Allard: We haven't had a Live killer app for Europe
But FIFA and Halo 2 will boost Xbox Live subscriptions according to Microsoft's XNA chief.
"I don't think we've had a killer app," was J Allard's disarmingly frank assessment of the comparatively low European Xbox Live subscription numbers to date in an interview with Eurogamer last week.
Asked why he thought the popularity of the £39.99-a-year Xbox Live online gaming service was significantly lower in Europe than its native US, the Microsoft XNA chief blamed it on "infrastructure and performance issues", the "language barrier" and admitted "I don't think we've had a killer app".
But he said the addition of Halo 2 and FIFA to the Live roster later this year would make a big difference. "Maybe the biggest impact [of the release of Halo 2] is going to be to drive people towards Live," he told us.
He admitted the signing of Electronic Arts to the Xbox Live fold would prove a massive boost for the service and added: "I'm thrilled that we've got FIFA on Live. I think that's a killer app for Europe", and added that he would "love to have Formula One on Live".
"I wish somebody would do it and Bernie Ecclestone would loosen his wallet a little bit so we could have that experience, I think that would be enormous for gaming and enormous for Live," Allard commented.
But with EA having abandoned its F1 series after indifferent sales across the continent, and Sony holding the exclusive official rights for PlayStation in the long term, it's a dream that's unlikely to come true for Microsoft. An unofficial F1 game, however, remains a distinct possibility that has so far been unexplored by Microsoft, and with Geoff Crammond's expertise in the field having gone untapped since Atari closed his Chipping Sodbury studio last year, there's an instant expert for Allard to call on if needed.
Pondering on other reasons for Xbox Live's disappointing start in Europe, where just over 100,000 users have signed up, compared with over 650,000 in the US, Allard remarked, "Maybe there's a little bit of a language barrier. Maybe that. I think we've done a great job to say 'hey, I'm a racing enthusiast, I want to go race against other German speaking folks' - we've done a really good job to do that, but people want to play with people that they can relate to and there's a community start up issue. I think it's a little bit more challenging," he added.
To read or hear more of Allard's thoughts - on the proliferation of XNA, the handheld market, the console cycle and much more - you can read the full interview and download our exclusive video right here.