Xbox Live Gold Going Free Is Possible If It Follows PlayStation Plus Model

"Ultimately, I believe the best solution is a sort of "Xbox Live Plus" that's similar to PlayStation Plus and to make the traditional Xbox Live Gold free; essentially, change what the $60 fee gets the consumer."

- Nick Tan, Game Revolution

[alexcosborn]

It would be totally awesome if they did this, but I don't think they will :(

[Sev]

They definitely need some sort of change to their business model. Especially because PlayStation Plus offers more value, and is optional. Granted Gold is optional too, but it SEEMS more necessary than an option if you own an Xbox 360.

[MmaFan-Qc]

it wont happen simply because some peoples still pay for online, MS wont stop to milk the cow as long she will produce milk.

[darthv72]

i get what you are saying. where i think many misinterpret things is in their perception of what value is.

Live has been upfront from the beginning of this is what you get and has been adding more to those who have been paid members since the beginning.

+ is a very good deal but it too can be construed as a necessity when it comes to being able to play those games as part of the membership. To play the games they give you...you must be a member. single player or multiplayer doesnt matter because if you arent a + member then the game doesnt work either way.

If people will put aside the differences in "how" the services are laid out and just look at them from the same POV. they are intended to get people to sign up and pay for the privilege of being better than the other guy who doesnt pay.

People will complain about being on the outside of an exclusive club only for so long but when they too get the opportunity to join, their perspective changes.

[MikeMyers]

It won't be free unless people refuse to pay. It's actually growing in memberships, not declining so it doesn't look like they will drop the fee. Instead I imagine they will continue to try and add extra services on top of it like ESPN and UFC partnerships. A lot of it I don't care about, I just want to play online and don't think I should have to be charged to unlock a feature in a game I already purchased.

[TheGamerDood]

I remember all the hate PS+ received when it first debuted and now it's the model all other services should follow? ha!

[dbjj12088]

I agree. But every year they don't do this, I get closer to canceling my subscription.

[NeverEnding1989]

Forget about hardware specs...I'm most excited to see what PSN and Xbox Live (and their premium services)look like next gen.

I think that PS+ has forced M$ to come up with something special next gen. At the same time, with SONY hemorrhaging money you have to wonder 1) How much are they actually making with PS+ and 2) Will they be forced to charge next gen like Live?

I can't wait to see what they offer us

[Dno]

they are making money with PS plus because it is using the same servie that PSN was and that was free. They give games already on the PSN for free no extra cost to sony but extra money for them. PS= is nothin but profit.

[darthv72]

considering there are no hidden connotations with live. you pay to play online as well as the other perks to being a paid member. the various parts of the service not available to the silver members.

Looking at PS+ there are some conditions that many seem to ignore. the free games arent free but free for the duration of the membership. if those games offer multiplayer then you too are paying to play online for those games that are part of the membership.

it isnt like all of a sudden you can stop paying and the games still work in single or multiplayer mode. If the games they provide are worth paying for...people will pay to play them.

the only ones that really can proclaim anything free are the non paid members and whatever their free service offers.

[Thatguy-310]

Doubt Microsoft will simply let it be free. They have gotten away with it so far why would they simply stop charging people? People still purchase it so I highly doubt they'll let that go away

[Ezz2013]

no way Ms will do free online after all the money they get from live

but i would welcome it though

[AngelicIceDiamond]

I think they will. But knowing MS they'll offer very basic multiplayer and chat with one friend under the free silver subscription come next gen.

While leaving the gold or possible Diamond subscriptions to ones who wanna pay. I personally will subscribe to gold or whatever it'll be call. I want everything MS is offering come next gen.

[otherZinc]

I stopped reading when this so-called "journalist insider" said Live is $60 a year.

No one on this site has paid $60. I pay $100 for 3 accounts for my 2 kids & I. For the dumb thats $33.33 per.

I'm more than happy to pay $2.70each per month because Live is integrated.

Forward Unto Dawn cost M$ 11+million dollars; we paid nothing.

I cant wait to buy 3 XBOX 720's with a Live renewal for all 3 consoles: because; YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

Thanks M$ for a well planned online experience! My check is in the mail.

[cee773]

live is 60$ a year for the average joe who dont go online and get deals there are alot still out there its a sucker tax you cant go directly on your xbox and sign up for live gold for $33 can you I think not

when ps4 comes and cross game chat is free what reason will microsoft have to charge for live

[doctorstrange]

Would certainly be nice if I could save some money

[Cam977]

Buy a PS3 and stop throwing money away.

[doctorstrange]

I have a PS3...

[zeal0us]

MS has made too money off XBLG. I doubt they ever let it go free. If you want free online gaming get a ps3 or pc.

M$ could come with a B2P option. Pay $60 one time fee and get free online gaming,party chat and cloud storage.

[aviator189]

the only way this would happen would be a considerable negative growth in their live subs.

[dbjj12088]

Agreed. Let's start now!

[ftwrthtx]

I might actually get another 360 or a 720 if they did that.

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

This is the one area that I believe Sony has the advantage when it comes to its online network, PS Plus. At first I didn't care for plus but now that they give away free retail games it makes it worth the chump change 50$ a yr. If MS follows Sony with XBL Plus I wouldn't be mad at all.

[Campy da Camper]

Agreed. When the new games hit i buy one month, play the games and let it expire. 15 bucks for 4 retail games? Sold.

[FlyingFoxy]

XBL should be free, i wasted most of my XBL sub because i got bored and ended up just playing my PC. XBL is a slap in the face not being able to play online when PC has an awesome free service Steam.

[rapidturtle]

I see it happening if Sony keeps the PSN free in the next gen. Sony just needs to launch at the same time as M$$, and price the console just a little bit cheaper. Then just advertise how much better of a value their console is, and I think you might start seeing it outsell the nextbox.
The 360 really is a money pit when comparing it to the PS3. You have to buy Live, rechargable batteries, wireless adapter for the older consoles, a hard drive when you realize you really need one if you originally got suckered into a console without one.
I really think the consumer will wise up in the next gen and realize if they have had a 360 since launch, then Live has cost us about $350 so far. It adds up.

[rustyspoon80]

I wouldn't be surprised if PS+ offers some sort of cloud games free next gen. Otherwise when PS4 launches, what games are free? It wont be backwards compatible so...

[kagon01]

Impossible, as long as "gamers" are fools that will never happen. For selling their personal info for free plus paying to play...

[AtomicGerbil]

It needs to be before I consider a Microsoft console, while the cost is hardly expensive they are still holding half your game content to ransom. It's not a business model I am prepared to buy into.

Most seem to forget that Microsoft get a decent cut out of every game sold.

[Munky]

Not arguing the fact that a free Live would be awesome. As a Live subscriber since day 1, I would feel a slight slap in the face if this were to happen. As selfish as my feelings may be, I would have the lingering thought that my money had paved the way for the new Live (free) adopters.

Butttt, if this were to happen consider it a brilliant idea on MS's part. Eliminating one of the major factors consumers held off buying the 360. Next move would be to beef up 1st party support and MS might have a winner in the "NextBox".

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I love the idea but doubt that will happen. If it did, I would think it would be announced in tandem with the next xbox announcement at E3.

Hopefully there is mounting pressure internally to make some changes.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

I guess I am just too old for these juvenile "journalists". It's an absolutely STUPID argument only looking through the eyes of the consumer and not the company.

MS makes BILLIONS off of XBL. Why would MS choose to lose money from XBL going with a PS+ when MS has sold 70+ million consoles this gen ON PAR with how many Sony has sold this gen?

When it comes to MS and not charging for online play....3 words. NOT GONNA HAPPEN

[aquamala]

I think it's more likely Sony next gen will make online play part of paid PS+, than Microsoft making online play free

[Lvl_up_gamer]

I agree with you 110%.

Charging for online play is a billion dollar money making avenue for MS and MS STILL has sold 70+ million consoles with their XBL online subscription model. Sony would be idiotic given their current economical situation NOT to adopt an XBL type of platform for online play.

[DigitalRaptor]

I'm tired of hearing this absolute BS regarding Sony "cannot go on without charging for online". To begin with, what Microsoft does with XBL i.e. charges you $60 per year to connect to play via basic P2P online gameplay is the biggest rip off that people are willing to allow happen. Look up "P2P" and understand what is going on here. Now I'm not saying that the other more advanced features are not worth it in grand total, but the fact that you're given no choice if you want to connect and play via P2P, which costs Microsoft nothing - that's not something that Sony nor Nintendo nor Valve nor any other reasonable company would do. The sooner you accept this, the better.

Now I'll disclaim that I think XBL is an amazing service, so people don't think I'm hating on the service. I'm just appalled that MS can still get away with this ransom due to people similar to yourself backing the $60 barrier to entry of what I outlined above.

I've gathered that there are only approximately 10 million Gold Subscribers out of a 40-50 million total XBL accounts - those have formed over a number of years. PS+ is an infant service by comparison in the sense that it has not broken mainstream and only has a fraction of the subscribers. It's also an amazing service that people will truly begin to notice going into next gen, and will continue to grow and mature into something almost essential, not because they have to get it to be able to play 50% of all the games they own.

So over the coming years, more and more and more people will be subscribing to PS+ and Sony shoehorning basic online play into PS+ after it's been free since the PS2 is inconceivable to a logical man, as much as you'd like it to be true so you don't feel so alone paying for online play. PS+ numbers will grow and eventually be enough for Sony to match Gold subscriber levels and for them to be earning billions too. If advanced features are integrated into PS+ then that's fine, because that makes sense. You guys are so short-sighted to fuel your own bias, it's unbelievable. you accept Microsoft's ransom because you're so far invested in paying for a thing that every other service offers for free.

[Imalwaysright]

For Sony to start charging for online they have to start charging for 3 consoles: PS3, Vita and PS4. What would be Sony's reason to suddendly start charging for online on devices that have been in the market for years?

MS selling consoles on par with Sony is not true. Sony Sells more consoles than MS each year. Playstation brand is more powerful than the Xbox brand.

MS perspective is: "Lets charge for online for no real reason but to deepen our pockets". Why else would they be the only ones to charge for online? As a consumer that perspective is unnacceptable. MS perspective can go to hell.

[Hicken]

"It's an absolutely STUPID argument only looking through the eyes of the consumer and not the company."

It's an absolutely STUPID idea for consumers like yourself to consider the needs of the company ahead of your own.

Is it REALLY okay with you that Microsoft charges you for something that SHOULD BE FREE? The fact that there are people who think it's okay is the ONLY reason it's NOT GONNA HAPPEN. As long as a significant number of folks are alright paying, OF COURSE they're gonna keep charging.

But if people said "No, I'm not gonna pay to play online," Microsoft would have no choice.

Of course, there are people like you who are perfectly happy paying extra money when they shouldn't be, WAY too many. So Microsoft will NEVER have to abandon that particular cash cow.

Good job.

[OllieBoy]

Not gonna happen. People (suckers) are still okay with paying a fee to play P2P online gaming, so nothing's going to change.

[Jek_Porkins]

I don't think Microsoft see's incentive to copy PSN+, especially when more people pay for Xbox Live Gold the way it is. I also believe that Xbox Live Gold helps make up for the used game market, which is why their first party games didn't employ "Online passes" like the competition did.

If you are making a billion a year on Gold subscriptions, you don't fret about used games. After all of these years I think people are either going to go with XBL, or go with one of the numerous competitors available. My main issue is that people seem to take it personally if people want to and choose to spend their own hard earned money on XBL, it's not anyone else' right to try and dictate what we do with our money, let people spend it on whatever they want.

I personally think smokers and drinkers waste $100's a month on those habits, but it still isn't my place to tell them they shouldn't.

[Qrphe]

That would really decide whether or not I get a 720 to be honest else I'd have absolutely no reason to buy one.

[hazelamy]

if live gave the same sort of content you get with plus, i'd probably subscribe.

[esemce]

Ms has made more than enough profit from LIVE, I think it's time they started giving something back to us gamers. Simple Mp match making should be free, if the NextBox does not offer free Mp and the PS4 and WiiU do then that would really show microsoft's greed.

I have free Mp with my Pc/PS3 and Wii and there is only Gears and Cod keeping me on Live which I hardly play nowadays to justify paying for XbL gold.

[mwjw696]

I just can't wait for the next gen! To see the sweet tears fall from the Sony fanboys face as they anounce PS+ is manditory for online play.

Idiots thinking that Sony is your friend, and just loves to give you stuff for free... hahaha fools ITS A TRAP!

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

You think MS would LOVE to lose that much money? I don't know much of anyone that would like to pay for LIVE anymore if they didn't have to!

[TXIDarkAvenger]

I hope it does, live will explode with even more people online. I don't want to pay anymore because I don't have time to play every single day and Live going free would be great since I can go on whenever I want and not have to worry about renewing Xbox Live just to play/talk with friends.

[JBSleek]

MSFT doesn't need to change anything. Sure PS+ may be more value or whatever yet Live still racks in billions of dollars and increases users and seems to not be stopping. When you say it "needs" to stop you are basically saying that it is a problem and is bleeding which just isn't the case. Try telling business men and investors that we will now be making a service that makes billions to now be free... Sure it would be cool but let's be real here.

[BitbyDeath]

It wasn't that long ago that MS tried to take their paid model to the PC crowd who just laughed in their face.

It has since been made free, all those supporting MS saying you get what you pay for, why do PC get the exact same service free while you pay?

http://www.joystiq.com/2008...

Do you really get what you pay for or are you getting what you deserve for blindly supporting them?

[SOULJER]

Why follow the leader. Let people pay for something that free for everyone else. Live is still the best service.

[Indo]

Highly doubt it. Why do that. From MS POV...if its making money and no one is complaining, keep doing it.