Microsoft, Activision aware of Xbox Live Issues [Update]

by Xav de Matos { Apr 4th 2008 at 11:05PM }

Update: As of this morning the Xbox.com support page says the service should be back up to speed.

Updating you from our story a few hours ago comes new information regarding the state of Xbox Live. A little under an hour ago Microsoft and Activision have acknowledged the issues that have plagued the Xbox Live and Xbox Live Marketplace services. A notice was posted on the Xbox.com support page as well as the above message found on the Game of the Year Map activation page for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

While no formal reasoning is given the community finger has points squarely on the Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4 that released earlier today. Even though we're assured via Twitter, "the team is aware of issues w/ LIVE" from Xbox Live's Major Nelson, we wonder how the service will cope on April 29 as the world attempts to experience Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV.

Tags: downtime, server-downtime, service-issues, xbox-live

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

isocrazy @ Apr 4th 2008 11:11PM

august? you mean april my dear friend.

Xav de Matos @ Apr 4th 2008 11:12PM

LOL. I edited that as your comment came in.

StLouisRibs7734 @ Apr 4th 2008 11:13PM

Blame call of duty for no microsoft points to get rock band songs for me...

sad face...

mrbiggs n d atx @ Apr 4th 2008 11:13PM

damn, and i decided not to go out drinking!! i never got my 1st free game, i better get one this time!! m$ sucks azz!! im sending this to the consumerist.com, cuz M$ always drops the ball when it is not their game!!! ANYONE SEE PROBLEMS WITH HALO 3??? I THOUGHT SO!! FCK BGATES!

Dadidito @ Apr 4th 2008 11:23PM

You would think by this point Microsoft would have figured high demand for a particular download on Live will mean lots more bandwith used up. Elementary yet they can't seem to get it!

DemonGSides @ Apr 5th 2008 11:27AM

And I remember a period of roughly 2 weeks after Christmas which involved halo 3, so yeah.

Shut up.

mrbiggs n d atx @ Apr 4th 2008 11:23PM

i would like to retract all previous statements made, except the halo 3 part, cuz its right. it works for me now, please jesus, let it HOLY SH!T THATS FCKNG BETTER THAN PRON!!!

Zoot Suit Jedi @ Apr 4th 2008 11:24PM

Awesome. COD4 breaks the interwebs again. Oorah!

harma41 @ Apr 4th 2008 11:50PM

Xbox.com seems to be going down now. I cannot even get into my Live account data anymore.

Ivan @ Apr 4th 2008 11:58PM

WTF are you guys talking about? Xbox Live is the greatest thing out there! So what if the marketplace isn't working, just be happy that we're able to play the fun games that our great overlords Microsoft have provided us with!

/sarcasm

But seriously, I've been looking forward to these maps since February, and I honestly can't stand anymore Disctrict, Downpour & Shipment. F*** Shipment!!!

Deck @ Apr 5th 2008 12:01AM

Aye this is for sure going on. I hope it can be resolved in a timely manner.

Been busy and off COD4 for week or so and I logged on tonight to just play some multi w/o the new maps first but I can't even get the update I need for it. Oh well..this stuff happens. No reason to get up in arms about it.

Balr0g @ Apr 5th 2008 12:19AM

this is complete B.S.

Why are we paying for xbox live

ZEBRA NINER @ Apr 5th 2008 12:59AM

Yeah, my GF procrastinated on downloading the maps and now she isn't able to play. I downloaded mine this morning, and haven't had any connection issues. I hope this all gets sorted out soon, I mean... it's the weekend!

Matt Claus @ Apr 5th 2008 1:10AM

Maybe we will get another free arcade download?

Preston Crawford @ Apr 5th 2008 3:07AM

"I got cussed at, shot by my own teammates and then my Live service went down for a month and all I got was this lousy copy of Undertow."

AnOffday @ Apr 5th 2008 1:41AM

This is seriously unacceptable. And I'm sick of hearing, "We are aware of the issues." Don't give us that crap. Tell us what's wrong and when it'll be fixed. MS needs to stop treating Live like it's a free service. We pay for it, and for that I expect it to work.

zero.player @ Apr 5th 2008 2:03AM

microsoft should be ashamed of themselves, becuase right now millions of people are paying for Xbox Live just to get this BS...thats why iam getting a PS3.

Preston Crawford @ Apr 5th 2008 3:06AM

Between this and people cussing at us, why are we paying for Live indeed.

Yeah TB @ Apr 5th 2008 3:11AM

I asked this question before during Christmas when Live was all wonky: Do people seriously have nothing better to do with their lives than play video games online? Is it that big of a deal if you can't play a game for a day? Honestly. Go hang out with some friends. Go outside. Play a game offline.

If your cable goes out during a thunderstorm or something, what do you do: Call and complain to the cable company that they should get their **** together? Bitch on websites about how terrible your life is because you can't watch TV for a couple hours?

Chill out. Seriously. They'll fix the problem, and you'll get to play soon. I wonder what would happen if Live went down and gaming message boards disappeared.

Preston Crawford @ Apr 5th 2008 3:31AM

I completely agree. Live goes down and I play a SP game or read a book. The question quickly becomes, however, what the value of Live is. Because right now it's not a value at $50.

stinger503 @ Apr 5th 2008 3:53AM

Exactly. Do you know who the biggest complainers in the entire world are? Xbox Live subscribers! Jesus Christ! Since launch of Xbox Live (5 years ago) the service has run perfectly 95% of the time up until Christmas. Now people are like "HOLY S#!* CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT EVERYONE!" And now this for f'ing COD4 maps? Dammit people they will be on sale tomorrow! And the next day! And till the end of time for all we know. And frankly when the Halo 3 beta didn't release properly it was fixed that day.

AnOffday @ Apr 5th 2008 11:03AM

You guys are missing the point. First of all, it's a paid service. We are paying for it, and for that we expect it to work. Not too mention the MS points I just bought to sit in front of my tv and be denied when I try to download these new maps.

And second of all, it's always down during the most inconvenient times. I'm busy with college all week, and I can never get on until the weekend. Here's the weekend, and it sucks. Or during Christmas break. Hmm and when is Xbox Live ALWAYS down? I feel like I'm throwing my money away half the time. Maybe if this stuff happened on Monday nights, but it always happens during the time I actually get to play. So please stop with MS ass kissing, and let angry show that you know you have. No one here thinks you're the "cool" nerds with lives. You're on a video game blog on a Friday night like the rest of us. Don't talk about the "life" you have, that we don't.

Granteezy @ Apr 5th 2008 11:43AM

While I do agree that the online vocal minority needs to calm down when Live gets problematic, they are paying for what used to be a reliable service.

erivera3 @ Apr 5th 2008 1:08PM

That's not the point "Yeah TB", we all have lives outside of gaming, even the most intense gamers. The point is that when someone wants to have a nice relaxing night playing some Halo 3 or COD4 on xbox live then that service should be readily available to that person, especially when s/he is paying for it.

Ruff Trigger @ Apr 5th 2008 3:15AM

Looks like undertow is gonna be free another couple of days.

Rob @ Apr 5th 2008 6:15AM

Microsoft outsources it's Marketplace downloads to some CDN company. Maybe if Microsoft would handle it's own content, it would be able to predict these sudden surges of traffic.

SadisticHam @ Apr 5th 2008 7:10AM

It's a service we pay for, this isn't something like a power cut that couldn't be avoided this is something MS should be prepared for. Just like Christmas.

It's a service WE PAY FOR they have no reason to be sitting on there ass doing nothing, this sort of thing SHOULDN'T be happening, especially after Christmas.

Not good enough Microsoft.

manicbomber @ Apr 5th 2008 7:55AM

You pay less than $50 a year for this service.

If you are in America you probably pay that much or more a month for...

Cable or Satellite that goes out...

Cell phone that doesn't have any service...

Should I go on? You aren't paying that much for this service. If you think you are paying a lot then you probably live on what your parents give you for an allowance.

SadisticHam @ Apr 5th 2008 11:46AM

I pay more than $50 a year for it.

A years Live service for me is £39.99 or $79

And when i say *i pay* i mean i pay, out of my own pocket, from the money I've worked for.

Telling me it's a little amount so expecting it to work is wrong is like telling me i should expect people to spit in my burger when i go to Mc Donalds.

What's even more interesting is Sonys online service doesn't get this and they get it for free. Free/$50 a year and yet the free service runs better.

As i said, not good enough Microsoft.

ZeroCorpse @ Apr 5th 2008 1:29PM

Yo, Manicbomber--

When my cable or phone goes out for any length of time, I can request a credit to pro-rate the monthly bill. They don't make you pay for service you didn't have access to for a few days.

Do you actually pay bills, or live with your parents?

You see, in the real world, when a company you're paying doesn't come through with what you're paying them for, they are generally obligated to give you a credit or refund for the missing time. You aren't expected to keep paying for down-time.

If you can't be bothered to call your cable or phone company to request the credit, then that's your problem. The fact is that they DO provide these credits and refunds for technical problems that are their fault, or acts of Nature.

If you lose power for a week because of a storm, you don't pay for that week.

If you lose cable tv for a few days because a someone at the cable company crossed some wires, you don't have to pay for those days. They'll pro-rate your bill, and credit the days you didn't have service back to you.

Your whole argument is moot.

Jessie @ Apr 5th 2008 8:11AM

XBOXLIVE ROYALLY SCREWED ME!!!
I bought Microsoft points in Canada (where I used to live I now currently live in NY) and when I tried to enter the code from the back of the card it comes up as invalid code... So I call up 18004MYXBOX I speak to a regular customer service rep. and she cant do anything so I speak to her supervisor and apparently he cant do anything either... THANKS XBOXLIVE!!! If anyone wants to buy the points and we can work out payment I'll give you a good deal email me Skummonkee@aol.com

Bac0nator @ Apr 5th 2008 8:48AM

People, technology isnt perfect, shit happens. Relax for one day, go outside and ride a bike.

ZeroCorpse @ Apr 5th 2008 1:23PM

So, are they going to give me another free XBox Live Arcade game that I'll never play?

Or are they actually going to just give us the points so I can use them to get something *I* want?

Deck @ Apr 5th 2008 1:40PM

There any update for this today? I haven't checked yet on my 360 yet myself but am just curious. :)

Xav de Matos @ Apr 5th 2008 1:58PM

Personally I think there is a huge difference between this situation and the Holiday '07 problem. To be honest I don't remember having many issues with Live other than those two and a few other issues here and there.

Look at any service you pay for. From telephone, to cable, to internet. There are hiccups here and there and you usually pay more than $50-70 a year for those.

I'm not saying it's fine for this to happen, but I'm saying that sometimes even anticipating a problem is dangerous because it only takes one extra person to drag it over the line into unplayability.

For the most part Xbox Live was functioning properly last night (for MOST people), it was the Marketplace and Points system that was acting strange.

I think that Microsoft needs to take these experiences and look at something like GTAIV and really decide if they are ready. My guess is that they are, but like I said... it only takes that one extra person.

Sure we have issues here and there, but am I ready to write off the service that's been the industry standard for the last five years because of it? No.

Yeah TB @ Apr 5th 2008 2:33PM

Thank you. That's exactly the point that I was trying to make. No currently technology works 100% of the time. It's just unrealistic.

And to "AnOffDay" - seriously? Why would I try to prove that I'm "cool" on a video game website? Please. I'm trying to make a point that there are other things you can be doing with your time than being mad at Xbox Live. Plans get interrupted and nothing is perfect. Such is life.

ozzzy @ Apr 5th 2008 4:42PM

ZeroCorpse, pro-rating your Xbox Live service is not viable. If you are in the US you pay roughly 14 cents (rounded up) per day. Now let's say that this lasts the entire weekend; you're out a total of 42 cents. That's less than the labor, postage and paper it would take to send a check to everyone. Also, how do you propose to refund people who have pre-paid Live cards?

I was able to redeem my COD4 map pack code after retrying several times. The download was quick. Several million credit card transactions can't be easy to process, I doubt it's bandwidth related.

Sometimes you just need to accept that several million people attempting to access the same thing will cause delays.

docaquatic @ Apr 5th 2008 5:56PM

capitalism works on this principal: goods or services are rendered upon payment. We have handed over our payment only to receive no valuable goods nor services. Add to the mix that this is a rare exception (xmas and this time) one has to wonder who is at fault here? (also can i get my $20 back from gamestop for my pre-paid card? I'm ok with inconvience as long as I have some sort of recognition in the way of customer service. Tell me straight up that something is wonky and M$ is hard at work on fixing it. What really steams me is that it seams as if there is no customer service for this whole thing. MS is not losing money via pre-paid cards...they all ready got your money. They are losing money on the online transactions but here it is 24 hours after i first encountered a problem and I'm still encountering it, with out any sort of acknowledgment on the part of MS. I work in sales, I deal with this ish 42 hours a week. If I could just tell my custs that "it will be ready when it's ready" I would save myself alot of headaches. Instead MS should have some sort of cust appreciation/apology system in place for this. Let's get this thing fixed Billy Boy!!!