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Gears of War boosts Xbox Live use by 80 per cent

The release of a batch of pre-Christmas Xbox 360 titles, lead by Microsoft's Gears of War, has seen broadband traffic on Xbox Live in the US swell by 80 per cent.

The release of a batch of pre-Christmas Xbox 360 titles, lead by Microsoft's Gears of War, has seen broadband traffic on Xbox Live in the US swell by 80 per cent.

According to broadband specialist Sandvine, Xbox Live use spiked after the November 7th release of six titles including the highly-anticipated Epic shooter, which went on to sell over a million units in the first two weeks of sale.

"The effect Gears of War and other games are having on networks indicates to service providers that online gaming is not just a craze," said Dave Caputo, CEO of Sandvine.

The company compared the spike to that reported after the release of Halo 2 in 2004, a game which has only very recently lost its crown as the most played game on Xbox Live to Gears of War.

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Matt Martin avatar
Matt Martin joined GamesIndustry in 2006 and was made editor of the site in 2008. With over ten years experience in journalism, he has written for multiple trade, consumer, contract and business-to-business publications in the games, retail and technology sectors.