CES 2009: Microsoft wants to increase the 100-friend Xbox Live limit

by Justin McElroy { Jan 9th 2009 at 3:10PM }

So, it's not quite the "ZOMG Friends List Increase Confirmed" announcement that we hoped for but Xbox director Aaron Greenberg came as close as we've heard to revealing that it's in the works.

When we spoke to him at CES today (more on that later) Greenberg told us "I can't commit to when that will happen, but that is something we want to do. It's definitely something we're looking at expanding and, as this social network grows, we've absolutely heard the pleas for that. It's on the list."

Greenberg explained that original Xbox games were coded to be limited to 100 friends, and that limit was brought into the current generation. But now that Live is built in to the system, they've got a little more flexibility. We, and the thousands of potential friends we turn away daily, can't wait to hear more.

Tags: breakingnews, ces-2009, microsoft, nxe, xbox-live

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Esat Dedezade @ Jan 9th 2009 3:15PM

Warning: The following comment is serious and contains no humour*

I have nine friends on my Friends list. I used to have 3o but after a huge cull I only kept those people that I regularly interact with. If I haven't spoken to them in more than a few weeks (or can't even remember who they are!) they are gone. I'm not being sarcastic when I ask this; Who has a 100 friends on XBL? If you do, do you feel that you couldn't delete a single one? If yes then you're lucky :)

* Excluding this initial warning which is portrayed as humorous and this sentence explaining it.

butaneko @ Jan 9th 2009 3:17PM

PEOPLE COOLER THAN YOU

Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 9th 2009 3:19PM

I have about ten but I know all of them irl...

Esat Dedezade @ Jan 9th 2009 3:19PM

I forgot to mention that I am in no way against the possible friends list expansion (I can't think of anyone who would be either).

On that note, this is officially my last of the day. I seriously, SERIOUSLY need to get some work done.

Goodbye...

xFenixKnightx @ Jan 9th 2009 3:21PM

Seriously, I have that same question. Who (other than Souldja Boy Tellem of course) needs more than 100 friends on there? I have family, friends AND joystiq friends. Thats it, and thats only like 40 something. It's completely ridonkulous. :P

waves @ Jan 9th 2009 3:25PM

I'm pretty much the same. If there were a way to sort the friends list better I might keep more of the random people who sent me requests. But when I need to get to the people I actually interact with I don't want to sort through the riff raff, so I end up deleting them. This happens even more with the avatar friends list.

I need a better way to sort my friends list before I'll ever hit a 100 friend limit.

Shmil @ Jan 9th 2009 3:31PM

I too have a very thinned out friends list but then again I consider myself a somewhat sane person. I remember hearing about people with like 200 people on their instant messanger friend's list. I'm sure there are people who accept any friend request they get, like a myspace of facebook friend request.

Nick the Hero of Canton @ Jan 9th 2009 3:32PM

I tend to keep a ton of people on my list (I have 67). Usually people I meet in Halo 3 or CoD4. I don't talk with them all the time but every now and then a game of Halo or Call of Duty gets started up and it's fun to play with them.

Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 9th 2009 3:37PM

Then again, what the fuck.

It's free and it takes Microsoft as much effort as editing SetMaxFriends value in their XBL network configs.

So, why not?

Viridium @ Jan 9th 2009 3:46PM

BAM, I'm right with you. I've got about 8 people on my friends list, and I know them all personally (in fact I've known two of the guys for over 20 years now). We're a solid crew, have great fun playing online.

The people with 100 friends are the same douches that have 5000 "friends" on Facebook.

dantebk @ Jan 9th 2009 3:54PM

The only people I've ever heard complain about the 100-friend limit are game journalists who accept a lot of requests from their readers. Nobody has more than 100 people who they're actually friends with. I probably know half-dozen people who play video games, and there's a few more on my friends list who I've played with or met on forums or whatever. Less than 20 total people I think.

That said, like others have noted, I'm in no way AGAINST this. Raise it to 50,000 for all I care.

brian @ Jan 9th 2009 5:53PM

I'm a member of an adult gaming community (theadultgamer.com) and there are a lot of people on there that play lots of different games. What we have to do now is add or delete people from our list based on what games we're currently playing. It's kind of a pain in the ass. Allowing us to have over 100 people on our lists lets us keep in touch with all of the people we play games with or have ever played games with and will keep us from shuffling people on and off the list.

Obie @ Jan 9th 2009 5:55PM

I have about 10 too, they are my real life friends.
If anyone tea-bags me in a game, I know where they live and I can drive over and smack em.

That's what friends are for. :)

NorCal05 @ Jan 9th 2009 8:36PM

If they increase it they should add a "favorite friends"

FSK405K @ Jan 10th 2009 1:51AM

I've met a good number of people who are not all good friends or family, but who I thought were skilled and reasonable people who I would enjoy playing with again. The 100-friend limit has made it difficult to decide who stays and who goes. A larger friend list will make it easier to make sure I almost never have to play with 14-year-old whiny douchebags who cuss a lot and use the n-word every third sentence. And btw, I've only got like 20 people on my facebook friends...I make the distinction there to people I actually know, as opposed to play XBL games with. So thank you MS for increasing the limit.

LaBrendant @ Jan 9th 2009 3:19PM

I've been waiting for this for a good amount of time. I wasn't really mad that the limit had been capped, but I did think that it was annoying when you tried to send a semi-internet famous person (ZoopSoul in my case)a friend request, and not be able to officially be on their friend's list.

Desert Eagle @ Jan 9th 2009 3:17PM

You know, expanding the list of friends doesn't sound bad. I'm not the type who invites everyone to be friends but why not?

I approve of this idea.

Shagittarius @ Jan 9th 2009 3:22PM

Who do you have to blow to get on Joystiqs friend list?

eNrique @ Jan 9th 2009 3:39PM

You know, I wouldn't say you have to blow, but it's something that involves my cock and your mouth.

Shagittarius @ Jan 9th 2009 3:42PM

Justin this guy is trying to take what you got coming to you.

Dave @ Jan 9th 2009 4:16PM

Sorry, Sag. I heard he sold you for a pack of smokes.

butaneko @ Jan 9th 2009 3:23PM

Does anyone who's not in the gaming industry really have a problem with this? The real question is when they are going to create group functionality. Please please please.

Shmil @ Jan 9th 2009 3:33PM

Could you explain your group idea? Because when you say group support all I can think of is the party system.

butaneko @ Jan 9th 2009 3:37PM

Certainly. For example there would be a Joystiq group you could join. Then you could go to your friend's list and under groups you would see Joystiq and everyone who is a member of that group as if they were one of your "friends".

Like Facebook groups.

Shmil @ Jan 9th 2009 3:46PM

Interesting, that's a fantastic idea.

Danny F. @ Jan 9th 2009 4:56PM

Hell yeah, would defenitely like that. I wanted to be able to sort ppl in groups such as HS buddies, family, co-workers, friends, and etc. Thats a more important update vs the 100 limit. Then again dont mind both either.

brian @ Jan 9th 2009 5:56PM

Grouping friends would be awesome, or letting us "tag" friends.
For example I could tag all of my friends that play Left 4 Dead or Call of Duty. Open the friends list, pick L4D, and BAM I have a list of all of my friends that play that game.

Vcize @ Jan 10th 2009 9:04PM

Uh, this already exists. It's called the friends of friends function.

Create a silver account. Make the gamertag something like "Joystiq network". Then, under that account, add the friends of everyone you want in the "group".

Now, anyone on that list can look at their friends list, click on the "joystiq network" gamertag, click "view friends", and see everyone that's on the joystiq network list and whether they're online, what game they're in, etc.

Really, reading through this thread has made me realize that a LOT of people are doing the whole online gaming totally wrong, and I feel sorry for what they're missing out on.

Pixelantes Anonymous @ Jan 11th 2009 12:15AM

@Vcize, friends of friends lists are nowhere as flexible as real tagging (or other grouping) functionality would be.

And obviously they're bound by the same 100 people limits the friends lists have in general.

exkon @ Jan 9th 2009 3:23PM

If they're going to increase the limit..could XBL please ALLOW US TO CATEGORIZE OUR FRIENDS INTO GROUPS?

Shagittarius @ Jan 9th 2009 3:25PM

Yeah I don't want to mix nationalities on my friends list.

Saria the Cat @ Jan 9th 2009 3:25PM

I probably have about 5. Yep.

eNrique @ Jan 9th 2009 3:42PM

Wanna have 6?

butaneko @ Jan 9th 2009 3:46PM

bow chicka wow wow

Shagittarius @ Jan 9th 2009 3:48PM

Hi I'm here to fix the elevator.

ChooChooCharlie @ Jan 9th 2009 3:56PM

"Lord. You can imagine where it goes from here."

"He fixes the cable?"

Boffo the $ock @ Jan 9th 2009 4:25PM

+1 for ChooChooCharlie

"Got any Kahlua?"

BxGT @ Jan 9th 2009 4:40PM

This is why there arent that many girls playing games.

Dave @ Jan 9th 2009 5:37PM

This is where Saria updates her pic and pulls a Quincy.

Saria the Cat @ Jan 9th 2009 5:46PM

@Dave: I've been trying to update my picture for months now with no success, so I am pretty sure Joystiq is Quincy-proof just because its comment/user system is so fandunky.

xFenixKnightx @ Jan 9th 2009 3:26PM

"We, and the thousands of potential friends we turn away daily, can't wait to hear more."

Lulz

You really need to get your own blog, Justin. I'd be on that sucker LMAO all day. :)

Justiq? O_o

Trickob @ Jan 9th 2009 3:43PM

an awesome idea

I'd subscribe!

OS Perry @ Jan 9th 2009 3:30PM

I think dividing your friends list into groups would be great. Give them your own custom names, and perhaps allow 5 basic groups... I'd make for instance an outside the US friends list, Clanmates friends, other outside Clan (friends who are in other clans). A race group... a sports group... that way I could send out bulk messages just to my clan mates... or racing buds... that kind of thing.

Jcarpio @ Jan 9th 2009 3:30PM

I would like a "date added" option on the list.

I guess in general alot of us would like some sort of list management feature.

Marcus @ Jan 9th 2009 3:36PM

How about the plea to have the "E 74" error message covered under MSFT's warranty? Don't know what that is? Well you will soon. It's another flashing red light epidemic and MSFT charges $100 to fix it.

ryan @ Jan 9th 2009 3:37PM

I'm sure Soulja Boy will be happy to hear about this.

Shafnitz @ Jan 9th 2009 3:40PM

They always mention the original Xbox as the reason for the 100 limit. Here's the solution:

Friend groups. You have a "default" friend group. You can create as many friend groups as you want and name them as you choose. But the default group has a 100 person limit and it's the only group that can be seen by original Xbox games.

Problem solved.