Why Xbox live is worth the cash

For me, there's not really been a lot of allure in taking five minutes to spawn a character into a room of pissed-off teenagers who promptly shoot you in the head, thus starting another five minute load time. In fact, though a lot of ps2 games I bought supported onlline play,usually, I'm not the least bit curious as to how that online play is executed.

[MGOelite]

gloryfied friends list?

[The Master Chief]

Was that supposed to make sense? Or maybe your just dumb...you do play Metal Gear Online, after all.

[ape007]

of why xbox live feels alive is because almost every 360 comes with a headset out of the box,everyone can talk with thier friend instantly,make parties,chat with everyone cross games and even knowing good guys,don't tell me"KIDS SCREAMING" you can mute what u wanna mute,that's a huge advantage for xbl imo,let alone its features

hope sony do this

[Beast_Master]

Dude I am still waiting to hear a good excuse. I mean you can tell me all about cross game chat, I wish that PS3 had it, but dude Call of Duty, Halo and most other multi-player games on the system use P2P, which means you are providing all the bandwith. how can you justify making people pay to enjoy pieces of the game that they paid for by buying the disc and paying the internet bill? I don't pay for anything but the game on PS3 and most of the online games use servers, which cuts way back on the lag, and games don't cut out when the Host quits. As 360 owners you guys should demand to play off of servers you paid for at least that much.

[All Time Greatness]

haha

[menoyou]

Xbox Live is worth the cash because Xbox users love to give Microsoft free money. They pay $100 for a wifi adapter, $180 for a small hard-drive, extra money for a battery on the controller, etc.

I mean, can you imagine paying someone just to let you connect your computer to theirs to send a file or something? lol, because that's precisely what you're paying Microsoft to "let you" do.

[ape007]

is an unbelievable service for free,kz2,warhawk,mag,mgo,lbp,a ll have amazing online and all for free with no lag plus the weekly expanding home which has HUGE potential man

psn just need cross game chat and party system and like I said,include headset in each ps3(IMO)

edit:oh man look at all these disagrees,looks like there's no such things as gamers here in n4g,fanboys only,you'll get bashed if u loved both ps3 and 360 cause fanboys feels emotionally offended,guys please get a life

[Greywulf]

Right now its just an operating system... with a friend list/messenger.

[Guitarded]

Apparently you are not aware that there are both P2P and dedicated servers on both LIVE and PSN. It's the developers choice, not the consoles. Also most games migrate to a different person to host if the host quits. Some games have patched that feature in after release.

@menoyou. Catching anything with that bait yet? Oh well keep trolling.

Like the article stated, LIVE is about the comunity and a uniform interface between ALL games on the system, and it's worth the $30 a year that I pay for it.

[CyberCam]

look at the date this article was created? March 2007? How does a 2 year old article get posted now? I could swear that it's presently June 2009! I don't know, I could be wrong.

Hey 'the_only_lol_king' how long did it take you to find this old post LOL!!

[kewlkat007]

You know plenty buy WOW from blizzard and pay monthly to play "one" game on top of their monthly internet bill.(Ms has a yearly Fee)

These days, companies can either pass on the bill or cost to consumers or they can foot it themselves. Trust me, the cost of something or part of some business is always passed on to somebody. Some just cannot see it, even with the PS3 and it's Free network.

MS is about making money(as most businesses) and being in the "RED" with the brand, it's a no-brainer. The principle of the matter is, they are using a business model thats no different then many. Yes, I can and do complain about the price of things but not because they decide to use this business strategy. Hey if paying $50-year(about 5 MD's meals a year) is with it to some and there is plenty, then it just is. That's why it works and MS makes money. Not everyone will be able to afford things in life or in a capitalistic society but crying over $50 is crazy.

You really a cannot argue anything that is "free" but nevertheless "free" doesn't always mean better. I thought XBL would become stagnant but boy, I was wrong, withing a year or so, lots of features and it's grown since this article was written. I wonder why...plus competition is good.

[karlowma]

@cybercam: lol, as soon as he started talking about halo 2, i checked the date. wtf.

[Anon1974]

"Of course, the Playstation 3 has its own online system, but it doesn't have anything like the community feeling of the Xbox 360."

Wow. Great writing there. Nice to see you getting all sides of the online story, chief. So, let me guess. You never actually played on the PSN, someone just mentioned the PS3 had it in passing...that about right?

Seriously, both networks offer a solid, online experience. What an utterly pointless article. I have random thoughts too, I'm just not egotistical enough to think that they deserve an entire article. You know...I like vanilla. It's a good flavor. I should right an article about how I've heard of other flavors, but I tried vanilla and really liked it.

[DevastationEve]

Come ON guys! ONE friggin game, that's ALL it costs. I can't believe it's even a debate.

Xbox Live is just THAT DAMN GOOD. Even before the NXE update Xbox Live had its gamers covered. Even Silver members can enjoy just about every feature, minus of course the online gaming and netflix.

Off topic, guys hurry up and go to newegg, they're taking preorders for Windows 7...AT $70 OFF!!!!! THAT'S ONLY $49.99!!!!!

I got mine! :)

[shadow2797]

I just wanted to let you know that you're paying way too much for a meal at McDonald's(if that's what MD stands for). I don't eat at MD, but I know there's a dollar menu.

Actually, if I'm paying $10 for a meal, I better be getting a freakin steak.

Sorry, I know that was off topic.

Back on topic... Rationalize it all you want, that $50 could still be used toward a game, rather than a service. If Xbox Live let Silver members play but not be able to enjoy any of the features (party system, chat, etc.), I would be okay with that. But I don't like the idea of making a customer pay extra money beyond the cost of the disk to access content that's on the disc he bought. Obviously there's more to it than that, but think about it. At least half of the development of COD4 went into the online multiplayer. If a Silver Member bought COD4, he would essentially be paying $60 for single player and split-screen. Whereas that same $60 can access COD4 online through any PS3 with an internet connection.

I'm not a hardcore online gamer, so obviously I view it a little differently than most of you. But I refuse to pay money for something I can do for free on my PS3. You can have your "community".

[starchild]

Like many things in life, this is one of those times where you get what you pay for. When it comes right down to it I would much rather pay for LIVE than buy one more game. It is just that valuable to me. I never pay more than 30 or 40 dollars a year for it anyway.

[PopEmUp]

look like something never goes old lol

damn 2007 article, nice found XD

[ShabzS]

... its more of a nuisance than anything

[Perkel]

what psn need is cross game chat. It's ONLY good thing that XBL offer over PSN. And MS must cut the price for online gaming.

2 years = 100$
4 years = 200$
6 years = 300$ ... it's sooo wrong. You can buy almost 50% of new console after 6 years.

What would be with COD4 without multiplayer ?

[MEsoJD]

I mean Internet gaming has been free for PC Gaming.

It just don't get it. I'm already paying for internet why must I pay more to play online???

Its not like its better on live. I barely have any lag on PS3 or PC(very rare).

So why??? What getting a demo early???

[SaberEdge]

I agree with the author's conclusions, but the article isn't really needed since the proof is in the pudding. Xbox LIVE has continued to grow significantly and has actually grown at a faster rate in recent months than in the past. Microsoft continue to improve the service as well, which only adds more value to the service (for the same price).

[mastiffchild]

Since I can't(no lonber have a credit card as I'm now disabled)pay for Live monthly (even with the very same debit card that Ninty and Sony are happy for me to use to buy products from them)and prefer, if I've got £40 sheets lying around to buy an actual game rather than a years Live at daft costs I just quit the thing.

The prohibitive pay structure, for me, makes it impossible.

[Bubble Buddy]

"2.15 - live costs 2 $ a month
... its more of a nuisance than anything"

Kay, that's just ignorance right there. That's like saying you can buy a $400 PS3 for only $33/month. Doesn't look so expensive does it. I agree with Ape. If PS3, can make a headset with every console, it would help. All I want left from PS3 is cross game chat and maybe music in-game. Then again, I rarely talk to other people in games other than my friends since most of them are idiotic kids, whiners, or those that troll with the voice changer.

[gumgum99]

lol, that's a good eye you have there, CyberCam.

man, I gotta be more mindful of these darn old articles/facepalm sundae

[ShabzS]

why is that ignorant .... ps3 is a one time buy kind of thing ... you cant break its price in a layaway basis... the analogy you used is flawed... live is a renewing service that you have to pay yearly or monthly... from that point of view you can deduce the charge in a month by month basis ... oh my god .. think!!...

[CyberCam]

N4G is now allowing you to post old useless news as "new" news, so digg up all those old Sega Genesis/Saturn/Dreamcast, Nintendo/Super Nintendo/Gamecube and Sony PS1/PS2 articles, and flood N4G with lots of crappy old news!!!

I still can't believe this article made to the top of the front page, 3 weeks after the largest gaming convention in North America?????

Are we that hard up for news that a 2 year article makes the top headlines... OMG this community needs help in a BIG way!!

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Everything on XBL feels connected and it feels dynamic and I really like that. It feels like gaming as a community and I can see why MS is always talking about "connected experiences".

[ape007]

definatly agree and no one can disagree with your statement

xbl is just that good

[menoyou]

Xbox Live doesn't feel "connected" so much as it feels like a separate service dedicated to an online community whereas the PS3 take on it feels like it's part of the whole PS3 system and not a separate service.

Personally, I prefer the PS3's version.

[Campy da Camper]

I totaly agree. I just posted in another thread about how I really wish Sony had cross game chat and party features. It is a very smooth design but ...

..MY problem is that the hardware I buy for it (console) breaks a lot AND dedicated servers are not the standard. Also, having to pay %50 a year and pray daily some reject doesn't close the room down with 5 seconds to go because he's losing SUCKS. That's half the reason I stopped playing WaW.

If PSN ever runs liks LIVE does now, my white little box sitting on my entertainment center is going on a date with craigslist. Sony's lineup is simply too stellar. I used to be able to afford using both units but lost my job and took a huge paycut so now it's one or the other. It's these choices in life that add lines to your face....

Cheers.

[Guitarded]

You can get better deals for LIVE in many retail outlets.
EDIT: I'm sorry the disagrees are correct. $50 is not too much. Even so, LIVE is still available for less than $50.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

meno: "PS3 take on it feels like it's part of the whole PS3 system and not a separate service"

Do you have an Xbox? The minute you turn it on you are connected to the community and everything about it is integrated into the 360. I don't feel this at all on PSN except when in Home.

But that's cool we can agree to disagree.

[el zorro]

Xbox LIVE has a hundred little touches that make it feel integrated and give you a real sense of being connected to a community. I simply don't get the same feeling from PSN. $30 to $50 dollars a year is a small price to pay to get what LIVE offers, in my opinion.

[Arnon]

How can Xbox LIVE not be part of the Xbox 360?... Xbox LIVE... IS the dashboard. Literally. You can only access the other features of the dashboard if you have a internet connection.

PSN is a tab on the dashboard with basic functions of a friends list, chat, and messaging (none of which have their own tab to help further organize itself. They're all just in 1 tab).

[cliffbo]

nonsense!

[Arnon]

Lol? How can you disagree with that?

There's only 1 tab on the entire 360 dashboard that is not dedicated to Xbox LIVE, and PSN DOES have the basic features in 1 tab. I mean... it's like right there.

[KingItachi]

It's good for friends and sometimes random people, other that it an psn have the same problem with A holes and people not speaking.

[cherrypie]

PSN has a much worse problem with a-holes than XBL.

With XBL, i can rate (reputation) a player, I can avoid him, I can play only in certain zones and i can instantly MUTE players.

With PSN, their is no way to *AVOID* the arseholes.

The notion that XBL is populated with screaming children is bunk, I've used PSN and each time was blow-away with the screaming children there.

[el zorro]

I own both consoles and I can tell you, there isn't a damn bit of difference in the type of people found on each service. There are nice people on both services and there are a-holes on both services --in basically the same proportions. The main difference is, as cherrypie pointed out, that Xbox Live gives you a lot more tools to deal with the a-holes than PSN does.

[KingKionic]

From article...

"I'm sold on the online thing now, and Xbox Live is to blame. For $8 a month, there's not a whole lot of technology out there that can provide the same amount of fun."

Another happy customer.

[Kushan]

I'd say, if you're like me and you shop around for the best possible deal on live when you need to renew (which gets you often around half the MSRP - I paid £24 for 12 months instead of £45 or whatever it is), it's worth the money at the moment. I'd say the MSRP is not.
However, Microsoft seems to be working hard to increase the value of the subscription, with things like 1vs100 and that free racing game they're doing later this year (a testbed for microtransactions, it seems) so who knows what the situation will be like 12 months from now. Might even be worth the MSRP.

[Stryfeno2]

There is no explanation why Live is the best...Its just something you have to try.

[trancefreak]

Microsoft will sell you anything ive noticed. Everything on live comes with a price and you know it. You cant get dik for free on xbl like you can on xmb what scam.

[iDystopia]

lol there are free things on XBL, and different things quite often.

Go download "Aegis Wing"....free XBL game and it kicks a$$ in 4 player co-op. There are older map packs that are free. XBL is HUGE. You have to find.

Whats all this free stuff I can get on PSN??? I sure haven't seen it, enlighten me so I can go get it. What Kung Fu Rag Doll because no one bought it?? lol

[KingKionic]

Well thers quite a lot.

compare this old list of free stuff.

http://www.xbox360rally.com...

[qface64]

its not worth it for me in my opnion

since i mainly just use it to get demos and download arcade games

[Poopface the 2nd]

but thats whay silver accounts are free. you can DL and connect, just not play online.

[PotNoodle]

Xbox live gold membership is worth it and i don't really have a problem with paying for it anymore, especially after this years live update announcement (twitter, 1080p streaming, facebook, games on demand, etc).

What i have a problem with is the fact there isn't a package that allows people to play their gamee online, unrestricted for free - that should be there no matter what imo.

They could easily do that and drop the xbox live gold membership of say £5 and i bet so many people would still use it simply because of all the great features on live.

I'm not sure if it is worth it to me personally because i don't use it that much, i'm on PSN 90% of the time, but i know there is value in there.

[The Lazy One]

what would be the point of XBL gold then?

[kewlkat007]

....or "Premium Channels", Yes already paying for Cable Monthly.

Well you do still have Free Over-The -Air Tv though..

[PotNoodle]

For all the extra gold features?

[The Lazy One]

The "extra gold features" is being able to play games.

[Why dis]

Its worth it and in a few months its going to a dam good deal matter of fact its going to be a steal. Soon the fee issue can't and won't be valid.

[jarhead906]

The fee issue will always be relevant. While the business model for Xbox Live is nothing new, the whole point of holding great features (separate from the actual Internet connection for online games) on the system and putting a price tag on it is ridiculous. Why should I have to pay extra to unlock things on my console's OS? Why should I have to pay extra to unlock online access to the games I already paid full price for?

The second question is my largest gripe with Xbox Live. While the system is definitely more cohesive than either PSN or Friend Codes, it doesn't warrant a price tag. As for a sense of 'community' for the Xbox 360, at this point it doesn't seem much more than an urge to use your computer and regularly post in the Xbox forums. I can do that also with a sense of 'community' on the PS3 and through the PS3's Web Browser.

Which then brings me back to my original point. It will always be a thorn on a rose for MS when dealing with the consumer. There are a lot of people that acknowledge the fact that your standard ISP speed performs EXACTLY the same on the PS3 as on the Xbox 360. This includes shared ups and downs. My Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare online match runs just as smoothly on PSN as it does XBL. At college I've seen my friends 360 drop connection more times than I can count while my PSN connection never disconnects in the same timeframe. I've seen my PSN connection drop just as many times at home while XBL stays connected.

This is just my personal opinion on the matter, but I will never see anything on XBL that is worth paying money for. If I only had a Wii to 'play' online with, then I would pay for XBL. If I only had an Xbox 360, I would pay for Live. However, I purchased a PS3 first, use PSN all the time alongside XBL and the differences are negligible.

[starchild]

Yeah and I shouldn't have to pay to get a PSP Go dammit. It's just not fair. If I buy PSP games I should be entitled to play them. Wahhhh

Seriously, can you be any denser? All of those features cost money to develop and money to maintain. Who says you should just get them for free?

Also, why do you think you are entitled to play online for free just because you bought the game? That would be like me buying a cell phone and expecting to get the service for free. In both cases it is understood that there is an additional cost and you know that going into it.

A lot of people today seem not to understand where things come from. Things don't just pop into existence, they have to be created. A lot of people think they are entitled to something just because they want it. That attitude is a big part of what got us into this economic mess.

(The differences between PSN and LIVE are not negligible. For anybody that really uses the services more than casually the differences are quite substantial.)

[onanie]

Except if you already have a PSP3000, u don't really have to pay for a PSP-go.

Ironically, even if you were just being sarcastic, your pathetic comment is just as applicable to the farce that is paying for a service that is inherently free when you look elsewhere - namely PC and PS3.

For the primary purpose of multiplayer gaming, the difference is indeed negligible. In fact, it is arguable that the PS3 and PC models are an improvement, since more often than not, the servers are dedicated. Even if you argue that the ratio of dedicated servers are somehow similar.... well, one you had to pay for, and the others are still free.

Really, the prospect of paying microsoft so that I can use my OWN bandwidth to play the games I have paid for, does not sit well with me.

[jarhead906]

Ah, I was waiting for the 'entitlement' card to be dealt. I don't believe I'm entitled to anything. I understand that nothing is ever free, that things cost money to research, develop, market, etc;. TINSTAAFL, anyone? I understand it's more difficult to engage in intellecutal debates through the Internet, but you made some broad assumptions about my point of view.

Anyway, your argument about cell phone fees and the subsequent cost of service are valid. However, the fact that there has been (and still are) business models running equivalent online gaming services for free make that point invalid. It can be done, and will continue to be done. As long as I've been alive, all cellular phone companies and their respective services have always carried that additional fee. It is expected, as you said.

"Also, why do you think you are entitled to play online for free just because you bought the game?"

Most people, seeing that sentence by itself would laugh and suspect that it was a joke. Here is where your perspective, in my opinion, clearly, needs some fine adjustment. If you make a Steam account (free, if you didn't know), purchase Left 4 Dead and find out that you have to pay an additional fee to allow other players to play with you in the Campaign?

What about just the offline Campaign? You're playing Jak and Daxter only to find the last half of the game is locked because you need to pay $20.00 more to finish it? Every gamer IS entitled to the online for free because that IS the game. Usually when a developer includes a deep multiplayer experience in a game, it is meant to be the meat of the purchase. Again, it's been this way before XBL. That is the key difference. I know this ties into the "Dirty DLC Debate", but that's inevitable.

Also, nice use of pseudo-random rhetoric with our economic crisis. +10 internetz, but each one costs you an additional $0.50 USD.

[BaSeBaLlKiD721]

well i personally think that in-game chat and cross game invites are not worth the $50... i dont even use netflix and avatar system at all so why should i pay $50 just to play online while i could just get a new game for PS3 and play online for free?

i still paid $50 anyway since thats the main thing to have with your xbox 360 otherwise it wouldnt be worth owning the system

[Why dis]

Thats funny I feel like selling my PS3 because the lack of online support from devs, content from 3 party companies and features on par with the 360/xbl.

I guess XBL is so rich with features, content and big updates because people pay for XBL's evolution.

[snipermk0]

you mean that you're gonna sell the PS3 that you "conjured" up in your imagination?

[HDgamer]

You can't sell something you never owned.

[BaSeBaLlKiD721]

yeah, i'm sure that you even have a PS3... there arent that many games that have exclusive DLC for xbox 360. i also dont really buy DLC unless its a game like call of duty so really, $50 is still not worth shelling out.

instead of netting exclusive deals with third parties using XBL money, why dont MS actually have dedicated servers for their games or even create new IPs?

[Why dis]

Other services have to offer content and features on par with XBL to even be talked about. The money going to MSFT from gamers has helped build XBL to what is now and going to be, thats why other services are wasteland garbage only offering ad-ons and real news updates every two weeks unless you pay for news. MSFT's inhouse news is free.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

XBL gives you news for free, but makes you pay for online gaming.
PSN gives you online gaming for free, but makes you pay for news.
Six of one, half dozen of the other.

[tripewire]

PSN makes you pay for news? You mean the free news channel? That runs folding @ home in the background?

[Qui-Gon Jim]

I meant Qore. While XBL makes you pay for gameplay and lets you have some Qore-like content for free, PSN doees it the other way around. I, personally, prefer getting gameplay for free.

[DarkBlood]

gonna get me a xbox 360 elite and my first game for it will be halo 3 odst

[All Time Greatness]

Dude Halo ODST ships with 25 multiplayer maps, a full Firefight seperate co-op mode and its the first open world Halo single player game with 4 player co-op. :D

Also in the next year or so we have:

Halo: Reach
Alan Wake
Forza 3
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Left 4 Dead 2
Gears of War 3
ODST
Crackdown 2
Mass Effect 2
Natal and all its games
GTA: Ballad of Gay Tony
....and even more because Micro hasn't announce everything for 2010 yet

...the best version of a big majority of multiplats, playable on the best online service. Also a back catalogue of 650+ games already.

That just probably sounded like a PR statement lol, but I'm happy and had to get it out. :)

Great time to be a gamer. :D

[DarkBlood]

well
titles im looking forward too are
halo 3 odst
forza motorsport 3, might even get the second one if i can find it but theres no storyline connected to it so probably shouldn't get the second one

id get left4dead but i already got it for the pc i was lucky enough that my computer could handle it just fine so sequal is on the computer since the engine graphics is essientally the same

mass effect 2 i will get on pc but since i heard it has improved the graphics somewhat better textures n stuff if my computer can't handle it i will get it for the 360 but will have to get the first one again so i can play through and do the transfer saved file to the second game

im not touching the gta 4 stuff as i already got it for the ps3 tried getting back into the game again but somehow i thought id never say it just felt compelled to finish the story but good story just gameplay felt like a step back

i'll get gears but im a total noob at it cuz it was too difficult for me when i played it at my cousin either that or he self the difficulty waaaay to hard lol

splinter cell looks good and etc

do you know anything i should get for when i decide to get online for it eventually?

also im deaf so i have a implant on the left which i imagine where the speaker will go for the mic set is there any other type of communications i could use to better understand these people as most people are @ss's and doesn't give a damn

[Poopface the 2nd]

you can wear the mic speaker on the left or right side. but most games dont have text chat that I know of.

LOL-- dont worry. If you say anything about 360, even if you praise 360 and ps3 youll get disagrees. Even in the 360 section, there are massive trolls on this site.

you can send text mesages(or voice) to peoles profiles through LIVE tho, but its a pain to text if you dont have the chat pad. And you can send and recieve theses while in any game to anyone that is connected to LIVE.

[DarkBlood]

i dont normally say this but what was the disagree for that wasn't a statement against anything i have 2 portables and the other 2 system i was bound to get the 360 at some point just afraid of the rrod which my cousin reasured me that thats over now

and if your going to disagree reply like a man and tell me your reasons for it

[Stryfeno2]

You know XBL is good when other companies is providing what XBL offers. Party system, Downloadable games, Cross game chat, Achievements and ect... to name a few.

If XBL wasn't so great, then why follow in its footsteps?

[360usetobegood]

Same useless articles over and over... Glad you like Live. Have fun.

[DelusionalSonyDroid]

M$ bots just dont get it.

Everyone wants PSN for Home, Killzone and Uncharted and everyone knows it. You cant get trophies on XBL....sorry only on PSN!

Soon Sony will just buy Xbox Live and then we will have Playstation Network Live....M$ has no chance anymore.

[Stryfeno2]

*takes the pot out of DelusionalSonyDroid hand and takes a puff*

MAN!!! This is some good sh!t. *cough, cough*

[KingKionic]

lol.....you crazy.

[Obama]

Well obviously DelusionalSonyDroid is a xbot..don't tell me u bots can't tell.

[iDystopia]

He sounds just as pathetic as a real droid. Its funny knowing hes joking. You droids are a laughing stock.

[KingKionic]

you called him osama...

lol

[Obama]

By calling me Osama it only proves that you are either a disgruntled Mccain lover, a redneck, or a terrorist. ;]

[starchild]

I don't like Obama or Bush (or McCain). Both of them are socialist/fascist morons who have helped to really mess things up.

Anyway yes it was obvious DelusionaSonyDroid was doing a parody of PS3 fanboys and he nailed it. Careful though, you are almost too convincing and you might start having PS3 fanboys bubbling you up, LOL.

[iDystopia]

Bubs up Starchild

In one article I saw "TheMart" calling him a dumb droid and everything! He thought he was a real droid.

I was ROFL when I saw that.

[Obama]

It's so obvious that some of the bots like Mart and Patchstation fell for it.

[starchild]

Maybe so Obama, but what does that say about the real Sony fandroids?

[Obama]

yeah what? I don't see them getting butthurt in this article. I only see a xbot imposing as a sonyfanboy and some of the other bots fell for it.

[iDystopia]

Wow one article where desperate droids aren't acting like absolute morons in the open zone.*Claps... no droids are online except Nasim and his multiple accounts*

Still look at the Gamer zone and all the disagrees and Droids justifying their inferior online, when this has nothing to do with PS3.

In PS3 articles you rarely see disagrees and such because no one cares, PS3 has lost. Theres no reason to still act stupid. Thats why I have so much fun teasing droids, they act sooo desperate 24/7.

[badkolo]

when did live become 8 bucks a month.

he keeps saying 8 bucks a month for live. it never was 8 bucks and never has been 8 bucks.

xbox live is 4 bucks a month and if you do some searching oyu can find it for cheaper.

[LiL T]

The best things in life are FREE *edit*Yup keep disagreeing why douche with multiple accounts.

[Stevie Ray Vaughan]

You can go eat Mcdonalds free left-overs that no one bought that day.

I'll go spend 15$ for a Steak Dinner.

Enjoy.

[KingKionic]

I would take the New york steak...

lol

[LiL T]

Yes while you pay $15 for your steak, I will go fishing, get me a salmon and use the vegetables from my backyard to make a complete meal. Oh yeah my salmon will last longer and its FREE.

[Guitarded]

Not exactly. Tackle costs money. As did the land you planted those veggies on. Then there is the gas, bait, waders, hat, sunscreen, seeds, water, fertilizer...

[aaronisbla]

Not really a good comparison Steve...

[really duh]

"keep disagreeing why douche with multiple accounts."

I thought people disagreed because you are saying PSN is better because its free in 360 related articles. LMAO somebody with *10 accounts* reacting to somebody praising something not on par with live *because its free* *in this 360 post* is the only way you could ever get dissagreed with.

On topic. If you like simple and free fine but don't pretend simply being able to play online on other services puts them on par with LIVE and your're not missing out on anything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[LiL T]

for one all this talk about food is making me hungry. For two, If you read my other posts you know I have a ps3 and have nothing against xbox. Infact I am looking forward to buying one in october for forza 3, crackdown 2 and mass effect 2. Now I am going to fire up the bbq and make some steaks, potatoes and open a beer. (mmmmm mouth is watering ) @reall duh, I made a very simple statement and people seem to be blowing it out of proportion. It is not my fault people are insecure.

[aaronisbla]

A better comparison would be: Both sides get a new york strip steak ( online gaming ) which would be the main course. 360 users would pay to get extra side items like potatoes and salad ( which would be the extra features live has ).

Now ur meal would have been free but because of the extras u a have on ur plate, the place you are eating from decides to charge u for the full meal.

bottom line is what most players want out of an online service is to play their games online ( duh right? ), whether you choose to pay for it or not is up to each person. Some act as if the missing potatoes and salad from the course makes the steak taste bland, which isnt true.

Thats not to say that the steak with the extra side dishes isnt good mind you, i think its awesome, but im not one to pay too much for side dishes...

[KingKionic]

Wonder what else they can add to xbl. They have the community games(indie games) ,cross game chat,8 player party chat, Netflix .

Then coming there integrating twitter , last fm , facebook,on demand,avatar store,sky tv(uk),and 1080p streaming....*tears for the 1080p streaming*

What`s next?

lol

Last year i asked the same thing.

[The Xbox Empire]

I feels like there isnt much more they can do now, but you know MS...they will redo the dashboard again in 2-3 years....probably keep adding gameshows like 1 vs. 100....think of more features like Party mode where you can share movies and such.

Im so spoiled by XBL now that I don't really think I could game any other way, I enjoy being connected and sending invites on the fly so much. XBL really is a community of gamers.

It's kinda like the Country Club of online gaming. XD

[cherrypie]

A more feature rich-Messenger client that;

Allows In-game PC-Xbox 360 Video-Calls.
Allows In-game PC-Xbox 360 Voice-calls.
(ie: the holy-grail "living room videophone" built up from LIVE Messenger and totally ubiquitous (who doesnt have Messenger? Want to make Video Calls from your Living Room to your aunt-with-a-PC-in-Florida? Get an Xbox 360)).

They'll also build out Primetime. I really think people are missing the implications of PrimeTime. It is a unsettling "direct from the Internet" broadcasting channel. Their is *zero* reason that PrimeTime couldnt simply compete directly with Broadcast and Cable television.

The mass interactive titles are just an added bonus :) - ie: A version of Jeopardy/WoF/Price is Right (!) for Real Cash and Prizes - ie: totally awesome and unique to Xbox 360.

IPTV via MediaRoom/WMCE will roll-out in a bigger-way.

[Tinted Eyes]

honestly the xbox's hd is so small it can probably only hold like 2 full games, and all that twitter and facebook stuff, the ps3 already has a browser to do that stuff already

not worth 50 dollars a year

[KingKionic]

Well the 20 gig can hold probably 3 games...but that`s still not enough...your right.

You would have to buy a 120 gig...in till microsoft agrees with me and drops the prices of the hdd`s and bring out a 320 gig.

:)

[really duh]

Microsoft needs to drop the price of HDDs and release a bigger HDD.
For games all you need is enough room for one game because you own the rights to full content you purchased. I have a 120gb HDD and I still keep all of my Xbox original games on Microsoft's servers and not my 120gb HDD, I just download them when I wan't to play them.

[cherrypie]

@7.2

No. They dont need to add a bigger HD. They need to allow for Network attached storage that can be mounted to your Xbox 360.

This could be added with a Service from W7 and/or Windows Home Server.

Id vastly prefer this to a bigger HD on my Xbox 360. Why else? Because I'd like my Downloads to be available to *all* the Xbox 360s in the house. Ie; I dont want to download my content onto every Xbox 360, i want it served to each Xbox 360.

I'd be suprised if MS isnt thinking about this.

[Poopface the 2nd]

I dont even have it right now, im on silver. I do think the features and improvements are great. I do wish they had free online gaming and offered all the other stuff for the fee, but it isnt that much, and you can always find it for less thatn 50 for 13 months.

I love taht the haters are people who dont use it.

All these haters better pray that it never offers free online gaming, or else it will have an effect similar to a price cut.

My favorite game is cs"source but i can still see the value of live.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

On both sides.

[Poopface the 2nd]

Why? cause I dont have it and dont care for it. If I was in a psn article Id see your point, but im not.

I dont see nearly as many "xbots" in ps3 news as I do ps3 fans in 360 news.

Most people with a 360 dont give a crap about ps3, but alot of ps3 people cant stand anything to do with xbox.

Maybe thats just on this site tho.

one thing I see alot is diehard ps3 supporters trying to justify their ramblings by saying the other side started it, but that just seems like something little kids do, and I dont think it happens much on this site anymore as its ps3 fanboy central.

[new orleans vl]

The thing with xbl is we dont want servers,we like having psp, because that gives us a matchmaking system. A MM system is much greater than sever,because it matches you with people of your own skill. and im not taking about games like cod(because this is not a MM system, it does not match you with people of your own skill. i have both ps3 and xbl(which i still pay for) and the only game i bought was killzone(and i didnt like it so i sold it to gamestop. now i have no games in my ps3 collection.

[Sonyslave3]

pass that sh!t over her. *cough, cough*

Ps3 is the best man fvck yall man ps3 is only console on market where you can play your games in 4D and 120fps.

Man this some strong sh!t is this Pineapple Express .

[DelusionalSonyDroid]

You M$ BOTS will soon feel the wrath of the Super Cell supercomputing processor, only possible on PS3!!

Judgment Day is coming soon with the release of GOD OF WAR 3 thy silly little BOT! There isnt much time left for M$ XBUTTS.

Enjoy your DLC and XBL why you can, its all you have left.

Soon Sony will be King again.

[swiftshot93]

speaking from experience: the biggest thing is the whole party system, and the avatars. PSN lacks avatars and party system. Also LIVE is more unified but its nothing that would put it head and shoulders above competition. Its mainly those 2 features I listed that do.

Edit: Its more "polished". It says what your friend is doing exactly, the gamer score isnt a nuisance to find, in-game dashboard loads faster than in-game XMB etc...these little things you know...

Worth the $50? Doesnt matter. No matter what people will keep paying to play online...

[Conan-O-Brady]

If silver members get access to downloads and everything , but not online play . what exactly are gold members paying for . Thats right ladies your buying what PS3 owners get for free , The right to enjoy that game you paid 60 bones for to its full extent ....o_0.... Guess it's true ..........there really is a sucker born every minute ...

[Tinted Eyes]

yea i know they really think they can justify paying 50 dollars year for a few extra features like cross chat well in actuality at the end of thet day you just wanna kill people online

kinda sad, ill keep my $50 and buy another game thanks

oh and DeDiCaTeD SeRvErs lol

[KingKionic]

Unreal,left 4 dead and front lines have dedicated servers.

There`s dedicated servers on xbl ...not a lot but it`s there.

@ below
Conan

Well how can someone pay for dedicated servers if every game doesnt have it and it`s up to the dev to put them in the game.

Also the upcoming game section 8 is alowing players to pick there dedicated servers.
http://www.joystiq.com/2009...

[aaronisbla]

not all games on live are p2p, some use dedicated servers last time i checked.

Live is a great service but i just can't justify paying when the main thing players really want it to do ( which is gaming online ) is free for others. The extras are great compared to psn but worth $30 - $50 a year? Thats up to the individual to decide

[cyborg6971]

They're both fine live is a bit more intergrated but not worth 50 bucks a year come on no dedicated servers for first party games please psn is right there with them but i like live just a bit better for the x game invites and overall ease of getting friends together maybe i should write a blog reading Live is Cool cause I said so enough already panzy pukes with internet.

[Conan-O-Brady]

More people need to set aside there corporate loyalties . Everyone needs to step back and take a long hard look at what they're paying for . Didn't you pay for those dedicated servers when you bought those games ?

[MriownBOTH]

3 dollars a month man i don't really care what im paying for...all i know is that i have a ps3....and ill gladly hand over my petty change to Microsoft for a better experience.

[MriownBOTH]

I have more fun with my friends on xbox live

i Dont have fun with freinds on psn

[keysy420]

how out of date is this article why are you comparing your 360 to a ps2 oh i know why its a crap system

[Saaking]

I'll admit i used to be a PS3 fanboy; however, I recently got a 360 and I have got to say that Xbox live is worth it. It's very nice and everything seems integrated into the xbox. I like it as much as I like PSN. :)

[Redgehammer]

ok i agree that Xbl is worth the money for me, but Why the hell is an article posted in March 22, 2007 on N4G 2 years later?

[Ellessdee]

was this written by a noob or a 13 yearold? he didnt really explain any good reasons why its worth money, all he did was yap about how awesome it is to play online, which you can do for free on ps3. he didnt mention anything that really tips in the favor of XBL over PSN, which was what i was expecting.

personally i dont think its worth the money. I'm not a hardcore online player, i just play it casually every now and then, so i see no point in paying for xblx instead of just using PSN (i have both consoles) so i just automaticly buy any games with a lot of multiplayer emphasis on ps3. i reserve my 360 for exclusives and single player focused multiplats that run better on it.

[Kakihara]

I suppose Xbox live would be cool if I had friends who had it too, sadly most of them have lives instead. Joining random games full of spoiled middle American kids who think casual racism shows how 'out there' and 'edgy' you are isn't even worth free.

It's actually so bad that I only play Left 4 dead on Single player these days rather than joining a game full of dumb kids.

Although GTA 4 races are almost funny enough to make it all worthwhile, 'Sweet, I'm coming 5th out of 11 people. Oh now I'm coming 5th out of 10, oh ... now it's 9, 8,7,6 ... aaw, I'm in last place'.

[Coolrah]

50 dollars for some pointless extra features? or for a new game......I'd rather buy a new game. Plus I hate halo (way to kiddy for me) And majority of Xbox exclusives come out for PC and are way better and have way more replay value.

Ps3+PC Gaming Rig=Best Gamer combo ever.

[MriownBOTH]

man do i feel sorry for you..

[starchild]

Halo isn't "kiddie". You're one of those kids who thinks they know what being mature is about, but is in fact extremely immature. You think Killzone 2 or Gears of War is more mature? Ha! You don't have a clue what being mature means.

[devilhunterx]

XBL maybe worth the cash , but XB2 isnt.

Thats a big FAIL right there, joe.

[Godmars290]

From what I've heard, is it worth the headache of stopping to pay for if you play to keep your points and such.

[el zorro]

Once and for all, both Xbox Live and PSN use P2P and dedicated servers. It is up to the developers. The difference is in the features and in this regard Live surpasses PSN. PSN feels like such a bare bones service and I would gladly pay if they could bring it up to the level of Xbox Live.

[cyborg6971]

And at what level is live at?

[starchild]

A lot higher than PSN, that's for sure.

[KingKionic]

The movie party feature thats coming going to be pretty sick.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[MriownBOTH]

don't forget on demand movies....who needs ppv now :) ill spend some more of my petty cash to get the 120 gb HD.

even if it was free....we would be argueing about how xbox live is still better....

[OGharryjoysticks]

The way this article is written it sounds as if this person has not and does not play online on any other system other than the 360 outside of the time they played PS2 a while back. It also sounds as if the person is trying to convince himself that his money isn't being wasted. Anytime the Gold fees are being broken down in an arguement to monthly or daily rates it looks bad in my opinion. Basically at that point they are afraid to speak freely about the cost and try to hide it under a lower number that they feel is acceptable.

Basically look at it like this, if Microsoft offered free online and charged 8 bucks a month for cross game chat I guarantee you people would spend that 8 bucks a month buying a game from the Arcade instead.

[starchild]

You're the one who sounds like they haven't used both services. Xbox LIVE has a whole lot more than just cross-game chat over what you get with PSN.

I guarantee you one thing, Sony will either start charging for access or PSN will never equal Xbox LIVE.

[tripewire]

IMO, Online play should be free to everyone, demos should be free to everyone, and the other stuff should be in the Gold membership.

PSN does trump live in this reguard. Online play is pretty much the entire point of a console having an online community, and i think to not have that functionality out of the box is stupid. Charge for the bells and whistles, not the core content.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

Simply put, i am not interested in playing online enough to pay for it. I just don't play online enough to be worth paying for, but when it's free it's an awesome addition.

[Sez]

Ah demo's are free. Even for silver members. They just have to wait a week longer. But I'm sure you knew that. Or your just misinformed.

[titobudd]

I think what people are referring to as "community" is actually all of the marketing and advertising that permeates the NXE. With the PSN, if I want that stuff, I have to go to the Playstation Store or into Home, I have to seek it out. If I want to see what my friends are doing, I can do that, too. But I don't have to sift through a bunch of tabs that are ultimately trying to sell me something.

Perhaps, one day, PSN will have cross-game chat and party chat, and Xbox Live will be free. Then they will be equal.

[starchild]

Because it is a better experience than anywhere else.

[jarhead906]

Steam stops by and says hello.

[rjackson1]

Xbox live is worth the cash yes because its the best.Psn sucks and i own both systems.

[devilhunterx]

do go on.

[clintos59]

Yeah enjoy your steak ill go kill a deer and have a feast with my buddies and left overs for free. Enjoy your small meal u paid for. :)

[enjoi187]

right......

[jerethdagryphon]

having a venisson steak ;(
idont get deer here im stuck with limited hunting.
but yea
and to ake the free arguement you can use s branch to make a spear and so forth meaning your meal costs nothing and is just as good,

counter argument is the wok you put in to get there.

ive used live and use psn
i dont see the extra chat stuff as a big part of it, when im flying in hawx last thing i want is some muppet theatening to screw my mother if i dont stop shooting him,
i prefer a simple oh crap get him off me

chat may be nice but it also brings with it the worst aspects of social interaction

[clintos59]

In my opinion they screwed up by adding the party chat. I notice if none of your friends are on and u jump in a random game ill try an communicate with the guys on my team but because they are in a party, u cant communicate, which sux.

Also I notice while im in a party with friends its kind of hard to focus because one of my friends will be playing another game talking to us and I can barely focus on our game cause he keeps talkin. The communication for games pretty suck now with that feature. I like it the way it use to be on the original xbox which is how it is now with ps3.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

I think online games should require you to be speaking with your teammates if anyone. Though most random games nobody is working as a team anyway.

I've also heard that some cheating can happen when using cross-game chat in the same game, like that you can talk to dead teammates when it isn't allowed in the in-game chat.

[iceman2885]

But couldn't/shouldn't this so called 'news' have been written 3-4 years ago?

[ChulHakSan]

replied to wong comment

[bigj]

We would not even be talking about PSN.Sony even said online gaming wasnt important at the begining of this console gen.If I was a Sony fan I would love the fact that xbox live was created.Do you think Sony would be doing all these firmware updates if only the wii was its competition?I doubt it.We all get on here and argue the "my dog is bigger than your dog" arguement but if Sony or Microsoft did what dreamcast did we all would be sitting at home thinking "where are the new games" or "when are they going to create something new for the console" so we should all be proud of the competition between Sony and Microsoft.As far as xbox live goes it is a great online service but it does suck to have to pay for it because when my subscription ends in Nov I probably wont sign back up for a while because I havent been playing the xbox 360 that much here lately.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

Just like Microsoft added HDMI to keep up with Sony, Sony has had to keep up with Microsoft. Competition is good. That's why i don't want to see any one company dominate the industry.

[really duh]

Wow are you a kid? XBL vs HDMI ports? LMAO gasping at straws with desperate offtopic nonsense. You're trying way too hard to bash xbl wasting all your bubbles, we heard you the first time.

[ChulHakSan]

if only one company survived the it will establish a monopoly and would give a c.rap over what consumers want the would just try to gain money, so long story short competition can be very good, especially for us, the consumers

[cyborg6971]

What makes it higher give me examples not some nondiscript a lot higher than psn I have all three consules so what would make one higher than the other could be different for you than me. Oh and rjackson the yanks sux ball sac hair.

[yorkie]

Got one question for XBL subscribers, both Microsoft and Sony offer great online services, XBL does offer some great features but you have to pay. What if Microsoft allowed basic online gaming with ingame chat to be free, but you had to pay if you want all the extra services like cross game chat/video etc. How many would still pay for XBL ???

Dont start with the hate, it's a genuine question.

[cyborg6971]

I'd be down with that.

[jarhead906]

Methinks a lot of people would not pay anymore. Microsoft DOES do a good job at making people think that XBL turns your average connection speed turn into a dedicated server, lag-free and disconnection-less gaming experience.

[DevastationEve]

I was thinking maybe they could have packages instead of membership levels. One package for tv and movies, maybe another for social networking, and then one for gaming online. But then they'd still be charging you for something, and you'd eventually regret not having the other packages. So the system works the way it is: you get it all with gold, and with silver you'll still be impressed.

[aaronisbla]

i could see quite a lot of people going for this option instead of whats offered now if it was free. I would have to question anyone who disagrees with that idea

[Conan-O-Brady]

Glad to see someone with an ounce of common sense .

[Bizmal]

Ask yourself what does XBL live do for actual GAMING? It does almost nothing. Chat is great, a friends list is great! Even though the PC does it for free and does it better but whatever. Do you get dedicated servers? No you don't. Do you get bigger multi-player matches? No you don't. Do you get lag free gaming? No you don't. Do you get score boards that are not BS and time spent? No you don't. XBL is a place to sell you things 1st and foremost. 2nd it's a social networking site. Then maybe just maybe it gives you solid gaming. If you not to busy lagging, being disconnected or waiting to join or leave a game. I mean serious??? Waiting to leave a game? Anyone who plays on live I dare you to prove me wrong. Hosting method blows. P2P Blows and you pay for it. If it was free, why complain.

[maxcer]

"Ask yourself what does XBL live do for actual GAMING? It does almost nothing. Chat is great, a friends list is great! Even though the PC does it for free and does it better but whatever"

more than you obviously realize, who the fuc& knew or cared about PC chat capabilities? unless you're a fuc&in lanparty warrior. this easy way of connection and communication paved the way for online gaming for consoles. COD without XBL? good luck selling over a few million

you sound like an old PC fossil trying to justify his archaic ways in a new world of gaming, just face it PC's are used to play MMO's no matter how much graphic prowess your silicon workstation might have

[jarhead906]

Just remember folks, the correct opinion is the most popular one.

[sunil]

Article dated 2007. Cool..why dont we bring in an article about xbox and ps2 comparisons as well !!!

Why Xbox Live is Worth the Money
March 22, 2007 by Phil Dotree

[Conan-O-Brady]

However old the article is it is still relevant . Debate is a good thing and often times leads to change .

[steve30x]

I say its worth it because it breaks every once in a while for 24 hours or more. I have Xbox live silver and Im not willing to pay for Live gold.

[napoleon_ist]

xbox360 is not worth the cash.

the only cool stuff about it is that can you make an in-game party and in-game chat. in the other hand psn is totally free but is expanding to the xbl's status. home's closed beta had nice stuff that were removed in the public beta version... like launch game/party. :|

[clintos59]

I just dont understand how u guys try an make it seem like xbox live is the only thing youll be paying for when that is just one area MS milks us all for.
Why dont u tell those who dont own a 360 the truth of what to expect to pay for such an amazing p2p service u all love. Ok heres a list.
360 Arcade: $199 & comes with 1 controller with no wifi, no hdd, awesome deal right? Think again. U will be needing a bigger hdd which will cost u $150+ for a 120gb hdd. wifi adaptor which i bought for $100 plus tax 1 year n a half ago, dunno how much they cost now. Then u have to buy a xbox live gold membership for $40. Then u have to buy a battery charger for your controller which I bought mine for $90+ if u dont buy this u will be buying batteries left & right. And to finish it off u will also have to buy a game which is another $60. Add all that all up and that is about $640 u just spent.

Now dont get me wrong XBL is worth the service but are u willing to really get milked this much just for a few added features?

[SaberEdge]

Nope. Different people have different needs.

The way I am set up in my house I don't use wi-fi, so that feature would just go to waste.

I have a friend who doesn't ever charge his controllers and he says he likes to just use them with the wire. That same friend is also perfectly happy with his 20GB hard drive because all he really uses it for are his game saves and an occasional demo.

Some people don't really like to game online and for those that do most of us are happy to pay a small fee to use the best online service available on any console.

The point is, different gamers have different needs and you can't just add up all the costs of everything and act like that is the actual cost of the console.

[Jdoki]

XBL is a fine service, just not one I am willing to pay for.

The only feature I'm interested in is online play. The rest is just fluff I can live with out.

PC online gaming has always been free, and PSN online gaming is free... Paying for the Gold service does not give me a better experience.

[DevastationEve]

Well that's your own personal preference. It's fine if YOU don't need anything BUT the online gaming.

But then why buy a PS3? It has bluray, which has nothing to do with online gaming. It has memory stick readers and bluetooth...which again have nothing to do with online gaming, yet PS3 owners say "buy PS3 because it has everything".

<repeat cycle>
it has everything? but i though all you wanted was online gaming...?
<TSR, loop -1x>

[DevastationEve]

It's easy to say "I'm not gonna pay for it". That's a personal finance decision, and there's nothing against that. You just don't see whatever it is that's question as being worth YOUR money.

But the merit still belongs, Xbox Live still continues to deliver the Xbox 360 gamer incredible service.

edit at below:

that's not how i meant it, lol. and where did i say that dvd was better?

[sunil]

wow !!! we are linking optical drives to online gaming !! and i thought things couldnt get much more "idiotic"

trying to be funny here

so the 360's dvd drive helps drive xbox live?

[aaronisbla]

ApocalyPS3, what the hell does the blu ray drive have to do with this guys original post? did you even try to think about what you were typing at the time?

Truly you could have come with a better rebuttal to the op than that...

*edit* I understand what you are getting at but It still has nothing to do with Jdoki original comment.

I think its a great service and that ps3 players should be thankful that MS made it simply so it can light the fire under sony's feet and get them to start realizing the psn needed more to it, but really both should be free.

[DevastationEve]

i was merely commenting on the two systems as they are advertised. ps3 has this image of being more of a home entertaiment center than a gaming machine that happens to have free online service. xbox 360 has a CLEAR focus on online gaming, so the service is going to be premium. because the service is premium it comes with a cost.

edit: if it's the bluray thing that threw you off, i only meant to compare the two most heavily advertised features of the two consoles. and to basically sum that if jdoki "only cared for online" then ps3 could easily be viewed as "fluff", since they did in fact pack in 3 forms of networking (802.11b/g wifi, bluetooth EDR 2.0, gigabit ethernet) as well as memory stick readers, and of course bluray movie playback.

[steve30x]

I paid for 3 months of Xbox Live gold last year and it wasnt worth the money I paid for it. Also Xbox Live breaks every once in a while for 24+ hours with no comments or compensation from M$. I will not pay for such a service just to get a demo a week early and I dont use online gaming. Also I have a PS3 because I am waiting for GT5 which I am starting to lose hope for.

I also have a high end PC and online gaming is free and is broken a lot less often than Xbox Live. Another reason I dont see why Xbox live is worth it is because first I have to pay to use the internet from my ISP and then I would be charged to use the internet on my Xbox. I dont think paying twice to use the internet is worth it.

[bjornbear]

If not, then obviously its not. Just depends on the person (many ppl are offline games and couldn't care less, other wise, def dish out the 50€ =))

However it'd be cool if there were some sort of promotions. Like "Get one month free when buying this game on XBL" or "One week discount if you download the demo of "insert XBL game here"

It'd be great way of advertising =)

[Cajun Chicken]

Wow, this article is insanely old. I'm sure a lot has changed by now.

[Arnon]

Current Features:

* Mottos for display on gamer profiles
* Game achievements, which are earned during gameplay
* Reputation rating which is voted on by other players who decide to either prefer or avoid another player. The reputation defaults to 100% (Five stars) over time after one player has preferred you.
* Gamerscores, which are a total of a player's achievement points
* Friends list, which is a list of a player's chosen friends, up to 100 friends allowed
* Recent player list, which lists the last 50 players a user has played with
* Complaint filing system, which allows a user to report another user that has broken the Xbox Live Terms of Use
* Windows Live messenger integration
* Access to Xbox Live Marketplace content, including new game content, games and movies
* Voice Chat (wireless or wired headset required, Xbox Live Silver members are limited to two-player voice chat, while 3+ player voice chat has been implemented for Gold members with the New Xbox Experience)
* Video Chat (Live Vision camera required, with headset optional for chatting)
* Multiplayer gameplay, where a user can link up 4 Xbox's to play together (known as system link), or connect online (Online requires Xbox Live Gold)
* Enhanced matchmaking using cumulative gamerscore, reputation, location/language profile, and gamer zone
* Bio section in which one can list personal interests, URLs, etc.
* Parental controls, limiting children's exposure to other users ("Family Settings")
* Inside Xbox is a newsletter about Xbox Live news, events, products, interviews and games that is integrated in the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Content for Inside Xbox is created by the Xbox global marketing team and features streaming video segments "Pick Up and Play", "Major’s Minute" with Larry Hryb and "Game with Fame".

Upcoming Features:

* Social networking sites Facebook and Twitter will be accessible over Xbox Live.
* Last.fm will allow users to stream music and radio content through their Xbox 360.
* Sky TV (UK and Ireland only) will allow users to access premium Sky TV content and watch live TV through their Xbox 360.
* Instant-on 1080p HD movies with 5.1 surround sound will allow users to stream movies from the Zune Marketplace (formerly the Xbox Live Video Marketplace) or Netflix instantly with no delay.
* Movie Parties allow for movies and TV shows to be viewable with friends over Xbox Live.
* Avatar Marketplace will offer premium items, interactive props and game styles for Avatars.
* Music Store offers content especially for music-orientated games such as Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Lips.
* Games on Demand offers a selected catalogue of Xbox 360 video games that will be available for download over Xbox Live, utilising real world currency as opposed to Microsoft Points.

This is why I play for XBL. Not only do they ALWAYS have a massive amount of features, but the money that we spend usually goes into more of these features.

[aaronisbla]

online gameplay right? So you pay for its most important feature which would be gaming online right? ok gotcha, just wonderin

Edit: so if online gaming isnt the most important feature, what is? instead of phantom disagreeing, please explain

[7ero H3LL]

well i won't disagree with you aaron, but xbox live is the name of a service that encompasses the entire xbox 360 gamer experience. online might be the most important thing to you, maybe to little timmy who doesn't have a credit card yet it's something else. like just being able to send little messages or voice chat about a game he's playing right now.

the service encompasses more that just online gaming.

[jerethdagryphon]

* Mottos for display on gamer profiles (ps3 has)
* Game achievements, which are earned during gameplay (trophys ps3 equivlent)
* Reputation rating which is voted on by other players who decide to either prefer or avoid another player. The reputation defaults to 100% (Five stars) over time after one player has preferred you. (ill give live this and it would be nice to see it in psn)
* Gamerscores, which are a total of a player's achievement points (tophy cards same effective function)
* Friends list, which is a list of a player's chosen friends, up to 100 friends allowed (ps3 has not sure the number but more then 25 would be chaotic)
* Recent player list, which lists the last 50 players a user has played with ( ill give this to XBL)
* Complaint filing system, which allows a user to report another user that has broken the Xbox Live Terms of Use 9again point to xbl would be nice in psn)
* Windows Live messenger integration (minor point in xbls favor)
* Access to Xbox Live Marketplace content, including new game content, games and movies ( ps store)
* Voice Chat (wireless or wired headset required, Xbox Live Silver members are limited to two-player voice chat, while 3+ player voice chat has been implemented for Gold members with the New Xbox Experience)(ps3 has 2 person capabilitys)
* Video Chat (Live Vision camera required, with headset optional for chatting) (ps3 has 2 person video chat)
* Multiplayer gameplay, where a user can link up 4 Xbox's to play together (known as system link), or connect online (Online requires Xbox Live Gold) (ps3 can link any number in a lan not sure about how you would set it up with more then 10, online free)
* Enhanced matchmaking using cumulative gamerscore, reputation, location/language profile, and gamer zone (xbl point/ but could lead to problems with high scores but poor skills, )
* Bio section in which one can list personal interests, URLs, etc. (xbl point)
* Parental controls, limiting children's exposure to other users ("Family Settings") (ps3 has)
* Inside Xbox is a newsletter about Xbox Live news, events, products, interviews and games that is integrated in the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Content for Inside Xbox is created by the Xbox global marketing team and features streaming video segments "Pick Up and Play", "Major’s Minute" with Larry Hryb and "Game with Fame". ( glowing orange notice board accross the screen in xmb give news)

psn has integrated web browser

inbuilt news headline weather system life with playstation

full 3d world for social interaction

tere about equal in added functions with there online

[Qui-Gon Jim]

PSN has "Players Met" list of last 50 players met, too.
PSN does have cross game text chat instead of Windows messenger. XBL still wins this point because of communication with PC users, but it's a smaller victory.
I THINK PS3 allows for video chat of more than 2 people, but i'm not sure (edit: Clintos59 below says 6 person video chat, that sounds familiar).

About those "upcoming features."
-Facebook and Twitter: PSN has web browser allowing access to those things, though with a probably less elegant interface for consoles.
-Last.fm: see above, plus pandora.com.
-SKY TV (UK and Ireland only): point for XBL there, but PSN has access to web sites like Hulu.
-Instant on HD movies: Really cool service, but it has variable quality depending on your connection. You need a really good connection to get the full benefit. I personally would prefer Blu-ray.
-Movie Parties: Neat, hopefully Home will have it eventually, but not yet.
-Avatar Marketplace: Home stores do the same thing.
-Music Store: PS Store doesn't have a special section per se, but you can look for content by title.
-Games on Demand: PSN has PS1 games, but not PS2 games, and not "on demand".

I would give XBL the win overall, but PSN is quite comparable at a cost of zero.

[yorkie]

The problem with some of those services is that they will cost you over and above the XBL fee, like Sky TV and movie streaming for instance. So even though they are part of the 'XBL experience' they aren't actually funded by your annual subscription fee.

[Arnon]

Accessing it through the dashboard compared to a browser is COMPLETELY different. I don't get how you guys can just say "PSN has facebook because it's on a web browser." Can Facebook on PSN upload scores, pics, vids, etc. straight from the game you're playing at that very second?

Also, Last.FM radio I believe will be able to be used while playing games. So that automatically nullifies a web browser version.

PSN is good no doubt. Not to mention it's free, but guys... ALWAYS know that integration is completely different from access through a web browser.

[clintos59]

Current Features:

Online Gaming:
*U get online multiplayer gaming at no additional charge.
*In-Game Matchmaking so u can challenge the competition.
*Your Unique, global account ID can be used across all PlayStation®Network-compa tible titles.
Friends & Messaging:
*Text and chat with your friends.
*See which of your friends are online and see what games they are playing.
*You can video chat with up to six people using the PlayStation®Eye3.
PlayStation®Store:
*Preview upcoming games with free playable demos.
*Download PS One® games for your PLAYSTATION®3 and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)
*Purchase exclusive downloadable games for your PLAYSTATION®3 system.
*Watch high-definition movie and game trailers4.
*Download movies and TV shows to watch right now. Rent or purchase. High definition or standard definition. Right to your PLAYSTATION®3 system.

[7ero H3LL]

yeah but you've neglected to mention that all of these features were either intially part of the original xbox live, were part of the new xbox live on 360, or have been added through NXE.

xbox live has pedigree. years of proven success, years of r&d, years of serving xbox gamers.

[clintos59]

[clintos59]

I can say the same about the ps2 vs xbox..

All those third party games that became huge on the ps2 and werent on the original xbox shows just how many kick azz games loyal microsoft fans were missing out on and finally getting a taste of games they were missing out on last gen.

Difference this gen is while MS focuses on steal third party games that were huge on the ps2, sony is building tons of new franchises to add on to there arsenal of games. Which MS is having a tough time keeping up with.

[Poopface the 2nd]

Do you really think that there were THAT many people who bought an xbox who didnt already have a ps2?

Ms has alot of new franchises, and alot of third party games like dead rising and bioshock owe their sucess to the 360, they sure didnt get their sales on ps3.

some of my fav. new franchises are gears, mass effect and crackdown. Some may be on pc, but they started as 360 games.

Microsoft didnt steal 3rd party exclusives, the game makers just are NOT blindly loyal to sony. I mean the reason they make games is to sell them.

[sunil]

when you pay to get third parties to build on your platform and pay for exclusivity of dlc's

[divideby0]

I have been a day one charter Gold member...its NOT worth my 50 bucks..If I didnt get a gold card as a present, I wouldnt be on.
What is worth playing online..GOW2...thats about it...

[IrishAssa]

50$ very cheap for a service like that, I can walk around my house and talk to my friend's whenever I want for $50 a year, that worth the cost alone, the only problem is when PSN get's this feature, Live will have NOTHING on PSN, except a pricetag

[Mr Face Creamer]

Awesome and fast loading design, more demos, more XBL games than PSN games, much huger and active user base, lots of feastures such as chatting, exclusive access to betas that 99.9% of the time don't go on PSN, unbelievably huge video marketplace and content, podcasts, coverage of E3/GDC/etc., access to exclusive interviews and promotions, top of the line HD content that's soon to be 1080p,Microsoft Points system = win.

[SYSTEMS-at-WAR]

MS Point System is a fail. Being forced to buy more than you need at that moment is absolutely retarded. On PSN you can pay exact amounts. Way more convenient. I don't have a need to add funds since it's basically 1-click shopping. However, XBL is a win due to the timed exclusives and such... this is evident with Fallout 3.

[a_squirrel]

@Mr. Facecreamer.... have you been smoking that pineapple express too?

*start of sarcasm*
And you're completely right! Faster loading time than XMBs... yup! and uhh... multiplatorm demos dont come to ps3s.... yup! and less 10 year olds on Live than PSN, yup! and uhh multiplatform betas only go to the xbox.... yup! and uhh, the Ps3 doesn't have video, and you cant watch this stuff on youtube.... yup! and uhh... you dont have e3 coverage on ps3 even though it took almost 3 days to get that video on live.... yup! only xbox has podcasts(/ end of sarcasm it doesnt), yup! and ps3 people cant video chat or anything like that, yup! and we can install window 8 on xbox, yup! and we can use bluetooth and blueray, and wireless, and rechargable controllers, and free internet....blah blah blah too!

You get what you pay for, you pay less for a nextgen gaming machine, you get LESS THAN a nextgen gaming machine

[Mr Face Creamer]

LOL, were you just so insecure to the point where you compared every single feature of the PS3rd (which surprisingly didn't exceed 3 lines) to the features of Xbox Live?

Haha, good one, but the the TrashStation Network is free and not worth it.

[xtkxCracktheSkye]

Face Creamer, that was a pretty amusing attempt at justifying your payments for XBL.

Your mindless spewing must stop now.

MS points are indeed fail, as mentioned previously. PSN has exact amounts.
Awesome and fast design? Nice reasoning. Also, more games does not= more quality. Wipeout HD, the Punisher, and more, are only on PSN. A "much huger" user base? Back to pre-school you go. Having a larger user base only wins the popularity contest. It does not affect much else. You only need 60 players at the most to have a full game on PSN, hence R2. Having millions more players won't make this any different. PSN more than accommodates to this need, while having more games with dedicated servers as a bonus.
Also, we receive coverage of E3 as well...On Home, the marketplace, and the web browser. Speaking of HD content. Browser, Blu-Ray, and the Marketplace say hi. Physical media is always the best quality and the best way to enjoy movies. Finally, I'm pretty sure it's the games which we play online that matter, and HOW they play as well, not just the features of a service. XBL is more fleshed out then PSN, yes. But when we are receiving features such as HOME, and being able to play games online such as KZ2, R2, LBP, and eventually the 256 player M.A.G, I can't complain. I CAN wait for the cross game features, which the lack of is so exacerbated by Xbox 360 fanboys. Seriously, if cross game chat is THAT important, I'll just buy the remaining stock of iPhones.

[Gun_Senshi]

VASTLY Inferior to FREE Online Gaming on PC

[Mc187]

If LIVE is worth the price there shouldn't have to be an article telling me it is.

[killnotic]

Live is a great service. Depending on my connection, I can download half a dozen largish demos on Live in the same amount of time it takes to dl a 1gig demo on PSN. Connections seem to be faster and more stable when playing online with Live as well.

However, Live costs too much for my household. I can swing $50 dollars a year for a single account, no problem, but there is no way I can afford to pay for multiple accounts for members of my family who also play on-line games. I would have to pay $200 a year and that's not just expensive, IMO, but indulgent in this economy. I never buy multiplayer games for my X-Box 360 because of this.

PSN allows everyone in my house to have his or her own account, that alone makes it a better bargain--even though PSN can be slow as hell. If you can afford multiple Live accounts I say go for it, they're worth it. Personally, I can't justify paying that much for something I can get free elsewhere.

[cheapndirty]

XBL is superior to psn in every way. But I am only one person and am looking at the the cost as no big deal because I am only paying for one person per year. If I were in your situation and had, say four people in the house to pay for every year I would go with PSN. MS needs to change it to a flat fee and 5 accounts per year for the fee.

[SYSTEMS-at-WAR]

Although paying a fee for XBL has shown benefits, primarily communication and timed exclusives and DLC... I'm sure this is where a lot of the XBL money goes, I still don't think it's worth $50. Hey, I pay it cause I play it the odd time but PS3 offers just as much and it's free. PS3 uses dedicated servers, whereas XBL doesn't. In fact the servers make a HUGE difference. I have a bad connection, 2MB... PSN runs flawless on that connection. XBL I can hardly play a game of Halo without being booted out of the party chat or laggin and losing. The only flaw to PSN is it's lack of communication. In game private/party chat is awesome. Although, this will eventually come to PS3, and free.
Sony really needs to focus on doing large updates rather than little add-ons.

[cheapndirty]

I have 1.3 MB download and 768kpbs upload and I play Halo 3 and many other games on XBL all the time. No lag outs. Nothing.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

I have been playing live since beta testing days. I literally helped and watch it grow into a dominating service that others have tried to copy and live up too. I am not going anywhere.

[walker_dawg]

XBL is a great service in my opinion with my only grumble being I own more than one 360 and have to pay for two separate accounts. My son enjoys his gaming as much as me...What I don't understand is why articles like these always lead to a comparison of XBL and PSN, and why most of the negative comments are coming from people who are fans of MS to begin with. XBL has continuously grown to improve, and as long as it does, I will pay for it.

Edit: I meant to say "people who are not fans of MS"

[sagapo]

if it wasn't worth it, I wouldn't pay for it. I wouldn't mind off course if MS would make Live free.
But come one, if you can't spare $50 over a year? I know people who pay $100 a month just for cigarettes.

[Cherchez La Ghost]

XBL feels connected with the community. Advertisements are there, but they're not overkill. Even with advertisements like Dorito's, Mountain Dew, VW and Honda you have free DLC pictures and for your dashboard. Not only that, you have a community spotlight on music artist and movies. Free videos for tips on how to get achievements. Frequent contests you can enter that rewards you with free gamer pic's. And the way MS is intergrading Twitter & Facebook would be an easier way for anyone to use the services. The party chat is cool. Me and my friends used it while we were watching the NBA Play-offs. And besides, $50 for 13 months is not bad.

I do believe that PSN will get better, but don't be surprised one day you'll be paying for that service.

[pippoppow]

But is this something you want to spread to other platforms. Lets say other platforms started charging $20-$50 to play online. Now what if you have more than one platform to support? Lots of money now huh. This is something many people will not support because of the principle of believing that paying extra for something that has and is still free on other platforms is wrong but also not to support the spread of this practice to future platform gens.

[Nemesis54]

Bullcrap XBL is a rip-off $50 M$ scam, it has been playing catch-up to the PSN, and I'll prove to you.

1. Price
XBL - $50 per year
PSN- Free

2. Features
Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm on XBL - To be released.
Internet browser on PSN - you have access to all that

PSN + PS3 also has Youtube, Hulu which is free content much better than Netflix.
Plus you can watch free movies at watchmovie.net on your big screen on the PS3.
PSN also has less lag than XBL. PSN + PS3 = built in wi-fi. XBL none of those features.

3. XBL 1080p video streaming - to be released
PS3 - Bluray

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Well there is a reason why more people play on Live than any other online gaming network.

[Gun_Senshi]

actually more people have psn then live

[RealtorMDandDC]

but I do not feel the need to pay to play...............besides the cost of the game.........

I currently own a 360 and most of my friends also owns a 360....now my brother and best friend has added a PS3 to there arsenal.............so another reason to not have to pay........

I can see that if you only own a 360....it may be worth it....but if you own bought consoles it make no sense.......

[Rhezin]

it's not worth getting your system hacked, and listening to whiny b!tches on XBL. You can get a free preview of what XB owners are like by just looking at what they post on here. All they do is b1tch b1tch b1tch. Nope it's not worth having to listen to those f!cking idiots.

[KingKionic]

Well these comments some up the title.

Xbox live is worth the cash...lol

[Odin777]

I honestly don't feel any difference when playing on xbl or psn...except for the whole community connection thing on xbl, but I don't need online friends to feel good about myself. ha ha (Yes I have both but am no longer paying for xbl)

[kasser]

For middle eastern people -like me- it is not worthy paying for 360 online... most of MS online games and services are slow and laggy (like Halo and Gears of War)

Sony games in middle east are complete opposite of MS. All Sony's first party games (like Warhawk or Resistance) are almost lag-free and very playable for us.

I hope from MS to take care of their online games first then give us your extra services OR please make your online gaming in Silver accounts and leave that fancy stuff for Gold members if they are unable to give us the supposed experience.

[xtkxCracktheSkye]

4 Disagrees.

No responses. Nice.

[clintos59]

I totally agree.

That is what I fear most is im a owner of all 3 consoles and lets say nintendo & sony decides to do the same as microsoft just for some added features and now I cant fully enjoy each games on a few of my consoles because now i have to pay just to play online with my friends which im not going to do with all 3 systems. This is why I call out 360 fanboys because they make it seem like $50 a year is nothing but forget, what about those ppl who own every system? Because u guys enjoy paying for something that should be free microsoft will NEVER make XBL free because they will always bank on u guys to pay for something that should be free & thanx to u guys if sony & nintendo & pc want to start making users pay for online multiplayer we can thank u guys for listening to microsoft.

I fear pretty soon because of the success of XBL. Us gamers will not only be paying for internet service but also monthly & yearly fees all thanx to the success of a p2p service. Thank u very much MS & Fans.

[brim4brim]

People here going on that the author never even tried PSN. Well I think the same thing could be said for a lot of Xbox Live users and probably PSN too.

I game online on PS3, 360 and Pc (also have a Wii).

By far the most fun experience is usually had on Steam because of the games and the service has some good features.

360 is great but to say it is worth paying for is a joke. It quite simply is not worth any more than any of the other services on offer IMO. Nobody seems to be able to say why it is worth the money. Most of the reasons given are features supported by other consoles or minor features.

The things that make online fun are your friends and the games. 360 charges you to play the games and talk to your friends in game so of course it seems like it is worth the money. It really isn't once you see that you can do most of the same things on other services for free.

[Midgard228]

i barley play online, ESPECIALLY not on live, not cuz the service is bad, BUT Because i dont feel like playing games with children that dont even know the meaning of the word F**K yet thats all that spouts out their mouths. sorry but if i have to mute every one on live or psn i may aswell not even play.

tho i will say i run it to this more on live....so freakin annoying, My live just expired and im not renewing, besides live only supports 16 players max, while resistance and warhawk are way over that why the hell am i paying?

[sunil]

even though this article is dated in 2007... the article got approved !!! where are the mods !

[Instinct_Gamer]

Mods are okay with old outdated articles. I know theyre here cause they deleted one of my comments making fun of people saying "Xbox live is like a community" and how truly gay it sounded. N4G is going down the drain with all this fanboy queer stuff. delete that you moderator F#G.

[deshon09]

live is better put together but i still would not pay just to play online i could care less about the other features the psn or live has i just want to play online simple as that and the fact that i don't spend to much time online for me it would not be worth it but live is a great service i just think at lesst you should be able to play on line not mater if you are a silver /gold member

[Instinct_Gamer]

Playing games on-line is what its all about. Too bad these ppl that agree with this article don't appreciate the core gaming experience as being the most important thing. They want frills and a feeling that they are not alone in their little world. Really most of these guys sound like they pay XBL to be a more than on-line gaming, but a friend that keeps them feeling safe. Thats why Natal fits in with XBOX fans, Natal will be their new friend to talk to and wave at.

[Coolrah]

Its sad and its people like MS fans that feed microsoft. Live is playing catchup to PC online gaming and guess what....ITS STILL FREE...So really its pointless to try and argue. Plus xbox live is inferior for 1 sole reason and that is because it doesn't have gamesharing. (Well its legal and promoted by sony for the ps3). Its an amazing feature that makes it so I don't have to buy the same game 3 or 4 times for each different psn acc in my household and it builds trust with friends if I want to give em a game or some such. In reality XBL<PSN<PC because for the sole fact that they offer the same thing with different but not deal breaking features cept for the fact that their FREE