Pachter predicts Xbox Live tiered payments

Another interesting snippet from our interview with industry analyst Michael Pachter, was his prediction that Microsoft might introduce a tiered payment system to Xbox Live.

[Genesis5]

Oh Mike just give it up would ya!

[scruffy_bear]

Good old Michael uniting fanboy worldwide :)

[ABizzel1]

I'd sell my 360 if that ever happened.

[Redlogic]

hooray!! more Pachter predictions!! As I sit here in my cubicle, I wonder...how come I couldn't get a job as cool as his? I wish I could through sh!t at the wall and see if it sticks...for money!! Ugh, FML.

[SilentNegotiator]

No thanks.

[Lifendz]

this guy won't stop until it happens. Mike, sorry but this is yet another prediction of yours that just doesn't seem likely. So you can either keep making the prediction and appear more foolish, or you can admit you got it wrong and move on. Tiered payments of 30 bucks every quarter, ten bucks a month, just stop it already.

[Chubear]

You tell me, when MS introduces a $100 per year model for Live just in time to play Halo Reach MP, do you really think the 360 base will not pay that to play halo reach online?

Please, it's only 8 bucks a month and you'll get additional feature you dont' have today too.

One of the tiers will be that you could play online but you won't have your stats tracked. You just pay to have the privilege of playing online. You'll see soon enough.

[boodybandit]

there isn't a game made I would pay $100 dollars a year to play online. If MS raises the price I will walk away the minute my account expires.

[SilentNegotiator]

Unfortunately, I wouldn't see MS struggling much from making it that high. People would probably still shell out the money.

[sikbeta]

Do all of you know if this guy get paid for saying nonsense all day?

lol

[DocEvil]

They all have an interest in making more money. pachter works for himself and investors trying to make money. He suggests $100 a month and sees what everybody says. Everyone gets pissed so maybe he tries a softer 'two tier' $60/$100. Still people are upset but not as upset as before. Next it could be $60/$75, less people upset then, after everybody has been softened by his ridiculous predictions, MS can announce a two tier $50/$70 and people are actually relieved that the basic services haven't increased and some people will happily get the upgraded service since they thought it was going to be $100. MS makes more money and pachter and the investors that follow his advice make more money. It's disgusting industry incest.

And the exact same thing is happening with Sony and all the rumours of charging for PSN. It's only to soften up the consumer cows so that the lower than expected PSN charges seem like a deal compared to what they could have been. It makes me want to puke.

Just watch what pachter predicts and compare it to what he recommends as stock buys and you'll see that he is actually trying to influence the market in his favour. The man is lower than a used car salesman in my opinion, sneaking around in the dark corners of the stock market. I am less disgusted by rotting feces than I am by pachter.

[Bnet343]

Looks like Chubear and Pachter smoke the same crack. ;)

[darthv72]

To get more silvers to switch I can see them lowering the price. Maybe down to something like $30-35 a year. That gives the user the online basic experience with the same current bells and whistles. Then having a more expensive level of $65-70 would get the users discounted prices on live games as well as movies/tv shows.

[Redlogic]

who's the disagree fairy? someone disagrees with my own opinion....i weep for the future.

[kneon]

It seems the only requirement is to say whatever pops into your head whether or not it makes any sense at all. It'll take considerable effort but I'm sure in I can learn to come up with even dumber stuff than this guy :)

It may be possible that Microsoft and/or Sony will come out with higher priced premium services but I can't see either getting away with charging more for what customers are already getting anytime soon.

[Anon1974]

Microsoft makes a tonne of money off XBL, that's no secret. I bet if they introduced a lower tier that simply gave online play without all the bells and whistles they might lure more people online with their 360's. They'd probably make more then enough to offset the few Gold subscribers who may downgrade their service.

[TheDeadMetalhead]

Since Pachter said it, It will never happen.

[vhero]

Sounds the most reasonable thing so far to be honest. Also as for saying since patcher said it, it will never happen your deluded. He makes his living by doing these guesses and gets them right more times than he gets them wrong trust me! Would you rather them just up it to $100 a year or prefer this tiered system? I know which I would prefer..

[y0haN]

His only prediction I believe so far is the one that MS will start charging more for Xbox Live. If/When that happens, I will sell my 360.

[STICKzophrenic]

I don't even care about FaceBook, Last.FM, Zune Video etc. I pay about $35-$40 for my Live (Ebay is your friend), and I feel Live is worth it. There's no way I'd pay $100 for the current crap they offer, but I would probably pay $60 (or whatever price I can find on Ebay for cheaper) for the online play, and hopefully party chat would be part of that tier.

[TheBrit]

This guy cant make his mind up about anything. He must be a royal pain to be married to.

[Jockie]

Hey well, he had to say something to rile up the 360 owners after annoying PS3 users earlier..

Either that or he's an impartial industry analyst.. but somehow i doubt anyone is gonna buy that..

[DemonStration]

I can't imagine MS giving up all the good will they've built up with their service just to make a few extra bucks.

[kaveti6616]

Oh? I can imagine that, but that's beside the point. Pachter has a very poor track record. I'm curious as to where he gets his info from and why he still has a job.

[mjolliffe]

He could be right, he could be wrong. You never know with this one.

But people won't believe him because he's been wrong 80%+ the time.

[scruffy_bear]

This be the one of those that he's right and still no one will believe it

[vhero]

Your wrong you dont hear about most of the stuff he predicts so you think he's wrong 80% of the time that's all. That's why he's still got a job and earning hundreds of thousands a year most probably. Companys listen to what he says and work around him when releasing new games etc..

[mrv321]

Michael Patcher relies on the fact that if you say enough you will eventually get something right, Michael Patcher doesn't realise this only works for people who have some common sense and not a troll...

[karan8624]

Some time a thousand years in the future something similar will happen in the Micronesia world goverment and everyone will think of him as nostradamus :P

/Sarcasm

[mrv321]

I believe trolling transcends time and space and like energy cannot be created or destroyed and as such Patcher shall allways be know as a troll.

(That sounds like Doctor Who)

[Sangria]

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[CRAIG667]

would everyone on this site agree with me when i say this patcher guy is full of Sh*T!!!!

Does someone actualy pay this guy for his so called predictions!?

[Darrius Cole]

I think that all of us, both Xbox fans and PS3 fans, should take a brief moment from the hustle and bustle of the fanboy wars to relax and agree the Michael Patcher doesn't have a clue what he is talking about.

Only Micheal Patcher has the power unite PS3 and 360 fans like this. We should appreciate him in this regard.

[mriono]

this has to be the best post i have seen on here in a while

[DitkaKenobi]

Hip Hop Gamer has a way of uniting the two sides with his idiocy as well.

[Kalowest]

I agree with you, Gamers unite, get the Blu-ray lasers, and RRODs so we can Destory Patcher.

[Redgehammer]

when PS3 and 360 users and fans come together it's like the old Arabic proverb "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". No souls on here are my enemy, my only enemy is time (and stupidity).

[RockmanII7]

Add Bobby Kotick and Jack Thompson to that list.

[Theoneneo81]

Has Patcher ever actaully made any right predictions or just pull stuff out of his @ss

[cereal_killa]

Yes he predicted that CODMW2 will sell millions and by god he was right on the money.

[AliTheBrit19]

Lmao

[Theoneneo81]

@1.1 well thats kinda of a thing my cat could have predicted.

[Cubes]

Well MS did say in October they didn't have any plans to increase prices in the next couple of months. Make what you will of that! I'd hate to see it happen, as we pay ample enough money for an internet service in the first place.

[Mondayding]

He's got warm eyes though…

[Somnipotent]

why does anyone care about what Pachter have to say. everything he's said so far has been beyond retarded.

[harrisk954]

Less than a month ago on Bonus Round, he "predicted" that MS would increase LIVE to $100... So, now they are lowering the price and making more tiers??? WTF???

[H34RT 4TT4CK]

Goodbye Live. Personally I don't much care for facebook and twitter and last.fm is a bit of a disappointment. I tried it and the only way I could appreciate last.fm is if I were able to play and listen at the same time. Halo waypoint was the only one to offer the benefit of free avatar items for achievements earned in the Halo Universe.

When Pachter originally proposed the 100 dollar live, I told my friends months in advance that its probably giong to be a tiered system. See, I made that prediction, I could be right and wrong, but I did MONTHS before Pachter did. I think if I look far enough, I may find the original post as well.

But if Live still hikes up the price for a gold subscription (I'm thinking its going to be silver, gold, and platinum tier), then the subscription I'll be on at the time will be my absolute last.

However, I can pay 30 dollars strictly just to play MP, free demos, and have a party system, everything else that isn't related I can play without.

*Edit*

Here is the post I made 52 days ago mentioning the tier system;
http://www.n4g.com/NewsCom-...

[divideby0]

just let me play games with a Silver membership and I will tell you what you can do with my Charter Gold membership....
MS will never do this, since they can preach all they want about useless FREE apps on the PC for their paying Gold members, they know its playing online is what real gamers want.
Sony appears to be headed in the right direction..free gameplay and if you want non game playing features...pony up

[silvacrest]

doesnt this guy have the greatest job ever? seriously, most people would lose there jobs after being wrong so much but patcher just keeps
going, i see it as pulling randomness out of his @ss, seeing what sticks, and going with it

he is living the american dream

[NotSoSilentBob]

Now since he has predicted it we know it will not happen that way.

[Handhelds_FTW]

I bet Pachter believes that hes a modern day Nostradamus.

[Redgehammer]

maybe even Costradamus

[Dorwrath]

The guys and idiot, plain and simple.

[Smkt]

i predict that sh1t will fall down from the sky onto patcher's face...

[RockmanII7]

That will probably happen before any of his predictions come true. LOL

[Imallvol7]

I would like my tier to be free please and include exactly what PSN includes.

[Bladestar]

I love predictions... they are usually 90% wrong!

I remember when Patchter used to predict that the PS3 would catchup to the xbox 360 within 6 months of launching in the US. Today, the PS3 is more than 9,000,000 behind to the xbox 360 in the US.

Here is a prediction in 2006:

http://www.gamespot.com/new...

"The Yankee Group is forecasting that Sony will sell 30 million PS3s over the next five years in North America, attaining a 44 percent market share. It sees Microsoft coming in second with 27 million units, or a 40 percent market share, which it will attain by "put[ting] significant price pressure on Sony during the PS3's lifecycle." As for Nintendo, the company predicts the Wii will keep the same roughly 16 percent market share it currently holds by selling 11 million Wiis over five years."

and the reality is:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009...

As of today, PS3 is 24 mil world wide and the xbox 360 is 28 mil.

It's common knowledge that Pachter is a Sony leg humper that is always talking down on the xbox 360 and always thinking way positive about the PS3.

[Teh Cell]

I love statistics...they are usually 90% made up!

:P

[WildArmed]

Stop predicting please o_O

[hoops]

Has this clown EVER predicted something right in his entire life regarding to video games?
I want his job. Where else can you constantly predict everything wrong and still get paid hansomely from your company....
Even Weathermen have to get it right sometimes...This guy is 0 for 20000000000000000000
and still gets a pay cheque. Nice job to have

[Bluemaster77]

Didnt this same guy say this would happen like 3 months ago , why doesnt this dude cut it out wit these retarded predictions

[malfesto]

Ludicrous. I appretiate that Microsoft put in a lot effort into policing online activities but the fact that they're charging for online play at all is ridiculous. Especially since their competitors don't. I don't think they justify raping their fanbase further.

If this is implimented, along with the musings of placing a subscription fee for playing COD online, I guess I can wave goodbye to online 360 gaming.