Wireless Home Networking - Index of

� Communicate in real time during games.
� Set up chats with your friends.
� Meet gamers from all over the world and put together a posse of your
favorite teammates to go after others.
� Set up your own clans and start competitions with Xbox Live features.
� Join Xbox Live tournaments.
Chapter 11: Gaming Over a Wireless Home Network
� Download cool new stuff for your favorite games that’s available only
online — new maps, missions, songs, skins, vehicles, characters, quests,
and more. You can even download entertainment content (such as
movies and music) for your Xbox 360.
� Play games against hot celebs that Microsoft courts online.
With the discontinuation of the original Xbox and the focus on the Xbox 360,
Xbox Live has been mainly focused on users of the new console. There is still
service available for the original Xbox, but we devote most of our discussion
here to the Xbox 360.
There are two levels of service for Xbox Live:
� Silver: This is a free service; anyone with an Xbox 360 can sign up for it
and access game content (like additional levels), and get the ability to
create a gamertag (online identity) and participate in online chats with
friends. What you can’t do with the free silver service is participate in
multiplayer online games; to do that, you need to be a gold member
(read on!).
� Gold: This is the subscription (in other words, pay) service in Xbox
Live. You get to play online games against friends (and strangers) and
get additional features such as access to an online marketplace and
enhanced friends list functionality. There are a number of different plans
for signing up for Xbox Live Gold; the most common is a $59.99 plan,
which provides a year’s worth of service and includes a headset for live
voice chat during gaming.
Microsoft doesn’t provide the broadband service for Xbox Live (none of the
gaming companies do) — just the gaming service itself. Thus, you need to
already have a cable, fiber-optic, or DSL modem set up in your home.
If you’re going to play Xbox Live, you need to make sure that your router is
Xbox Live compatible. Go to www.xbox.com/en-US/support/connecttolive/
xbox360/homenetworking/equipment.htm. On this page, Microsoft lists
routers that don’t work with its Live service, so be sure to check the list before
you buy. If your router isn’t on the Works or Does Not Work list, it’s in a huge
gray area of “we have no clue, but don’t blame us if it doesn’t work.”
Microsoft always loves a scapegoat!
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