Posted: 04th Mar, 2003 By: MarkJ
The official online service for Microsoft's X-Box games console, X-Box Live, is due to be launched on the 14th of this month in the UK and Europe:
Xbox Live opened its virtual doors to gamers just over three months ago and has experienced success in attracting subscribers in the US and Canada, as well as Japan, where the service was introduced in mid-January.
UK gamers can expect to pay £39 for a subscription kit that allows online play, with Europeans paying EU59. In the US, the kit retails for just over £30.
The Xbox has 14 games that are equipped for online play and Microsoft expects another 10 to be added to this figure by May, with many more in development. The company distributes downloads for existing games via the internet, with users able to upgrade games to play new levels.The
netimperative.info item notes that 350,000 X-Box owners have now subscribed to the service, although those without a broadband connection will be left out in the cold.