% 26% 18%
Xbox Live Subscribers 64% 83% 92%

*includes Live subscribers and non-Live subscribers

Doubling their library in the past year, from 11 games to an average of 23, Xbox Live gamers are serious about their content. The software attach rate for Xbox Live customers is 23.3 games, or 52% higher than offline gamers who average 15.4 games. 60% of all Xbox Live subscribers to date have downloaded content from the service, with more than one in five members having purchased at least one premium downloadable content. This represents the more than 20 million content downloads to date, including more than one million premium downloads!

The Xbox Live Gamer Profile
The average online gamer is no longer the stereotypical college student with
questionable social skills and limited hobbies. Xbox Live gamers are
highly social human beings, passionate about competition, community and social
interaction.

The community and its members are integral to the Xbox Live experience, but who is actually playing? More stats?

85% are male; 15% are female
62% are between 18 and 30 years of age
35% have an estimated income of $60,000 or more
32% have attended or graduated from college
Approximately half of the Live community are *hardcore* gamers and half are *serious/social* gamers

How often do Xbox Live subscribers play and for how long?
Xbox Live gamers have accrued more than 1,378,074,883 hours on the service, which is 57,419,787 days or 157,314 years. That's more than one hour of game play for every citizen in China, the world?s most populated country.

On a global basis, peak usage remains around the typical *prime time* hours. The
highest usage is actually 7p.m. to 8p.m. Thursday is the most popular week night, followed by Saturday on the weekend To compare, in the UK, Tuesday and Wednesday are the most active days.

How are gamers using the Xbox Live service? More than 60% of Xbox Live members spent their time playing online versus offline. Today, the average Live member has 20 friends, this is up 44% from the average number of friends a year ago, which was 14. There are more than 40 million friend connections on Xbox Live. 11 million friend connections were added last month, up from 700,000 a year ago. Top Requested Features and Games Internal Xbox Conjoint studies showed that consumers really want more from their games and to enhance their gaming experience.

When asked what the top requested features are for Xbox Live, gamers listed:
1. Full featured online functionality in ALL of their games
2. Ability to compete in online tournaments
3. Access to downloadable content like trailers, games and demos

Generally speaking, gamers don't want non-game related entertainment offerings. Features like music downloads, full length movies, etc all test very low. (Source: Xbox Live Conjoint Study 3/05, BRS Group)

Top Games Globally on Xbox Live - the games Live gamers love to play:
Rank Title
1 Halo 2
2 Rainbow Six 3
3 Counter Strike
4 Project Gotham Racing 2
5 MechAssault (retail)
6 Rainbox Six: Black Arrow
7 Ghost Recon
8 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2
9 Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
10 Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

And finally, what's the story behind Xbox Live Arcade?
Just as Xbox Live is integral to the entire Xbox 360 console game experience, Xbox Live Arcade is integral to the entire community. Xbox Live Arcade is currently the TOP 10 destination within Xbox Live on Xbox. Xbox Live Arcade has the ability to drive hundreds of thousands of users to casual games like Joust and Bankshot Billiards either through the games blade or via Xbox Live Marketplace. Last year, online digitally distributed games were a $150 million business - just in downloadable games. Projections are that it will grow to $800 million by 2007, according to IDC. IDC also reports that the larger opportunity of casual online games is today a $1.2 billion business, globally, and projected to grow to $4.2 billion by 2009.

It's a FACT! Great games mixed with an active community of millions makes for unparalleled online experiences not available on any other system.

Welcome to the new era of online gaming!

Jason's Comments: I don't have Xbox Live...I need broadband first.