MS getting Live ready for GTA IV onslaught

[Queasy]

Link - I don't think the 360 could survive another Live Christmas meltdown.

If Microsoft has one thing going for them that no fanboy rant can question, it's Xbox LIVE. As long as Nintendo has friend codes and Sony has, uhhh, we'll get back to that, Microsoft stands tall on their untarnished pedestal. Well...untarnished if you ignore the month+ of outages around Christmas 2007. The fact of the matter is, Xbox LIVE has failed the consumer public before. And it could fail us again.

Jump ahead to next week, we have GTA IV?a game that's so big that?we'll let Microsoft's General Manager of LIVE Services Operations, Derek Ingalls explain that metric:

"...we are preparing for a spike that could be much larger than what we saw with the launches of Halo 3 and Activision's "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare."

So how is Microsoft prepping Xbox LIVE for the not so metaphorical mass rioting that is GTA IV multiplayer?

"Last holiday we weren't properly prepared," Ingalls admits. "So we are going the extra mile with Grand Theft Auto IV..." Yeah, that was total marketing speak. But it got your ears perked, didn't it?

"The biggest step we've taken is to add in more server hardware, which will expand the service's capacity," Ingalls explains to us through email. (PR had explained earlier that he was "obviously very busy" this week.) "We have actually doubled our capacity for concurrent users over the last 2 months."

The backbone of Xbox LIVE is an interesting point in itself. It's not one big pile of computers, but two big piles of computers. The LIVE-exclusive servers are in Seattle, while LIVE piggybacks off other Microsoft servers in Quincy, Washington. Ingalls jokes that security includes "tubes you must step into with bio-metric devices such that you must lay your hand on a reader for fingerprint identification before it will allow you out of the ejection tube."

And, of course, no shorts are allowed. (We're guessing it's the copious amounts of programmer leg hair, but consider that point unconfirmed.)

However, the server upgrades at Microsoft's datacenters are just part of their preparation. They have extra staff working longer hours this week. And those updates you've been receiving on LIVE?

"... are part of an ongoing effort to get ahead on capacity issues," Ingalls explained. "We learned a lot from last holiday and have a comprehensive plan we are executing upon throughout the year to prevent any recurrence of issues like we experienced. That said, we would be remiss to not expect and respect that the "Grand Theft Auto IV" release is anticipated to impact usage in a positive way."

Yeah, those updates are totally about Grand Theft Auto IV?this week at least. Because a free copy of Undertow won't quell a few million teenagers looking to break some faces, steal some shit and drive around with their music really, really loud.

As for what Sony is doing to prepare?their fate lies in the hands of Rockstar (who rumor has it is actually using Gamespy's servers). Because they don't offer a backend to host games like Xbox LIVE, they avoid the headache for a trade-off of a little risk, and almost no say in fixing potential problems that may arise.

Even Ingalls, knowing everything they've done to prepare, is a bit nervous.

"We know the launch of GTA IV will be a wildly successful day for Rockstar, for LIVE, and for our customers... and hopefully, just another day for operations."

 

[Xavier434]

I don't know...I plan to do single player at first and I know I am not alone there. I imagine many more people will opt to do SP than they will MP upon initial release of the game than they did with Halo 3. I'm glad they are preparing anyways though. It's nice to know they are learning from their mistake.

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Xavier434
I don't know...I plan to do single player at first and I know I am not alone there. I imagine many more people will opt to do SP than they will MP upon initial release of the game than they did with Halo 3. I'm glad they are preparing anyways though. It's nice to know they are learning from their mistake.

I'm sure a lot of you who will be playing the SP mainly first will at least try the MP out to see how it is. Assuming you have Live of course.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Xavier434
I don't know...I plan to do single player at first and I know I am not alone there. I imagine many more people will opt to do SP than they will MP upon initial release of the game than they did with Halo 3. I'm glad they are preparing anyways though. It's nice to know they are learning from their mistake.

I'm sure a lot of you who will be playing the SP mainly first will at least try the MP out to see how it is. Assuming you have Live of course.

Ya, maybe. I know I probably won't try it until after a few days at least but that is only because my time to play will be kinda limited and the SP will be really addicting.

 

[Modeps]

Even people who aren't playing MP will most likely be connected to Live, just not using it as intensively. There will be a TON of traffic, guaranteed. They best be prepared.

 

[TecHNooB]

MGS4, GTA4, Resistance 2, Gears of War 2, Resident Evil 5.

Which will take GOTY??

Great time to be a gamer IMO.

 

[Ramma2]

There's also the possibility of a 0 day update, which would put a massive strain on the servers.

But I have faith in R*, they make good games.

 

[purbeast0]

no matter how hard they try, i see xbl being screwed up when gta4 launches.

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: TecHNooB
MGS4, GTA4, Resistance 2, Gears of War 2, Resident Evil 5.

Which will take GOTY??

Great time to be a gamer IMO.

GTA4. GT5 if it comes out this year... unfortunately, it won't.

 

[herkulease]

We already know what can happen to the live servers.

I want to see what will happen to the psn servers. Will the free service hold up? Plus do we give it a pass because well its free.

 

[blurredvision]

It's unfortunate that Live had problems for one month out of 5 years of service, and now nobody has any faith.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: blurredvision
It's unfortunate that Live had problems for one month out of 5 years of service, and now nobody has any faith.

I'd have more faith if it wasnt screwed up for nearly an entire month. A day or two here or there isnt going to kill anyone, but the several weeks last xmas was absolutely absurd. I'm paying for this sh*t, I expect to get what I pay for.

 

[bullbert]

Originally posted by: Queasy
I don't think the 360 could survive another Live Christmas meltdown.

I don't think it would make a bit of difference. Microsoft fanboys tend to buy whatever Microsoft puts on the market, at whatever price Microsoft chooses to set. Just look at how many Gold memberships have been renewed since that December meltdown. Add to those the new Gold memberships that have been purchased since that well publicized December meltdown. No decrease in renewals and no slowdown in new sales what so ever. Saddenz

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: bullbert

Originally posted by: Queasy
I don't think the 360 could survive another Live Christmas meltdown.

I don't think it would make a bit of difference. Microsoft fanboys tend to buy whatever Microsoft puts on the market, at whatever price Microsoft chooses to set. Just look at how many Gold memberships have been renewed since that December meltdown. Add to those the new Gold memberships that have been purchased since that well publicized December meltdown. No decrease in renewals and no slowdown in new sales what so ever. Saddenz

XBL is generally a pretty slick service otherwise. How long did the meltdown last? 1 week? 2 weeks? For most that's hardly $1-2 lost. Hardly worth crying about.

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: bullbert
I don't think it would make a bit of difference. Microsoft fanboys tend to buy whatever Microsoft puts on the market, at whatever price Microsoft chooses to set. Just look at how many Gold memberships have been renewed since that December meltdown.

So, do you cancel your electric service when it goes off?

 

[bucwylde23]

Originally posted by: R Nilla

Originally posted by: bullbert

Originally posted by: Queasy
I don't think the 360 could survive another Live Christmas meltdown.

I don't think it would make a bit of difference. Microsoft fanboys tend to buy whatever Microsoft puts on the market, at whatever price Microsoft chooses to set. Just look at how many Gold memberships have been renewed since that December meltdown. Add to those the new Gold memberships that have been purchased since that well publicized December meltdown. No decrease in renewals and no slowdown in new sales what so ever. Saddenz

XBL is generally a pretty slick service otherwise. How long did the meltdown last? 1 week? 2 weeks? For most that's hardly $1-2 lost. Hardly worth crying about.

Lasted a month, at a minimum. Doesn't change the fact that I'll still renew, though Love my 360.

 

[lupi]

I'm not a "fanboy" of any of the online services. That still doesn't mean Live doesn't suck.

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: blurredvision

Originally posted by: bullbert
I don't think it would make a bit of difference. Microsoft fanboys tend to buy whatever Microsoft puts on the market, at whatever price Microsoft chooses to set. Just look at how many Gold memberships have been renewed since that December meltdown.

So, do you cancel your electric service when it goes off?

That's a necessity, of course you would. Let's be fair with our comparisons here.