Xbox Live Tops 1 Million News

Microsoft Game Studios today confirmed that it has passed the 1million mark for Xbox Live! subscribers, making the landmark achievement three times faster then other subscription-based entertainment services such as Home Box Office Inc, America Online Inc and TiVo Inc.

"Consumers are clearly choosing Xbox Live online video games as the new digital entertainment nirvana," said Microsoft Senior Vice President of the Home and Entertainment Division and Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach. "Our community has reached a million members in record time, and we've got hot new games and expanded features that will continue to feed our customer's almost insatiable appetite for online play."

First introduced in November 2002, Microsoft continues to expand the appeal and range of features for the online service, with such new additions as video chat, content downloads voice messages and alerts.

However Microsoft is not one to sit on their laurels, as Xbox Live! is set to continue succeeding into the year with the first wave of EA online titles, the introduction of Xbox Live! Arcade and more importantly the monumental release of Halo 2.

Xbox Live Trivia

• Players in 24 countries have spent more than 160 million hours (or 20,000 years) playing Xbox Live.
• Members are playing an average of 265,549 hours every day.
• More than 100 game titles from a host of top publishers including Electronic Arts Inc., Microsoft Game Studios, THQ and Ubisoft Entertainment are playable on Xbox Live, and the number is expected to rise to 150 by the end of the calendar year.
• Players have logged more than 220 million online sessions, an average of 10.5 million sessions per month.
• More than 200 pieces of downloadable content are currently available to expand and enhance already great games, including new levels, new characters, new multiplayer modes and updated sports rosters.
• The top 15 cities worldwide boasting the most Xbox Live members are Tokyo; London; Houston; Chicago; Toronto; San Diego; New York; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Los Angeles; Miami; Seattle; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; San Antonio; Las Vegas; and Seoul, Korea.