What Multiplayer Really Means

After many interviews with people who subscribe to Xbox Live, I have found that the major reason why most people decide to join is for the social space that Xbox Live provides. Years ago, the only way you could play a videogame with a friend was that one would go over to the other’s house and they would play together. Of course there were obvious limitations to this kind of gaming. To play multiplayer you had to have a friend or friends over and gaming systems would only allow up to four players, also, the television screen has to be shared by everyone playing. “What I like most is being able to play with friends and have the whole screen to myself. Before Xbox Live everyone had to share the screen so it was split. So with that kind of set up there was a lot of screen watching going on.” Corey Green comments, a long time Xbox Live subscriber. To Corey screen watching was a major factor in deciding to first subscribe to Xbox Live. “I hated it when I had a friend over and he would watch my half of the split screen to see what I was doing. It started to really take the fun away from playing with friends.” Xbox Live solved this dilemma. Corey was able to still enjoy games with friends, but since they weren’t right next to him, he didn’t have to worry about screen watching anymore. By playing multiplayer on Xbox Live, up to 16 people can be in a game compared to the traditional 4. More friends are able to play together and no one has to be left out.

I have always thought that playing videogames together with friends was a great way to bond with that friend and strengthen the friendship. However, once people start moving away or going off to college, it’s easy to lose touch with friends. “I joined to stay in touch with friends after everyone went off to college.” Comments Brianne Bailey, another Xbox Live subscriber, “I didn’t want to lose touch so I got Xbox Live so that we could at least still play videogames together.” This is actually a very common reason why some people decide to subscribe to Xbox Live. After High School, you don’t get to see all your old friends as often as you used to so in an attempt to not lose touch people subscribe to Xbox Live, that way they can still play videogames together like they did when they saw their friends almost every day.

To these people who subscribe just to play with friends and keep in touch, Xbox Live is not just a social space. It is a means to hold on to an old life that is almost lost because everyone goes their own separate ways. It’s the one thing that can stay the same. The games may change, but the interactions stay the same. When playing videogames online with friends, it is almost the same as it was in High School, bonding and reconnecting with each other through their mutual appreciation of videogames.

Corey Green, interview by Jenifer DeNormandie, phone, Norton, MA, 30 October 2009.

Brianne Bailey, interview by Jenifer DeNormandie, phone, Norton, MA, 31 October 2009.

I would like to let it be known that both Corey and Brianne have given me permission to use their names in this blog and they are both aware of the nature of this blog.

Discussing Add-ons

The spectrum of downloads on Xbox Live isn’t limited to demos either. There are many things you can download including older games, extra levels to games that you own or in the case of Guitar Hero, extra songs to play. To me this seems like a bit of a marketing ploy. First you have to buy the game and if you want the extra levels or songs you have to pay more money. Granted some songs or levels are free, but some may argue that you should get the whole game when you first buy it.

Though this may seem wrong to some people, it’s not like the game that you purchased is missing anything. If you didn’t have Xbox Live, you would still be able to play the game and enjoy it. Having Xbox Live just gives you the opportunity of having a more enriching gaming experience because of those little extras that you can purchase or get for free. After you beat a game and finished all the levels, it’s a great feeling to go onto Xbox Live and see that you can purchase more levels to play especially if you really enjoyed the game. “Fable 2 was a great game, but once you finish the quests there isn’t much else to do with it, but I was excited when I found out that I could purchase and download extra quests from Xbox Live.” Corey Green, long time Xbox Live subscriber. Add-ons and game downloads keep the game fun after you have exhausted the original game content.

Corey Green, interview by Jenifer DeNormandie, phone, Norton, MA, 30 October 2009.

The Demo Dilemma

After purchasing a subscription to Xbox Live, the first thing I discovered was the ability to download game demos. I had never really understood why someone would take the time to play a demo since that’s just it, it’s a demo. It’s not the full game and eventually you get to the end of the demo and all that you accomplished has now gone to waste. I would put effort into a little blip of a game just for it to end and that time to have gone to waste. However, after purchasing a subscription to Xbox Live, I was able to search for game demos and try them out. Rather than it being a waste of my time, I was able to appreciate what demos actually do for people. They help people decide if they like the game enough to purchase it. Of course, not all the demos on Xbox Live are free, but it is better to try out a game demo from Xbox Live rather than going through the trouble of purchasing the game only to find that it really isn’t what you were expecting or hoping for. When playing the demo, there is no mystery, you see the graphics, hear the sounds and music, and experience the game play and difficulty. So if you decide to purchase the game, there is no surprise when you start playing, because of the availability of demos on Xbox Live, you are educated on the game and know what you are buying. “It’s a small taste of what the game is actually like so you can decide if you want to buy the game or not” says long time Xbox Live subscriber Corey Green, “I frequently download demos. It’s a great for when you’re not sure if you will like the game or not. Playing the demo has actually saved me from some bad purchases.”

Corey Green, interview by Jenifer DeNormandie, phone, Norton, MA, 30 October 2009.