Welcome to Xbox Live, Have a Nice Day

Written by TheBBPS

Wednesday, 15 November 2006 05:53

Several months ago, I extolled the virtues of the upcoming Nintendo Wii, whose elegantly simple controller appealed to me as an avowed non-gamer. I still believe the Wii has the potential to transcend the boundaries between gamers and non-gamers, and I'd very much like to try the system. However, over the past few months my circumstances have changed somewhat.

A couple of months ago, while visiting some friends, I had the pleasure of playing Lego Star Wars II and Fight Night Round 3 for the first time on their Xbox 360, on a high definition TV with surround sound... and I was blown away! Then, through a series of fortunate circumstances, I finally came into possession of a high definition TV of my own. Realizing that at least four friends of mine own 360's, and tempted by the beauty and clarity of my gorgeous new HDTV, I could resist no longer. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I the avowed non-gamer drank the Kool-Aid and invested in an Xbox 360 of my very own!

I could go on and on about how much I'm enjoying my system so far. About how good it looks on my huge HDTV. About the little frustrations of getting used to the overwhelming multi-buttoned controller that's so scary to new gamers like me. About the joy of knocking out my husband for the first time in Fight Night Round 3, or how much fun it is for us to play games together after work at night. But that's not what I need to write about. No! I need to write about my first experience on Xbox Live.

Following a friend's advice, I purchased Uno from Xbox Live Arcade, and after practicing a bit by playing offline against the computer, I decided to venture forth and test out Xbox Live for the first time via a friendly game of Uno. Before I go on, I must give full disclosure here; I am an adult woman, and the picture on my gamertag is Starbuck, the female pilot from Battlestar Galactica. I chose not to use my headset because I'm new to the whole Live experience and I didn't want to complicate it. Also, how much can there really be to say while playing Uno?!

Anyway, I logged in and began to play an unranked round of Uno with three perfect strangers. And literally within the first few seconds of playing, the other three gamers, who appeared to be male judging by their gamertags and voices, started catcalling worse than construction workers on a city block. "Hey, Andarko... Hey, baby! What's a hot chick like you doing here? An-dar-ko..."

I couldn't believe it! Who are these people whose instinct is to catcall and harass the moment they encounter a female online? Do they catcall women in person, too? Or does the anonymity of Xbox Live, where you can operate remotely hiding behind a pseudonym, somehow make it acceptable to act like a total sexist jerk? Not to mention, despite my gamertag picture, they have no way of knowing if I'm actually a woman or not! Or attractive or not. I could be a hairy 50-year old man, for all they know, or an obese woman in a muumuu! Guess that doesn't matter, though. For these guys, the rule seems to be if you see a girl on Xbox Live, harass her!

They didn't hurt my feeling or make me log off and cry or anything, but I do have to say, these three assholes definitely cast a pall on Xbox Live for me. I had been warned to expect a fair amount of trash talking on Xbox Live, but I would've expected it in a more hardcore game like Gears of War... not Uno! In any case, I've vowed not to let immature pigs like them ruin Xbox Live for me. In fact, since my first Live encounter, I've tried playing Uno online again, and the experience was fine. No inappropriate comments, just four people having fun playing a game online together. Isn't that how it should be?the

Comments (11) Add Comment

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written by Doc Ezra, November 15, 2006

Sorry your Live experience sucked like that. I'd say it's uncommon, but it's really not. However, despite that fact, most of the folks you'll run into, especially in a low-key game like Uno, are nice folks. I highly recommend making full use of the feedback functions *every* time you play online for the first little bit. It helps weed those folks out, as the system will actively prevent putting you in games with players that you've marked as obnoxious. I've felt for a long time that if more people used the feedback system as it was intended, Live as a whole would be a nicer place to play games.

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written by B, November 15, 2006

That sucks. But you gotta realize how many young males are locked in their rooms playing video games all day, which causes them to have no social skills. So since they don't have the skills to hold a conversation with a female in person, being behind Xbox Live gives them the confidence to say whatever. Just like the internet, people talk mad trash cause they know you can't do anything about it.

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written by danzuke (NetPhantom), November 15, 2006

If you're interested in finding a (hopefully) more mature audience, check out 2old2play.com. It's a website that caters to the over 25 crowd and have a Xbox live gamercard database of it's members. They are active about setting members up with a way to play each other instead of your average 13 year old.

I'm also working on adding something to this site after I launch the re-design to get people together over Xbox Live (coming soon!)

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written by Andarko, November 15, 2006

RE: B's comment "So since they donâ€™t have the skills to hold a conversation with a female in person, being behind Xbox Live gives them the confidence to say whatever." I get it. I guess I'm just appalled that when the opportunity arises to be anonymous online, their instinct is to be obnoxious and sexist. Fortunately, I've played a bunch of Uno in the days since my bad first encounter, and as Doc Ezra commented, most of the people have been fine.

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written by jimmycanuck, November 15, 2006

danz - Thanks for the 2old2play tip - I'm going to go and check it out right now.

doc - couldn't agree more about the feedback system. I use it after every good or bad experience.

I've generally gotten to the point where i only use my headset in games where it's really required, like Gears of War. But even then, it can be frustrating. Some people just don't get the whole idea of "community." And that's what XBox Live is supposed to be about. It's a bunch of people having fun, together! Not cursing out noobs, using slanderous terminology, or listening to whiny 8 year olds.

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written by danzuke (NetPhantom), November 15, 2006

I honestly, NEVER use the headset unless I'm playing with someone I know. I also keep others microphones on mute. Unless the game demands that I turn it off

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written by JenAC, November 17, 2006

Another great article on the gaming world. I'm not that surprised that you encountered some nimrods on Xbox live, but you didn't let it deter you from trying Live again and that's the point. Plus, you got a funny story out of it and now they are all shamed to others. Kudos!

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written by Katie, November 20, 2006

The first time I played a game on Live, it was the same thing (and it was also Uno). I don't have a pic of myself on mine either, and yet the guys I was grouped with were making all kinds of sexual remarks. And then one of them, who was using his Vision camera, decided to flash us all his penis. Very classy. I had been warned that it would happen, but I didn't expect it in the first game either.

But girls aren't much better. I've played with girls that have done raunchy things. Those kinds of people have no regard or care for the other 3 people that may be playing.

Like you and others have said though, you just have to keep trying and the odds are pretty good that stuff like this won't happen in most games. And I use the feedback system every time I play, which definitely helps!

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written by Harpua Scorpio, November 23, 2006

I've noticed that JenAC only comments on articles written by Andarko...coincidence? I THINK NOT!

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written by ISOPROPOPHLEX, January 09, 2007

I'm sorry that wasn't too good, neither was mine tbh, I player SC4 on live and we barely spoke, and when we did, the other guy was too mumbly, and it just failed, BUT fortunately, there's a complaints and ratings system built into live which I hope will continue to grow. Hopefully you'll find more fun areas like that, but regrettably, it's the same on the net - take away the identity and anyone can behave like a complete bollock. Enjoy your 360, I love mine.

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written by Dunnypop, February 15, 2007

I'm a mature gamer, and some of the things I've heard on xbox live was outright offensive.
I've played Uno, but without the mic, but with the video camera on.

Anyhow to prevent this, I just play with friends and people who are a little more mature.
Add me to your friend's list if you'd like ... dunnypop