Microsoft Announces Xbox Live Launch Date

The $49.95 starter kit will includes 12-months' access, a game and a voice communications headset kit. At least six online-enabled games will be available for the console at launch, with about 16 by the end of the year, Xbox spokesman David Hufford . He said initial tests of the underlying network for the service will begin with about 10,000 people at the end of this month, though he said the network will be able to handle far in excess of the usage it will actually get in the early going. "We will definitely be able to support multiples of what we bring in on day one," he said. As for how many of the starter kits will be available that first day, Hufford said "that number will be dictated by (retailers)."