“I doubt there will ever be a Clancy game without the Xbox Live component any more. “If you’re a ‘Rainbow’ guy and you don’t have the maps, then you can’t play a match,” said Key, referring to online competitions. "The (downloadable maps) are very profitable for us," said Tony Key, vice president of marketing for UbiSoft Entertainment SA UBIP.PA, whose Tom Clancy-themed shooters such as "Rainbow Six" and "GRAW 2" are among the most popular games on Xbox Live. Such add-ons used to be free most of the time and the additions can raise a game's cost to $80 or even $100 over its life span. Through Xbox Live, players can buy maps for fighting terrains and other add-ons that are indispensable to serious gamers, usually at a cost of $10 each.
About 3 million more use the service without an annual subscription, taking the total to more than half Xbox users. More than 3 million Xbox Live subscribers pay a $50 annual fee that allows them to play games online against one another.
With more than 6 million users, Microsoft's Xbox Live online network has become the key feature distinguishing the Xbox 360 from rival Sony Corp.'s 6758.T PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co. MSFT.O, but one that could alienate some fans. LOS ANGELES, May 22 (Reuters) - New charges for online extras are sharply raising the price serious video gamers pay for Xbox 360 games, a profitable move by Microsoft Corp.
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