Features// Xbox Reveal: Xbox Live Shake Out

When the dust settles after Microsoft's next Xbox console reveal this evening it may not even be the console that takes most of the attention. The fact is that gamers are unlikely to be worried too much about the hardware - but the online services that tie the system together make for a different matter entirely. Will Microsoft announce a much-needed shake-up in its Xbox Live offering?

It’s perhaps one of the biggest questions on everyone’s lips at the moment, and with good reason. Once a pioneer of console network connectivity, Microsoft’s value proposition lead has now been scuppered by the advances of its biggest industry competitor - Sony.

Xbox Live is currently split into two tiers, each with a different degree of access to exclusive content. Xbox Live Silver is the free version, which allows you to build a friends list, browse content on the Marketplace and send messages. Xbox Live Gold is a paid subscription (around £40 annually) that allows users to play online multiplayer games and load up other subscription-based services such as Netflix.

Back when the Xbox 360 launched in 2005, it was fair to say that Microsoft’s work in building a peer-to-peer networking service in a world of unconnected consoles was worth the annual investment. Even today, the current-gen console offers functionality that Nintendo and Sony can’t compete with. It seemed fine for the company to charge a premium for the privilege.

The problem Microsoft has is that such services aren’t so premium anymore. While Sony was caught on the back foot with the PS3’s inability to cleanly incorporate online awards and chat features (Trophies were shoehorned in some years after launch, and there’s still no cross-game voice chat), there are no such guarantees that Microsoft will offer the better online service going into next-gen.

And that’s the test here. Although Microsoft already has an unbelievable number of subscribers to its Xbox Live Gold service, those paying customers will not last forever on the Xbox 360. Especially if Microsoft drops the current-gen console like a hot potato in a similar fashion to the original Xbox. To succeed, Microsoft needs those existing subscribers to purchase a next-generation Xbox console. Without offering a service that appeals to today’s online audience, it risks losing its subscriber count.

In comparison, Sony appears to be stepping towards the PS4 prepared. It’s learned from all of its past mistakes - adding voice chat into the DualShock 4 controller, partnering with Ustream and building in an extensive set of streaming and sharing features with the PlayStation Network. Add the clout of the recently-acquired Gaikai, and it’s clear that Sony is coming out swinging.

And at the moment Sony also has PlayStation Plus, which has transformed itself over the last year to be something of an exceptional deal to PS3 and Vita owners. For £40 a year, offering full games for the length of a subscription (online play is free), it’s certainly better value than Xbox Live Gold - which in comparison is essentially a fee for accessing the internet.

Microsoft needs to surprise long-time users and offer a refreshed Xbox Live service to maintain subscriber interest - and potentially, next Xbox console sales. The company dragged the world kicking and screaming into a fully networked, online console future - but now that the world has caught up, it needs to show it can further innovate in the space. Otherwise, it will be fighting an uphill battle to convince gamers that the original is still the best.