Xbox Live required a subscription, as well as broadband-only connection which was not completely adopted yet, Xbox Live was a success due to better servers, features such as a buddy list, and milestone titles like Halo 2 released in November 2004, which is the best-selling Xbox video game and was by far the most popular online game for the system.
Encore is the fifth studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was released on November 12, 2004 by Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records, and Interscope Records. Its release date was originally set for November 16, 2004, but Eminem moved the release date to four days earlier after the album was leaked to the internet. The album contains several lyrical themes, most notably Eminem's opposition to then-President of the United States George W. Bush and a parody towards Michael Jackson.
In November, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner, despite allegations of vote-rigging by election observers.During a two-month period which became known as the Orange Revolution, large peaceful protests successfully challenged the outcome.
In 2004, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS, its fourth major handheld system. The DS is a dual-screened handheld featuring touch screen capabilities, which respond to either a stylus or the touch of a finger. Former Nintendo president and chairman Hiroshi Yamauchi was translated by GameScience as explaining, "If we can increase the scope of the industry, we can re-energize the global market and lift Japan out of depression – that is Nintendo's mission." Regarding lukewarm GameCube sales which had yielded the company's first reported operating loss in over 100 years, Yamauchi continued: "The DS represents a critical moment for Nintendo's success over the next two years. If it succeeds, we rise to the heavens, if it fails, we sink into hell." Due to games such as Nintendogs and Mario Kart DS, the DS became a success.
Jolie's supporting role as Queen Olympias in Oliver Stone's Alexander, about the life of Alexander the Great, was met with mixed reception, particularly concerning her Slavic accent. Commercially, the film failed in North America, which Stone attributed to disapproval of the depiction of Alexander's bisexuality, but it succeeded internationally, grossing $167.3 million.