Is Xbox Live A Social Network?

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 19, 2008
in Communication and social media
. Tags: , , .


Let’s look at some of the arguments from both sides. Ready? Go!

The case for “Heck yes, it is”

-You can have profiles
Xbox Live requires you to have a unique handle, or GamerTag (mine is Situation3), to exist on their network. With this profile you can choose an avatar, and edit your name, location, and motto (which is essentially useless). Pretty soon however, Xbox Live will be getting a major overhaul in this department, adding in avatars which fall in between something from Second Life and the Wii’s Mii character. It’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft utilizes the new functionality brought about by these changes to focus on the more “social” element of XBL.

-You can have friends
Just like with other major social networks (MySpace, Facebook, etc.) you can build and maintain a list of friends on Xbox Live. The process is fairly easy, all it requires is that you type in the name of the person you’d like to friend. You can even attach a text or audio message with your friend request, which is a great feature. Once you’re on their “friends” list, you can see when they’re online and which games they’re playing, join games that they’re in, send them messages, voice chat, and even look through their list of friends for other people you might know.

-You can keep in touch with people
Actually, you don’t have to play games over XBL. Once signed on, through the dashboard you can voice or text chat with your friends or send audio or video messages (if you have the camera). Obviously XBL is a gaming platform first, but with a worldwide member base, it might be cheaper to chat with your friends in London or Dubai for a couple hours via XBL than it is to call them over the phone.

The case for “Absolutely not!”

-You have to buy specific hardware
Unlike most social networks, you need to buy a few things to have access to Xbox Live. First off, obviously you need an Xbox 360. At $199 for the basic Arcade model, it’s cheaper than most computers, but even given that, it still doesn’t come close to the functionality of a simple PC.

-You have to buy a subscription
This is a deal breaker for a lot of people. In addition to buying the Xbox 360, you have to also purchase a membership to Xbox Live. If you go for the whole year up front, which runs about $50, it comes to a little over $4 a month. While this may be less than almost everything on the menu at Starbucks, it’s still more than most other major networks (which are free).

-All you can do is talk and play video games!
When it all boils down, this is totally true. Some will say that without the ability to share files or pictures, add aps, set up groups and group pages, etc. that Xbox Live falls short of the functionality that defines a social network today.

My Decision - Yes it is.

When you look at the arguments, the biggest factors against XBL being a social network is the higher barriers to entry when compared to traditional social networks. While I think this is certainly a differentiator and a worthy argument, I don’t think it’s a enough to discount XBL completely.

What say you?

  • I would definitely say yes. In my opinion, the 3 points you raise for the case against aren't points that discount it from being a social network at all. It just means it's a more closed and niche social network. I don't think a social network needs to be open to be considered a social network.

    Facebook, for example, when it first started was limited to college students. That didn't discount it from being a social network. It just meant it was a social network with a fixed target group - college students.

    In the same way, the Xbox Live is a social network, but a social network purely for Xbox gamers. Having the barriers to entry, and the "lack of functionality", are just ways to define it's niche and focus, in my opinion. It's still a place where you can meet and build connections with others. As such, it's a social network.

    That's my opinion, anyway. =).
  • Damn straight it is. Good thing you gave the correct answer, I'd hate to have to make a special trip to kick your ass.

    The fact that you can actually talk with people in the network puts it a step above most of the crap out there.

    I'm looking forward to the fall upgrade to the UI too. My gamertag is jwol3.
  • @Derrick
    I'm right there with you. I just wanted to provide a balanced look at things by presenting the most common arguments I've heard. Some people feel pretty strongly against XBL being a social network, and while I can understand their sentiments, I don't agree. Thanks for reading!

    @John (senor beast)
    After the blatant threats on my physical safety I am also glad I made the right call! And I agree that there is an element of live communication that sets XBL apart from a lot of "regular" social networks.
  • James
    hi Mrs rissling.
  • People are used to watch the world through the window frame of their browsers and there is another vent light of social connection. That's good that there are some examples of major social networks and all these pluses and minuses that the clients should know what they are buying, because indeed they will cough up for this application. My verdict: a heck of a lot of info, but the entire idea isn’t really cool.
  • I would say yes as well as like Ellie said it's a form of social networking too.
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