Still, there was some more interesting information about the directions we can expect the Live service to take, irrespective of the technology it is running on. The global related to the various cultures that make up the worldwide Live subscriber community were touched upon. Jeff talked about culturally relevant content, an issue that is easily handled in the offline world by releasing different titles to different regions. Go online, especially with Arcade, and different gamers will be looking for different diversions depending on their location. Again, solid information was thin on the ground, but it was illuminating to hear of the various areas that is putting work and effort into.

Downloadable content has been a sparsely used but very popular feature of Live that, judging by the amount of words dedicated to it, we can expect to see a lot, lot more of in the future. Although Jeff claimed 200 items of are currently available it is the success that has been seen with Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow that has really got publishers excited. One in eight Live subscribers who bought the Sam Fisher sequel paid for the extra levels that were made available soon after the game's release. So while many games have featured free DLC we can expect the model to move more towards near-exclusively fee-based DLC in the future. And while this may be seen as a good thing in the way that more levels, cars, teams etc is always a good thing for games, the move towards heaping additional, although voluntary, costs onto the gamer is bound to be seen in a less favourable light. Microsoft are going to have to work hard to stop publishers from releasing fairly bare-bone games which only expand to their full potential with extra billing to the gamer's credit card.

Full integration of on and offline play is another goal for the company. Recent titles like Rallisport Challenge 2 have shown just how much can be added to a game through diligent and inventive programming on the part of the developers. As the '"gamer is the ultimate link in the value chain", a balance will need to be struck between giving the gamer enough of what he wants straight out of the box to keep them content with the value of the games and Live service, while creating titles that encourage the purchasing of DLC. The continuing of the social side of the Live service will also help to make it more appealing to all kinds of gamers as well as encourage gamers to spend more time playing certain games. On the topic of whether or not gamers spent more time with Live enabled games and therefore less money on new titles Jeff was rather evasive. Judging by the positive sounds made about the financial rewards of DLC I deduced that this was indeed a problem of sorts and that the solution had already been found in pushing DLC with greater frequency and energy.

While the talk wasn't the most revealing 40 minutes I have ever had it did shed light on a lot of things. The move towards a more demographically balanced user-base is a sound move for Microsoft and could have some knock-on benefits for the current range of users. The service certainly sounds like a winner, provided that the company sticks to its word that the pricing will be on the right side of minimal. I do have some concern that the company may spend too much time chasing after the mommy-money at the expense of those gamers who have made Live such a success so far. The inevitable rise in costs to the Live gamer that the increase in priority that will be shown to DLC is also of some concern. As it stands, Live is currently very good value for money. However, if games begin to require gamers to spend 5, 10, 15 or 20 notes so that they can remain competitive in the games they enjoy playing then I can see a potential backlash. I just hope that the balance is struck between fleecing customers for more money with the need to keep things affordable to the masses. Excessive profiteering has never gone down well with gamers, and as much as I hate to say it, if is ever defeated on consoles then I can only believe that the price of gaming will skyrocket.

The future looks to be more inclusive, more interconnected and more expensive. Microsoft has so far done a wonderful job in blazing a trail for online gaming services and deserves all the accolades and money that they currently enjoy. has demonstrated that online gaming can be a near painless experience that enriches both the games and the lives of gamers. I just hope that the quest for money doesn't eventually ruin the goodwill and good nature of the Xbox Live community.

By Sam Gibson