Over 24 Million Downloads Through Xbox Live, ...

Over 24 Million Downloads Through Xbox Live, 5 During E3 Week

Microsoft self-proclaimed their Xbox Live service as "the world's largest platform for high-definition on-demand content", now that it has surpassed the 24 million downloads mark, since the launch of the Xbox 360 in the US back in November 22, 2005. A huge amount of downloads was recorded during the seven days of "E3: Bringing It Home", when members from all over the world assaulted the Xbox Live Marketplace and downloaded over 5 million pieces of gaming and entertainment content - worth of 600 Terabytes of data! The Xbox.com website was also rushed during the same period, with more than 6 million unique users logging in to sniff the news from the E3 2006 show in Los Angeles.

The main reason for the Marketplace's assault was of course the fact that gamers were able to receive a full week's Gold membership for free. Microsoft's promotion attracted over 1.5 million gamers who connected to Xbox Live last week, downloading exclusive content direct from the show floor, including the latest high-definition game demos and trailers, such as Halo 3, Gears of War and Fable 2; game add-on content, such as Map Packs from Call of Duty 2 and additional quests from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, movie trailers and music videos, such as "Nacho Libre" and "Over My Head" (The Fray) along with celebrity Game with Fame multiplayer sessions with Dave Navarro (Panic Channel), Method Man and Jenny McCarthy.

As expected, the eagerly anticipated Halo 3 high-definition trailer proved to be the most popular download of the week, making the "Top 10 downloads during E3: Bringing It Home" look something like this:

1. Halo 3 Game Trailer (Microsoft Game Studios)

2. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Free Playable Demo (Capcom)

3. Test Drive Unlimited Free Playable Demo (Atari)

4. MotoGP '06 Free Playable Demo (THQ)

5. X-Men: The Last Stand Pack (20th Century Fox)

6. Gears of War Game Trailer (Microsoft Game Studios)

7. Call of Duty 2: Skirmish Map Pack (Activision)

8. Spiderman 3 Game Trailer (Activision)

9. Fable 2 Trailer (Microsoft Game Studios)

10. Uno Xbox Live Arcade Game (Microsoft Game Studios)

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)