130°

Will You Be Paying More For Xbox Live Next Generation?

GOS: "Recent rumors have surfaced about the specifications of the next Xbox. Unfortunately for gamers who were expecting new information to surface, what was revealed is the same old stuff we already knew. Edge’s report did include something that made me think about a working theory i have about the Xbox Live service and its future. It has been stated that a “new iteration of Xbox Live” will be important to the next Xbox. This could mean that the service will look and work differently than the current generation version we all know and love (or love to hate).

With all the news Microsoft has made about their plans to entertain their fanbase, I believe a couple of scenarios will come out of all this. Either the price of Xbox Live will rise or paying yearly could be replaced with a monthly subscription plan. This is speculation on my part of course."

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gamesonsmash.com
iNathan4105d ago

I´ll be paying if:

When you have Gold you get Xbox Music FREE and SOME Xbox Videos for FREE aswell...

Make it Work like PSN Plus for Games.

Make every App Free for Gold Users and in Payed Apps because of Companies Rules makes Gold Users pay 50% LESS!

More discounts on DLCs and EVERYTHING for Gold Users.

Etc.

That would make a GREAT Value and i´ll be willing to pay.

xursz4105d ago

I actually expect MS to get rid of the "pay to play online" model entirely. Hopefully they'll offer a premium service similar to PS+.

Ritsujun4105d ago

Yup, never gonna happen.

decrypt4105d ago

"I actually expect MS to get rid of the "pay to play online" model entirely."

Lol Ms generates about 1 Billion USD in revenue from online charges, they arent going to let it go.

If MS were to remove the online charges the profitability of the entire division would be significantly hit.

If anything i would expect Sony to start charging to go online.

zeee4105d ago

They need to do what Sony has done. Psn plus is superior hands down. When cross game cost kicks in with ps4, ps plus will be "the" network. The dominant force.

nukeitall4105d ago

@xursz:

"I actually expect MS to get rid of the "pay to play online" model entirely. Hopefully they'll offer a premium service similar to PS+."

Will not happen. It has been far to successful and those resources are then poured back into XBL to make it even better.

@decrypt:

"If anything i would expect Sony to start charging to go online."

If anything, I think Sony might or at least try to extract more profit out of it. In their latest quarter, Sony only had a 6 million dollar profit in the biggest quarter of the year, this late in the cycle.

@zeee:

"When cross game cost kicks in with ps4, ps plus will be "the" network."

I think you still don't get it. It's not about just specific features, it is about community building as well.

Cross game chat is nice, and I use it all the time. It will be very nice to have on the PSN, but one of the major reasons XBL is awesome is because my friends list isn't full of people opening up their gazillionth account and no longer use it.

Having that fee on XBL Gold weeds out a lot of that crap of people opening multiple accounts to gain the system.

dgonza404105d ago

Yeah, LIVE is too much of a cash cow for Microsoft to axe. What reasons do they have to offer an option for a free service? Unless their sales are complete and utter shit, they will not just stop asking for money to play the online portion of your game. It's unfortunately a hole 360 owners dug for themselves. I'm really interested to see what MS does because these last couple of years Sony has had them beat with their services and videogames. The sheer amount of value from plus, and the variety of exclusive games from Sony makes me confident in purchasing a PS4. Microsoft needs to show me something pretty great to buy their console if they both come out this year.

MikeMyers4105d ago

I don't mind Microsoft charging a fee for services like PS+ does but I will not be supporting a paid model that has to be in place in order to play online. When I buy a game for $60 I expect the game to work which includes access to online play.

I don't understand how we have gotten away from the single player experience model where the games now cost $60 plus a paid subscription model to unlock online multiplayer.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4105d ago
showtimefolks4105d ago

Once psn gets cross game chat than xblive has no value to me personally. More power to you of you want to pay but o already don't see the value

Psn:plus is a great service I pay for that but I don't even use that much so I am gonna staying basic package of psn for now.

Software_Lover4105d ago

There are discounts on games for Gold Users. They just dont advertise them as well as PS+ because that is the major draw to ps+. I do agree there needs to be more discounts though.

IMHO the blocked free apps for silver is an illegal fiasco. You shouldn't need gold to use netflix, kincet video chat, and some of the video services since you are already paying for those services some way.

stage884105d ago

+1 for not paying for a tax on multiplayer.

I expect to play the whole game when I buy one, not 50% and then having to pay again to unlock the other half.

TheSauce4105d ago

If there is a subscription next-gen then I want to see MS step up live a lot!

Weekly deals, free subscriptions to services such as hulu/netflix, easier social networking, toned down adds, and a horde of new games on the marketplace each week.

BanBrother4105d ago

There are weekly deals, so I take it you meant half-decent weekly deals lol. Deal of the week sucks so bad, they recycle the same old garbage that no-one wants.

Sizzon4105d ago

Right now I'm not a gold member, but I will again on the next generation Xbox for Halo 5 etc.

4105d ago Replies(2)
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260°

More Job Losses At Xbox, “There’s More To Come”: Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott in a recent episode commented on the on-going Microsoft fiasco hinting at more job losses and that "there's more to come".

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spieltimes.com
Sonic188118h ago(Edited 17h ago)

There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future . Xbox has to pay Microsoft back. It might take two decades to do that.

sagapo14h ago(Edited 14h ago)

I don’t understand what you’re saying. Xbox IS microsoft so there’s no “paying back “.
And MS gross profit in 2023 was over 140 billion dollars so forget your 2 decades.

Unless you mean the money MS invested in Xbox (acquisitions included) and the time it will take for xbox as a brand to gain that money back on it’s own, then yeah, that could take a while.

romulus238h ago

The better term to use might be return on investment, xbox is simply a division of Microsoft one that MS can easily do away with if profit margins are not met. So in that regard he's right, if xbox isn't showing the expected return on investment the higher ups are expecting than it's unlikely Microsoft will acquire any other studios any time soon, especially if they are spending billions buying developers just to shut them down in the end.

MrBaskerville1h ago(Edited 1h ago)

Xbox is a division that they discussed shutting down but doubled down on after Gamepass was pitched.

It needs to make money at some point. Big money.

SonyStyled14h ago

“There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future”

No bro, there do be is for Microsoft not acquiring for what is now if not what it be is 😂

12h agoReplies(2)
ChasterMies2h ago

Xbox isn’t a separate company from Microsoft. It’s all Microsoft.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 30m ago
jwillj2k417h ago

There really needs to be a class action lawsuit here. You buy these companies just to put people out of jobs. And it’s not like something happened to derail their plans this WAS the plan. Microsoft has no business in this space at all.

franwex17h ago(Edited 17h ago)

Microsoft has been doing this for years. They simply want the IPs. Look at Nokia. Look at Skype. This time it simply expanded to games. Gaming is not as important to Microsoft’s executives as it was to the founders too. Bill Gates was willing to sell the og Xbox at a loss. Steve Balmer approved the red ring of death fiasco. This CEO isn’t really a gamer.

-Foxtrot16h ago

Maybe it's time though to put a stop to it and use a big giant like Microsoft as a huge example to the rest of these big companies.

There has to be a line drawn somewhere.

People like the FTC and the like went against Microsoft yet their Actvision deal was still allowed to go through yet look what's happened...it's not even Acitivisions studios aswell, it's Bethesdas.

RNTody16h ago

Ninja Theory, Perfect Dark, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Wolfenstein 3, Dishonored, Prey, Doom, Quake... something tells me that bad things are going to happen to these entities under Microsoft.

MrDead6h ago

ID software, the makers of Doom and Wolfenstein that have been with us since 1991 could be gone and MS will keep the IPs.

I hope some of these studios can buy their freedom from MS otherwise this is going to be even more devastating for the industry and gamers.

Yui_Suzumiya3h ago(Edited 3h ago)

That's exactly what I'm worried about. I've been a fan of id since Wolfenstein 3D and I'm honestly afraid.

anast16h ago

Good thing the bosses of all those small studios made their money.

glenn197915h ago

they cant do it right now they will get burned

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90°

Microsoft Opening Xbox Mobile Game Store in July

The Xbox brand is expanding, as an Xbox mobile game store is opening this coming July where Microsoft will brings its "first-party portfolio."

Jin_Sakai2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

“Bond adds that they will start on the web”

This will go nowhere.

Nice knowing you Xbox. This is what happens when the house never gets cleaned.

MrDead2d ago

The only this MS is expanding is the amount of feculence it sprays on everyone who just want to enjoy gaming and make games.

The best thing MS can do for the gaming industry is leave and never return.

XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Good luck with this even it might not succeed.

Show all comments (7)
210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

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eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel3d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga1d 18h ago (Edited 1d 18h ago )

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow2d ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo1821d 17h ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie1d 8h ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow1d 7h ago (Edited 1d 7h ago )

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

1d 2h ago
Hereandthere22h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 22h ago
Notellin1d 4h ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

1d 2h ago
Hereandthere22h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

ApocalypseShadow8h ago

Lying to yourself is unbecoming.

Article link tells you all you need to know in Sarah Bond's own words.

Hereandthere22h ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

ApocalypseShadow9h ago

At least you and others get it. Note drank the Kool aid and asked for seconds thinking it was refreshing.

Most don't even know how it all played out but it's there in black and white for all to see. Microsoft brought it up for years until the MLB forced Sony's hand. It was a win win for Microsoft. Kill one reason to buy a PlayStation or kill the game by dropping it in a cheap service to kill Sony's sales numbers on PlayStation.

OtterX1d 20h ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

Cockney3h ago

They chose well, Sony gave them the backing to pursue their dreams with no restrictions even tho their games especially dreams have very niche appeal. Media molecule and Sony deserve respect for this in an age of risk averse publishing.

RNTody1d 20h ago (Edited 1d 20h ago )

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno1d 19h ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Sheppard7t31d 17h ago

How did Sony kill the series?

Inverno1d 17h ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

1d 2h ago
fsfsxii1d 4h ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno1d 2h ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

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