Q: Will I need some sort of "Xbox Live 360" membership in addition to my existing Xbox Live membership if I want to use the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system on Xbox Live?
A: No. The Xbox Live service you know and love supports both the original Xbox video game system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. Once you migrate your account information to your Xbox 360 console, you'll be all set for gaming on either system.
No question, Xbox 360 delivers the full force of our dramatic service improvements to Xbox Live, but the service you subscribe to is the same.
Q: What if some of my friends don't have Xbox 360 and I do, or vice-versa? Can I still keep in touch with them?
A: You bet. Xbox Live is one service for all Xbox players, and your friends list spans both game systems. So say you're careening through Project Gotham Racing 3 on an Xbox 360 console and a friend is playing Forza Motorsport on an original Xbox console. You'll still see each other in your friends lists and you'll still be able to swap messages. Same neighborhood, different houses.
Q: What happens if I want to use my original Xbox console after I've started using my new Xbox 360 console? Can I still fire up an old favorite and jump online?
A: You sure can. No matter which system you were using when you started your Xbox Live membership, you can sign in to Xbox Live from either console as long as you maintain the same gamertag and keep your membership paid up.
Q: What should I do to make sure my access to Xbox Live is not interrupted when I upgrade to Xbox 360?
A: Using a credit card to activate your Xbox Live account for use with Xbox 360 is your best bet for easy and worry-free membership renewal. If you pay by credit card, your subscription will automatically renew (like it does now) and you won't miss a minute of great gaming with either platform. For details, see Xbox Live Account Activation with Xbox 360.
Q: Anything else I should do?
A: Get your gamer card—a snapshot of your gamer profile containing your gamertag, gamer picture, reputation, gamer zone, and personal motto—and stay connected to keep up-to-date on all the latest news and info! To create your gamer card you'll need:
Go to My Gamer Card if you're ready to create your gamer card now, or see Get Your Gamer Card for additional context and step-by-step instruction.
Q: Why do I need all this info just to create a gamer card?
A: We need to have 100 percent certainty that you are the rightful owner of your gamertag. Providing this information confirms that your gamertag is truly yours. (This information will only be used to verify that you're the rightful owner—after that we discard it.)
Q: What are the advantages of creating my gamer card on Xbox.com before using Xbox 360?
A: The biggest advantage is that you can use your PC keyboard to enter all your information. If you create your gamer card using your Xbox 360 console, you'll have to enter your info using your Xbox 360 controller and the virtual keyboard in the Xbox Dashboard. (You can also plug a USB keyboard into a controller port on the Xbox 360 console.) It'll be a lot faster at Xbox.com, plus you'll be able to get the latest scoop on upcoming games, participate in the Xbox forums, and view your friends and achievements on the site.
Q: If I create my gamer card on Xbox.com, what should I do when I get my Xbox 360 system?
A: Simple. During the gamer profile part of initial setup, select Migrate Your Xbox Live Account (or I Am a Member of Xbox Live).
If you don't have a gamer card on Xbox.com and want to sign up for a new Xbox Live Gold or free Xbox Live Silver membership, select Join Xbox Live (or I Want to Join Xbox Live). For membership details, see Membership Levels.
Q: I'm already a member of Xbox Live and I linked my gamertag to my Windows Live IDbefore the new site launched, but now I can't remember which Windows Live ID I used. What should I do?
A: During initial setup using the Xbox 360 console, select Migrate Your Xbox Live Account (or I Am a Member of Xbox Live) and follow the on-screen instructions to activate your membership for use with Xbox 360. (If you're using someone else's console, make sure everyone is signed out, go the Xbox Live area, and select Recover Gamertag from Xbox Live.) At the Windows Live ID Sign-In screen, choose Recover with Original Xbox Info. Then enter the full name, telephone number, ZIP code, and four-digit security PIN associated with your Xbox Live account. You will then be permitted to link an alternate Windows Live ID with your gamertag.
To create your gamer card now, go to My Gamer Card. To create a Passport Network account, go to www.passport.net.
Q: I created an offline profile on my Xbox 360 system and played a bunch of games. I also created a gamer card on Xbox.com to reserve my gamertag until I'm ready to join Xbox Live. Now that I'm ready to join, how do I merge these two profiles?
A: You can do this, but be very careful—it's possible to do it in a way that wipes out all the games and achievements you've associated with your offline profile, and you probably don't want to do that!
If you've created an offline profile on your console and want to keep it, and you've also created a profile at Xbox.com, you essentially have two separate profiles, one on your console and one on Xbox Live. To get your offline profile online with the same gamertag, with all your achievements intact, you have to get rid of your placeholder Xbox Live profile and supplant it with your offline profile.
The tools for doing this are all on your Xbox 360 console; you just have to do some shuffling around to make it work.
To walk through the procedure step by step, see Merge an Offline Gamer Profile with an Xbox Live Gamer Card.
Note
This procedure does not apply to anyone who is already a member of Xbox Live when they first use Xbox 360. It is only for Xbox 360 users who build up achievements in offline play and who create a gamer card at Xbox.com before joining Xbox Live.