Description of Xbox 360 gamer profiles

This article describes Xbox 360 gamer profiles and the features that are associated with them.

A gamer profile is a user's digital identity on Xbox 360. As personal characteristics define a person's personality, a gamer profile displays the basic characteristics and attributes of a player's persona. When you set up an Xbox 360 console, you are prompted to create a gamer profile. Profiles can be either "offline" or "online."

Until you connect the Xbox 360 console to the Internet and access Xbox LIVE, the profile that you create remains offline. As soon as you connect to Xbox LIVE and set up an Xbox LIVE account, the offline profile becomes an online profile. The gamer profile name is converted to a "Gamertag" and is linked to your Microsoft Windows Live ID credentials (the e-mail address and password that you use to sign in to Windows Live ID).

You can create and store Xbox LIVE-enabled profiles on either an attached Xbox 360 Memory Unit or on an attached Xbox 360 Hard Drive. Also, your Xbox 360 Arcade console may have built-in memory, which can also be used to store gamer profiles. The number of gamer profiles that you can create is only limited by the amount of free space that is available on your storage device.

Gamer profiles include the following features:

• Gamertag
• Gamer picture
• Gamercard
• Gamerscore
• Achievements
• Gamer zone
• Avatar
• Motto
• Name
• Bio
• Location
• Reputation
• Online status

Gamertag/profile name

Your Gamertag (for an Xbox LIVE profile) or your profile name (for an offline profile) is the name that is attached to your local profile or your Xbox LIVE account. For an Xbox LIVE profile, this name is how you will be identified online. To change the profile name for an offline profile, you access profile settings. For more information about how to change the Gamertag for an Xbox LIVE profile, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Gamer picture

The gamer picture on your profile is a visual representation of your profile that is displayed on your gamercard, on Xbox.com (for Xbox LIVE profiles), and in several console menus. For Xbox LIVE profiles, you have the option to use the avatar editor to create a picture of your avatar to use as your gamer picture. (This feature is not available to offline profiles.)

Gamercard

A gamer card is a snapshot of the most important information from a user’s gamer profile. Depending on whether the profile is online or offline, the gamer card will present the viewer with different information. Gamer cards show the following information:

Gamer card for an Xbox-LIVE enabled profile
• Gamertag
• Gamer picture
• Reputation
• Gamerscore
• Online status
• Zone
• Membership type

Gamer card for a non-Xbox LIVE-enabled profile
• Profile name
• Gamer picture
• Number of games played on the profile
• Gamerscore
• Achievements

On the New Xbox Experience Dashboard and for all Xbox LIVE-enabled profiles, the gamer card is located in the My Xbox area. To view a gamercard, selecting the profile that you want to view after you sign in.

On the Legacy Xbox 360 Dashboard, you can view your gamer card on the Xbox LIVE Dashboard in all areas except for the Marketplace area.

You can also view gamer cards by visiting the following Xbox Web site: Gamerscore

The gamerscore is an aggregate number on the gamer card (for both Xbox LIVE-enabled and non-Xbox LIVE-enabled profiles) that shows how much experience and expertise a person has with Xbox games overall. Gamerscore is a progress-tracking system that is intended to motivate Xbox LIVE and non-LIVE members to play more games. Each game can award up to 1,000 gamerscore points to any player. Each achievement in a game provides a certain point value in gamerscore. Every time that a player earns additional gamerscore points, the total is immediately updated on the Xbox LIVE service and reflected on the player's gamer card. Gamerscore points are based on specific achievements as defined by each game.

Achievements

Achievements reflects specific goals that Xbox 360 users have reached in a particular game. Each Xbox 360 game on Xbox LIVE contains achievements that players obtain as they progress through the game. These achievements are visible to the players in each player's Xbox LIVE-enabled profile. Players can use achievements to collect, compare, and compete against other players.

When you select View Games on the Profile screen, a snapshot of the games that you have played by using that profile is displayed in the Me view. Each game shows how many achievements you have earned compared to the total number of achievements that are possible. The display also shows the gamerscore points that you have earned compared to the total number that is possible. When you select a title, you can browse through the achievements that you have obtained and the achievements that you have not yet obtained to view more information. You can also see how many gamerscore points each achievement is worth.

Gamer zone

For Xbox LIVE-enabled profiles, gamer zones or "zones" let you select from a predefined list of gaming styles, depending on your preferred level of play. You can use zones to classify what kind of gamer you are.

A player's gamer zone is displayed on the gamer card and is used for advanced matchmaking. This enables players who prefer a friendlier, easy going contest with less trash talk to be paired up with similar gamers, and players who prefer an intense, smack-talking session to also be paired up with similar gamers. Here are some things to note about zones:

• When matchmaking pairs players, the matchmaking does not filter out players who have different zones. The matchmaking results are sorted in priority based on similar zones.
• You can change your affiliated zone. To change your gamer zone, you must edit your profile.
• Xbox LIVE does not enforce the rules of specific zones. You and other players do this through feedback.

Avatar

Your avatar is how other people will see you on Xbox LIVE. And you can chat or party with other avatars in the New Xbox Experience. You can customize your avatar’s clothing, body, and facial features to your liking.

Gamer motto

The gamer motto is an element of customization for Xbox LIVE-enabled profiles. The motto is a statement that is available to other players who view your gamer card. The motto could be a defining quotation, a trash-talking barb, or a phrase that you feel best describes the experience that competitors will have when they play against you.

Name

Name a text-based field that includes information about your name so that your friends can identify you on Xbox LIVE. We do not recommend that you use your full name because this may present account security concerns.

Bio

Bio is a space for you to provide some information as part of your Xbox LIVE profile about your persona—where you work, what your passions are, and so forth—to let other gamers on Xbox LIVE know more about you.

Location

Location is a space for you to enter your location, such as city or state.

Reputation

With the enhanced feedback for the Xbox LIVE service that is available for Xbox 360, a user's reputation is presented to all players through the gamer card. Reputation is a rating system of one to five stars. This rating gives potential opponents a holistic picture of how well other players handle themselves on the service and whether the players are viewed favorably by the community. A user's reputation starts at three stars and goes up or down according to the feedback that the player receives from other members of the Xbox LIVE community.

Online status

When you are signed in to your Xbox LIVE-enabled profile, you can change your "presence" information, or the "Online Status," that will be displayed to other users as Online, Away, Busy, or Appear Offline.