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XSN Sports’ Ben Arndt Takes Players on a Tour of the Online Gaming Service
By Michael Lafferty

“We wanted to offer sports gamers something they’ve been craving, but have never been able to experience”

You’ve played the game against the AI and have it down to a science. You know all your computerized tendencies, and you know all the weaknesses. There is nothing truly outrageous in the way the game is played, nothing that comes out of blue. The game is become one of predictability.

Well, no need to despair, there is help waiting for all you Xbox sports fans.

No matter what your particular sports entertainment is, chances are you can find a community waiting for you on the XSN Sports network of games. But XSN Sports is more than just a gaming service that allows players to link up for single games online. Combined with its Internet page, XSNsports.com, players can track statistics and player rankings, or even follow tournaments or leagues.

Ben Arndt, XSN Sports Brand Manager, Microsoft Game Studios, took time to talk with GameZone.com and explain how Xbox sports gamers can get involved.

Question: Explain a little about the concept of XSN Sports and what you saw in the gaming community that sparked this idea. 

Ben: Sports video games have come a long way, beginning with Pong, moving on to the 8-bit and 16-bit home consoles, evolving to the realistic DVD-ROM games in Xbox consoles nowadays.  Player models in video games look and act just like they do in the real games.  We’ve realized, though, that as realistic as they are now, player models can’t get that much more real…that is, there’s only so much shinier a player’s helmet can get. 

We wanted to offer sports gamers something they’ve been craving, but have never been able to experience.  We believe that online gaming is the innovation that will take gaming into the 21st century.  So, in building on the high participation of the ever-popular fantasy sports leagues, we created the concept of the first truly virtual sports page and developed our brand of XSN Sports titles to support it.

By allowing the gamer to create and manage his/her own leagues and tournaments and controlling who’s invited, we’ve ensured that their competition matters.  Going on Xbox Live and ranking #352 out of 50,000 gamers worldwide is quite an accomplishment, but being in 1st place in of a league made up of 31 other friends, neighbors, colleagues and/or relatives is where the bragging rights truly matter 

Q: What sports are covered under the XSN Sports banner, and are all tourneys player-engineered, or are they organized by the folks at XSN Sports?

Ben: The Microsoft-published sports and racing titles in the XSN Sports portfolio are: NFL Fever 2004, NBA Inside Drive 2004, Top Spin, Amped 2, NHL Rivals 2004, Links 2004 and RalliSport Challenge 2 (early-to-mid Spring 2004).  Sports gamers can set up their own leagues and tournaments at XSNsports.com, or participate in up-and-coming feeder tournaments to qualify for the XSN Sports World Championship in February 2004.

Q: How easy is it to become involved with XSN Sports and how do players find others of similar skill levels against which to compete?

Ben: XSN Sports and XSNsports.com have an extremely user-friendly interface making it very simple to log-on and play.  While on Xbox Live, gamers can scout out players of similar rank and send invites to join their league or tournament through XSNsports.com

Q: What sort of community base do you currently have in terms of subscribers, and what sport seems to be the most popular? Do you think that numbers of participants in any given sport will be linked to seasons?

Ben: There are over 500,000 gamers signed up for Xbox Live, and that number continues to grow daily.  While during a sport’s regular season and playoffs will come the vast majority of gamers’ play, XSN Sports delivers top competition all year long.  Sports fans and sports gamers can see their team’s new faces with downloadable roster updates and play season after season in their customized XSN Sports league. 

Q: What are the main advantages of participating in XSN Sports leagues and tourneys?

Ben: Imagine playing in your own customized league with neighbors, friends, co-workers and faraway relatives.  You could be forced to beat your cousin from Phoenix in the NFC Championship of an NFL Fever 2004 league to get to play the Super Bowl against your old college buddy who’s in Chicago.  Again, the bragging rights over people you know tend to be more valuable than those over people you don’t.

And for those who want to take competition to the next level, they can participate in worldwide feeder tournaments starting December 29th for a chance to play in the XSN Sports World Championship, taking place in Los Angeles in February 2004.

Q: What sort of support does XSN Sports supply in terms of downloads, or standings and stats?

Ben: XSN Sports games will have a wide-variety of downloadable content from roster updates on any of the team sports games to downloadable mountains on Amped 2.  All standings and stats will be viewable either on your TV through Xbox Live or on the web at XSNsports.com.

Q: What are the costs of participating in XSN Sports leagues in terms of finances or time commitment?

Ben: In terms of time commitment…it’s as long or as little as you want.  You can play a full schedule of NFL Fever 2004 over 16 weeks, or participate in an 8-team playoff tournament that can be completed in mere hours.  Regarding pricing, XSN Sports is a free service.  Gamers’ only costs are the monthly (or annual) Xbox Live subscription, high-speed Internet access and an XSN Sports title.