|
Tony::
Could you tell our readers what exactly is your job title and what
you do?
Major Nelson:
I am the Director Of Programming for Xbox Live. That title
means I do a lot of things! Some of my responsibilities include being community representative for the product team. In addition,
I also work with marketing and PR to help them understand what our members want and need.
Tony:
What
about those MVP guys on Xbox.com, I wanted to be one of those but um... yea I suck.
Major Nelson:
I
also manage our world class MVP’s and Moderators who help members out on the forums. Another part of my role is coming
up with programs like the ‘mystery gamer.’
Tony:
Your job
sure beats mine, I collect cans for a living. Anything about your job that's "TOP SECRET"?
Major
Nelson:
One part of my job that I don’t talk about too much is the product planning. I get to help shape
the next generation of Xbox system by providing input to the various teams (hardware/software.)
Tony:
“Someone”
told me you use to do music at Microsoft, So how did you get started working at the company?
Major
Nelson:
I started working at Microsoft in 2000 as the head of MSN Music.
Tony:
You
recently slammed rumors that Xbox production was in fact not being pulled from Retailers. Could you tell us more about how
the speculation occurred? Is demand really that high and where does Xbox sit now in global units?
Major
Nelson:
The gamers love rumours…I have no idea how it started.
Tony:
Heh…
no idea? That relieves me of a lot of stress, you have no idea. What is the peak usage for Xbox live, what time of day and
day of the week?
Major Nelson:
As you can imagine it’s the weekend evenings.
Tony:
What are the two most popular Xbox Live games ever?
Major Nelson:
Right now, its Halo 2 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. You can see the complete
top 25 most played games on live here: www.xbox.com/en-US/games/live-top25games.htm?level1=enuslivehome&level2=topgames&level3=top25gameslist
Tony:
How many servers do you guys have to hold all these gaming addicts
and are there plans to expand?
Major Nelson:
For competitive reasons, I can’t
release any specifics…but I will say we have enough to handle the load =)
Tony:
I bet you guys are using Linux too. How many xbox live games are
available as of right now?
Major Nelson:
There are over 175 games that interact
with the Live service.
Tony:
Cheating has become a problem for many
popular Xbox Live games as people unfortunately exploit a well-known glitch. How are you approaching these problems?
Major Nelson:
We take cheating very seriously. We are working with our game developers to approach
this in the best, smartest way possible…that’s all I’ll say.
Tony:
The
game card is an interesting addition to the Xbox Live service, will Xbox 1 users receive this or will this be exclusive only
to the Next Generation Xbox?
Major Nelson:
That decision is not final yet.
Tony:
Customizable User Interfaces has always been a dream for Xbox owners. Some already
have them by modifying their Xbox’s. Do you think it will be possible to have customized User interfaces for Xbox Live
down the road?
Major Nelson:
With the next generation…almost anything is
possible. The next generation will be all about customizing your experience.
Tony:
You
obviously know about the Hard-Drive, No Hard Drive bla bla crap that’s been floating around the internet for the Next
Generation System and some speculate Xbox Live could be used as a storage device. Would you be willing to tell us if it will
be possible to use Xbox Live as storage for personal photo's, music and videos?
Major Nelson:
Nope.
I can’t say yet.
Tony:
Yet as in… Yes but you can’t
say “yes” yet, yea I’m on to you. As Xbox Live continues to grow at an astonishing rate and becomes more
complicated, could we see an increase in price to the Xbox Live Subscription?
Major Nelson:
We’re
working hard to keep the price as affordable as possible.
Tony:
Are
you familiar with the Massive Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter game –Huxley, which touts it will allow 5,000
players to play in the same in the same world?
Major Nelson:
While I have not
played that game, I have spent a fair amount of time in WoW.
Tony:
Could
you explain how it would be possible to have that many players online in the same world and if lag will be an issue?
Major Nelson:
You’d have to ask them..since I am not familiar with their infrastructure
or client-server approach.
Tony:
Some of our members had some questions
they wanted to ask. Here are some we have selected:
SuperCharlie [XF] asks:
Is there any chance games will be able to support mass spectating? Not just the players
in the games allotted slots, but people who want to fly by and watch...
Major Nelson:
Yes…we
really like that feature to. Some games really work well with that..while others really don’t. We’re working with
developers to see what we can do.
-Project- asks asks:
Will there be an option to segment your friends list into categories?
Major
Nelson: We have not announced details on that yet.
MC Smoke asks asks:
Is there a possiblility of some GT changing scheme in the future, such as pay-per-change?
Major Nelson: Maybe =)
[LXG]MachineGunMac asks asks:
How many people do you think the average Xbox live game on Xbox 360 will allow
you to hold?
Major Nelson: We have not made any claims on the Next Generation platform
regarding this issue.
forgivin .:DS:. asks:
What exactly does MS have planned to improve an already great XBL service for the Xbox
360? Like features, customizable dashboards, clan related stuff and so on.
Major Nelson:
We have not announced details on that yet.
xboxizdope asks:
Most of my friends are cheap and aren't interested in downloading premium maps, so why would
I want to pay for a map I can't use with my friends? Would you agree it makes more sense to charge for items such as new weapons
or cars that won't separate gamers into "have" and "have-not" groups?
Major Nelson:
That is indeed one approach. J Allard spoke of micro-payments at the Game Developers Conference last month…this is one
approach we are considering.
Tony:
Alright last but not least, where do you see
Xbox Live ten years from now?
Major Nelson:
Hopefully in all the homes in America!
Tony:
Thanks for your time, see you in the bathroom
|
