Xbox Live Gold is an antiquated dinosaur that no longer fits within this industry. It's an exploitive service that takes advantage of people's innate desire to connect with others, charging significant money ($59.99/year, or $9.99/month) for features given away for free on competing platforms. As the next generation approaches, it's time for Microsoft to shelve this nickel-and-diming venture once and for all.
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When you look at the facts between XBL, PSN and Steam, it seems more than a little ridiculous that XBL still gets away with charging for online features.
The simplest way to break it down in the XBL vs PSN debate in my book is: If everything on XBL was made free excluding cross game chat which was still $60/£40, would you still pay for it knowing that you were only paying for features literally EVERY other platform does for free?
Apart from the obvious (not being able to play online at all) without paying, i think it's got to such a stage where long term XBL users have just been so accustomed to paying that they feel that:
A) If they are paying, then by default it MUST be better or worth it somehow.
or B) Admitting it's a rip-off now and saying it's not worth it after shelling out hundreds, if not 1000's, of £/$ over the years would be like admitting defeat and confessing to being fooled all those years and not wanting to look silly.
Regardless of platform, title or company, online features should ALWAYS be free, especially if they want to go down the Online Pass route we have been travelling. Can anyone honestly say it's fair to have to buy a £400 console, buy a £40 game, pay up to £10 per month for your internet, pay £40 MS to allow you access to your own internet and if the game is preowned or rented, having to shell out £8 AGAIN just to play the full product on the disc?
It's all getting a bit out of hand and, especially MS, if they just swallowed their pride and admitted noone has the money to go through that process for 5 more years next gen, and ditched the XBL fee, they'd be on to an absolute winner not just in the eyes of Xbox gamers, but the industry in general.
I dislike it, but at the same time its where the games I like are. So I have to.
It will be interesting to see what MS does.
ive got an xbox or several but i realise that i shouldn't be paying extra to play online because i can play most of its games on ps3 and way more. also the few extra xbox exclusives i dont need to experience online for xbox because i dont need to experience every game online or play. i love gears of war but ill just have to go without playing them all because i refuse to pay for xbl.
ill get the next xbox but dont plan on ever getting xbl for it.
If ps3 had party chat for free i may reconsider.
Also microsoft is the only Publisher/Developer not doing Online Passes.
Being forced to pay for P2P online gameplay is outrageous. By all means, charge for the advanced features like party chat but I can guarantee that there are millions upon millions of willing Xbox customers in waiting (like myself) who would snap up a next generation Xbox, minus the ransom to play half of its games online that you paid full dollar for.
Microsoft have been investing in first party studios and this is an absolutely positive move for next gen, but I just wish they would go a step further, swallow their pride and stop charging for basic connectivity where it's neither necessary nor pro-consumer.
@ omi25p
PS3 hasn't and won't ever get party functionality. PS Vita has it for free, as should PS4.
I know there are a lot of people on this site who will argue that it isn't a big deal, but I got so accustomed to using cross game and party chat on Xbox 360 that I find myself hard pressed to play PS3 online because of the lack of these features.
Honestly, that is all it comes down to for me sadly. I don't care much about the apps of either service, but PS+ is a great service for that easily puts Xbox Live Gold to shame. I'm not a fan boy of either.
However, I'm so excited about next generation because I know that the PS4 will implement these features and if I find myself not having to pay a yearly fee to use them on PSN, then Microsoft has lost me as a customer, because I know Microsoft will still charge for Xbox Live. Now will Microsoft and Sony please quit stalling and bring on the next generation!!
And i completely agree with you that it doesn´t make any sense to pay for multiplayer on XBOXlive if every one else is offering for free. Its free for the PS3, Vita, Wii U, Wii, 3DS, PC and many other platforms so what reason does Microsoft have for charging for it? None at all in my opinion and the only reason why they can get away with this is because XBOX gamers (since the first XBOX) are used to paying for multiplayer which is why they continue to pay for it.
I used to own a 360 and i used to have a subscription to gold so i know what it was like to pay for online multiplayer. But the problem that i had with the service is that it didn't provide me with anything that i couldn't get on the PC. So i made a decision to sell my 360 and buy a PS3. I had a regular PSN account for a short while but then i saw Plus offered for 40€ and in September i joined PlayStation plus. Ever since i joined plus i manage to download a ton of games that i haven't played before. Which got me thinking why gold subscribers are not demanding a similar service with XBOXlive gold? I seriously cant believe that XBOX owners don't want something like plus because it provides a lot more content than XBOXive and in my opinion its a service worth paying for.
Thanks for your comment as it was a very thoughtful, logical and very pleasurable one to read. However you might receive some degree of backlash from the fans who refuse to accept the truth about XboxLive.
excellent comment very well put and my sentiment exactly however MS will charge while people will pay for it and i cannot see them turning away easy money.
I would rather that all the people willing to pay for Xbox live ON Xbox live and away from me as i no longer use Xbox for gaming though i do still use LIVE on windows for FREE from time to time but only if i have to.
Bottom line: you are still needlessly forced into paying for something you already pay your ISP for.
Edit: @SolidSystem PSN, Steam, Wii U, 3DS, Vita etc all let you use your ISP without a 3rd party surcharge for basic online play.
My point being that what MS provide is no different from the other platforms, so all they are essentially doing is standing in your way demanding more $ for the privelage of using their service which offers nothing different.
Refer to my comment #1.1 for a full explanation of what i'm trying to say so i don't have to retype my whole point here.
I agree gaming online should be free, with maybe some promotions (like PSN+ does.... which I am a member of) to bring in additional money.
Though the argument about ISP is silly.
like I said, cloud saves are not free on PS, to get it on PS you need to pay $50 a year for PS+. so no the "free" PSN does not have the same features as XBL gold.
It's frustrating when people completely miss the point you're trying to make, isn't it? Happens all time in specific regard to this topic.
People think you're hating on a service. No!!! Xbox Live is excellent service. What is under scrutiny (and rightly so) is Microsoft's decision to charge their customers for something that is free in ecosystems outside Xbox. Basic online play or P2P. Look it up people. That shouldn't be a ransom/selling point for Xbox Live. That should be a guarantee for the $60 you pay for each of your games. Have MS charge $60 a year for advanced features only - I have absolutely no issues with that.
And discount arguments shouldn't even apply here since it's about the principle, not about how much you can save on things you shouldn't have to consider paying for to begin with.
If you actually were a person that played on the 360 and paid for XBL you would already find deals everywhere.
The dashboard when you become a silver member has $1 for 1 month deals...and guess what you can cancel the auto renewal so when the month ends you just do it over again. Not to mention everyone that was gold last week got 1 whole free month for free because cloud was down.
I've paid 12$ for 1 whole year doing that...oh but wait I'm still paying boohoo.
If you don't want to pay and don't have a 360 I don't know why you are in here crying about it.
I may even sell my 360 as I'm starting to really appreciate my PS3 lately. Looks like all my future multiplats will be on PS3 for the foreseeable future, which is OK cause all my friends switched over to PS3-only a while ago for the free online anyways.
$60 per year to play online is about $30 too much for me. The apps and other stuff certainly isn't worth the high surcharge.
It seems the US is the only place where 360 does well now, PS3 dominates every other market. I live in Canada and don't know anyone that has a 360 anymore. They all switched to PS3 after their consoles broke or just sold it for PS3s free online.
http://www.cheapassgamer.co...
Buy a MS car(xbox) and they will charge you extra for the steering wheel(multiplayer).
Why did you buy a xbox in the first place?
Lol for everyone that bought a xbox in the first place,knowing about gold subscription and no online without payment.
im happy paying for Xbox live because i think the service is better but also the main reason is party chat.
If ps3 had party chat for free i may reconsider.
Also microsoft is the only Publisher/Developer not doing Online Passes.
Sooooooo..... You pay £40 a year for party chat? Hahahahahahahahahahah mug.
And MS wont do online passes because they charge you for online already :/
But the problem is so many people pay for XBL, which means Microsoft will think: "Wow. We're actually making money from this. Stuff those people who disagree with us. XBL WILL ALWAYS BE A PAID SERVICE!!!"
Stupid I know.
PSN doesnt work until a few patches have been released. It isn't integrated.
Most of All:
If you guys think SONY is going to do this for free next gen...You're Stupid!
M$ worked on LIVE for 3 years before it released: Oh, and you nuts think people work for free? Do you work for free? Yet, a service like Live that isn't duplicated, you want for free? You're Stupid!
Its funny, these articles release every month. I know its for traction, but, it just tells me how Stupid a Site can actually be.
Keep up with the day 1 patches & complaining about SONY online games that dont work day 1, also, the massive load times.
Keep up the Stupid, People.
You get what you pay for.
If LIVE were overrated it wouldnt be killing PSN right now!
PS+ will force M$ to do better next gen. But until that time multiplayer gamers don't have a choice.
I agree with him though. The invites, and missing chat support (cross game specifically) are a big deal to me.
bunch of garbage right there. Huge amount of people on live dont use mic at all, most of them use it in halo or cod, but it not some "standard".
bunch of people on psn and steam use mics.
I wont speak for everyone, but when i use mics i get distracted from game, i use it for casual games with friends, thats it.
It doesnt matter anymore is it 60 or 40 bux, i refuse to pay for p2p and things i dont use.
At this point psn, steam>>>> live, i received about 500 + euros worth of content with ps+ which was 45 euros. Many games i wouldnt have tried.
And steam is also different world dor live. PERIOD
If your happy paying for online play...thats fine, maybe I should make some extra money off you too and buy some MS shares.
Try and respect and educate yourself to the fact people have been gaming online for free, years before the xbox existed.
I agree tho. PSN+ is awesome, but my primary method of online gaming is going to continue to be Xbox live because of the features you listed.
1. Gamers showing nothing but hatred toward each other. No unity whatsoever.
2. Companies purposely locking away game content and calling it DLC claiming technical difficulties.
3. Flame bait articles left and right.
Etc.
I also agree with you, but this will never change. This gen we saw a massive influx of this generations teens (the bratty, over-spoiled douche-bags) and so it is more apparent.
high five!
I know people are going to say it is not 60 dollars and you are right, you can find it for cheaper. However, when there are free services that offer the same thing and in some cases more, I had to eliminate my LiVE account.
PSN would look very different if XBL did not come first and I really don't think anyone can argue.
With that said, XBL never stopped being the "gold standard." XBL doesn't stop being the gold standard because a bunch of people who don't like anything about the 360 or MS don't like the fact that it isn't free and other people don't mind paying the insignificant fee.
You can pretend to downplay the popularity and success of XBL but that doesn't make it disappear.
Nest gen, when PSN is still free and has some of the obvious features that it lacked this gen then XBL will no longer be the gold standard. It will happen, it just hasn't happened yet.
The 10 million hardware lead is gone, so it's time for the pay model to reflect that and evolve. Apps like Youtube, IE, Netflix, Twitter and even the discontinued Facebook shoulda been open to Silver users. Period. Competition is great though cuz it forces these guys to look at what they offer, bang for buck. Remember no in-game messaging on PSN, no in-game XMB, the awful Konami log-ins for MGO, no scrolling game tickers on friend profiles, no premium avatars, no trophies, no blocking, no custom soundtracks period, no Plus, no Home? I do.
We've come a long way. From the "haz no gaemz" memes to this. Both systems became better because they had to and subsequently leapfrogged eachother at different points, while the Wii just kinda went on in its own lil' SD bubble.
I mean if you look at the costs of the consoles over three years, the xbox is like a $600 dollar console, and the PS3 only costs 1/3 of the xbox and it only manages to sell a tiny bit more.
PS3 fanboys are taking EXACTLY the wrong tact here... Should the xbox 360 get free XBL at CES this month for example, it would add 5 years to the life of the xbox, and the Xbox 360 would end the generations by far and away the number one console of the generation.
The crushing effect that this would have on the ego PS3 fanboys could be life threatening.
The PSN is great, does everything you need it to and more, but it's not as easy or enjoyable to use (again, IMO).
Prefer the games though.
I did
but I stopped here
"It's more about choices."
that was funny pal ^^
oh btw THAT does not make any sense at all
If you just bought the, lets say, new COD for example, without Xbox Live Gold, you basically payed twice as much, and you're getting half of the feature you were promised with. Sure, there's the campaign (gold not needed), and you can still play Zombies and mutiplayer, but you can only play them by yourself, or with splitscreen. You HAVE to pay for Gold to access the other half of a game (if it has multiplayer multiplayer). That's a RIP-OFF. With the Wii U, PSN, and Steam, you can access ALL of the features of a game, without having to pay for another service just to access the online features for it. Sure, there's a bajillion Xbox Live Gold offers every day, but really, when 3/4 of the gaming hardwares are offering FREE ONLINE, then you're sticking out like a sore thumb. And what do you mean "limited time"? You're still paying for it, despite the offers doing it for free. Even a lot of the Xbox 360 console's features are locked out. You want to watch Netflix? Oops too bad. In addition to paying $9.99 (or however much it costs) for the Netflix subscription, you have to buy Xbox Live Gold subscription!! The PC, Wii U, and PS3 all have access to Netflix for free! Just put in your account, and you're good to go! I don't know why you compared Live with a cell phone or cable TV subscription, when they are "rip-offs".
I once a read a comment that said "Gaming is a very expensive luxury", and I somewhat agree to that. However, I hate to repeat this, but when 3 of the 4 major gaming hardwares offer free online, Xbox Live Gold sticks out like a sore thumb.
*note: A working Internet connection must be required to access said online features too. However, if you can read this, you probably have an Internet connection anyways... Unless you're reading this from work, a friend/family's house, school library, etc.
So in essence your choices are (minus features) pay Microsoft for full access to your games (games which Microsoft already take a substantial cut from) or don't and have access blocked to portions of your games.
Ok, the cost isn't great when you break it down over time, but it's still an extra cost that no other platform demands.
psn+ is same as live gold with different options. Psn still doesnt have voice message, party chat, custom music. Psn as a whole doesnt have nearly as much content, slower dl speeds, longer installs, takes longer to get patches and has worst 3rd party games support
The right to open apps and the browser has always been free as well. There's certainly no free-to-play Gold equivalent to the DC Universe Online or Dust514 MMOAGs. Preference I guess is subjective, but your list of negatives is mostly relegated to system memory rather than service value. Plus and Gold are actually very different.
Party chat for example is a hardware issue. Memory. Hence why the Vita has no cross game blabbing issues. Hell, it does cross *play*. Not really applicable here. 360 hardware lacks its own features that a Gold sub' can't resolve, like the lack of DTS/DTS HD/Dolby HD/7.1 lcpm audio or BluRay's elimination of disc swapping. Cloud is another issue. PS Plus Cloud backups circumvent all DRM. Gold's doesn't. I can back up ME3 to PSN cloud but not Gold cloud.
You mention installs, but again that's got nothing to do with Plus and Gold as services either. Nor does what I presume you define 3rd party support to be. Fact is, paying for Plus gets you full regional 3rd party downloads like SSF4, Borderlands, Tomb Raider Underworld, FC2, JC2, SR2, BioShock2, Ratchet&Clank:All4One (Insomniac is 3rd party), Arkham City, Vanquish and various Arcade games from Trine2 to JetSetRadio. I even got $5 off my Walking Dead season pass. Paying for Gold got me none of those perks. Yeah I got Walking Dead Ep1 for free over XMas with Gold, but that's a month after I'd already platinumed it on PSN, and more months still after Ep1 AND Ep2 were up for "free" on Plus.
True perks like the early RE6 demo on Gold aren't as prevalent these days. I need to see more if I'm to renew next year. I bought Prey last year and enjoyed it, but have exactly zero online achievements cuz the community is dead anyways, Gold for naught. Paying for access to dead online games is lame. At least open up old games to Silver then.
Every game you mentioned in plus is 2-3 years old. That one of the problems with it. And for 3rd party support I was talking about how the games run and when you get patches later.
PSN downloads then installs which 360 does not do. once the DL is done you can play also the DL are faster. Happy wars is free for gold members
True perks like RE6 demo? wheres fez, minecraft, trials,mark of the ninja, deadlight,dust, kung fu strike,dungeon fighter, and thats not all the xbla games released this year that arent on psn.
Did psn get torchlight, bastion, guardian heroes from 2011. took 2 years to get braid and castle crashers, limbo year later.
Live got me 5 dollars off trials, 7.50 off deadlight, 7.50 off deus ex dlc. Got 5 back for spending 50 bucks in feb and 5 dollars last year in oct 2011 and more. thats 25 dollars I save right there could have been more if I waited for some sales in 2012.
Also to note bing gets me 10 dollars a month worth of MS points wheres sony way?! the whole achievement gets you points already got me 50 cents just buying stuff(15 dollars) I was getting anyway.
Dust and DC weren't well received Now sony get blade and soul count me in. disk swapping isnt an issue for me nor is sound quality since I use standard tv speakers
Every Plus game I listed isn't "2-3 years old" either. Trine2 went free in May 2012, just 6 months after release, with a platinum. Not 2-3 years later. JetSetRadio just came out in September 2012. Ratchet & Clank All4One went free after 8 months. DCUO went free-to-play without Plus. IGN loved Dust http://ca.ign.com/articles/... . Gold can do better than Happy Wars imo.
Off topic there about 3rd party game performance. Gold didn't make Hitman Absolution or ME1 run better on the 360 according to Digital Foundry. Article's about the paid Gold service vs free Silver, not hardware performance.
You mention patches as well, still off topic. But you do realise that Konami patched the Silent Hill HD Collection for the PS3 but aren't for the 360, opting to leave it broken http://www.eurogamer.net/ar... right? Patches aren't always a bad thing, Gold or not.
Off topic again bringing up console exclusives like Fez, Mark of the Ninja, Minecraft which you don't need a Gold Membership to buy. We were talking about the monetary value of Gold subscriptions. Trials Evolution isn't a Gold perk. I bought it with a Silver. For the early RE6/Forza Horizons demos...I needed Gold. That's what I mean by perks. Game swag you can't get with a Silver sub' OR on the other consoles. I'd like to see more of that to justify Gold's price, like the 1 week early exclusive Dead Space 3 demo coming up.
PSN getting Braid after XBL is off topic again. XBLA has had to wait for odds'sods too like Joe Danger, Kung Fu Live/Impact. And again, they're available just the same to free Silver members.
SSF4, Borderlands, Tomb Raider Underworld, FC2, JC2, SR2, BioShock2, Ratchet&Clank:All4One (Insomniac is 3rd party), Arkham City, Vanquish and various Arcade games from Trine2 to JetSetRadio."
jet set is a dreamcast game its over 2-3 years. trines is the only game not 2 years old
Anyway, I do believe standard MP should be a given right out of the box.
"Xbox Live: No Longer The Golden Standard." Never was in the first place? Its just a great service for customized tailored gaming and a streamlined experience, a constantly changing and evolving service and allot of people prefer it. MS does do dirty cheap discounts and even give away a (few) games for free also. P2P should be a welcome to Xbox users
Listen, these articles are old and over done. At this point its Over Kill. Yes, come next gen I would want MS to open up the console, Standard MP right out of the box. And overall bring more to the table as far as subscriptions.
XBL is far from perfect but it must be doing something right for people to up keep there subscriptions and consumers to buy into it.
And intead of blaming Sony, you blame the people who recognize the difference in quality and MS just because they aren't Sony.
Blame Sony for what? Making a great online service that is almost, or even on par with Xbox Live, even though it's free, and also offers more features without locking them out?
Also, I can ask you the same thing. Why is it that Steam, a FREE service, is MILES (exaggeration) ahead of Xbox Live, a paid service? They have more deals, more games, better security, mods available, etc. What does Xbox Live, despite a few exclusives and decent deals, have?
Instead of blaming Sony, why don't you look at Microsoft, and ask yourself, "Why is my precious Xbox Live Gold just slightly better than PSN, and why is it not better than STEAM?".
Can't argue with that. People are still paying for the service and as long as that happens they will keep it. But i do agree that a free service would be great but at what cost to it's functionality. If they are putting funds toward making the service better (which is most likely what they do) then its ok with me.
Not really appealing in my opinion.
But in all fairness both Nintendo and Sony have stepped up their online game and have made Xbox Live not the true king it once was. This is why for the next Box MS definitely needs to offer more (or anything) to justify the price for new comers. Which is probably the reason why we are seeing them buying up major companies that will make them the living room center piece.
Give me a break.
And you wanna talk about fanboys...its pretty obvious that the people most pissed about XBL charging (**most** not all) don't have an xbox, never had an xbox, and will never get an xbox.
"why aren't people switching" wonder why PS3 equalled 360's worldwide sales as of October 2012... reducing the 360's 7 million (over the years) lead at a way higher price point. :/
Judging by his other comments, the dude hasn't used Steam either. Xbox Live hasn't been the "Gold Standard" (terrible pun in the title) for years, Steam has had that title since 2009 at least.
Do you have a way to prove they have been switching? Don't go out of your way to point out ass talking when just as much, if not more, is flowing out of your own ass.
taylor
People don't want to switch unless their friends switch too. Young boys (15-24 yo) need to hang out with their friends a lot in real life. Their real life friends you know. If they all bought a x360 first it's impossible to get a teenager to switch unless he gets his friends to switch with him. Human nature.
Most who are pissed off never even had a x360? I have no idea but to see MS getting away with charging p2p gaming it might bring some bright ideas to other manufacturers. How about Wii U and PS4 going the same route?
You see anyone and I do mean ANYONE with common sense would be afraid of that happening so that's why the way MS does it and gets away with it is threatening to pollute the entire industry. It has nothing to do with being a fanboy. That's just you trying to throw anything and everything at advesary and hoping something would stick. Pathetic really.
@ baconbits below
I honestly feel sorry for you. An 8yo kid decides these kinds of stuff in your house?
look man I agree with you sometimes, but please don't call anyone else a fanboy. Every since insomnium 1 you've been one of the biggest this site has to offer, so nice calling the kettle black, pot. I also think you completely misunderstood my point. I was just pointing out how stupid he was making himself look for calling out everyone for providing not evidence to back up their claim's, when he himself offered nothing to support his own side of the debate. You can't point your finger and scream "You have no proof", when you have none yourself. That was a real nice try to swoop in to save one of your fellow Sonyite, but Please, Please, Please don't be such a blatant HYPOCRIATE.
Also, if I am going to pay $69/year, why do I have to sit through ads! If it wasn't for the fact that most of the games I like are on xbox, I would stick to my PS3.
But yeah you're right, it can be annoying in your scenario.
I know I should just boycott it but when your kid gets so much enjoyment of playing with his dad online it is hard to say no to a couple of bucks.
* putts on Fanboy repellant shirt
* putts on shit storm resistant waders boots
* putts on magic future seeing hat
Well here goes. (I'm sorry ahead of time if you disagree with my OPINION)
The fact is MS is making bank off of Gold right? They say this money is used to increase the services offered and improve everything. And honestly I can not think of to many problems with Live, minus the ads. Sony on the other hand does not gain money Like MS, they are just now adding in the PS+ service. It has slowly went from a abysmal service to right behind Live. I am proud and happy that it has been improving since its launch. The problem is it took to long, with out a constant revenue like Gold members Sony was scrapping the barrel to get funds for improvements.
With the cost of R&D, and Sony (as a company) losing money every single year I can not see PSN staying free. I want Live and PSN to be free sure, but life is not fair and things will change. PS+ is a great service but to Sony its only a constant source of money just like Live is to MS. Sony will need more money for the next gen as will MS. Anyone that thinks Sony can bleed money for what is it 5 years strait now and survive is insane. They need that money and fast! Making PS+ mandatory for online play is a good way to do it.
Every one criticizes MS for what they have done but the service has matured and improved very fast because of the money Live made for them.
For those that do not want to pay for online services next Gen I would suggest a PC. Good luck upgrading your hardware every year, bet it will cost you more than $60
*Removes clothes and sits back in chair naked. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"Another important data point Microsoft sent along is that Xbox Live Gold Subscription card sales increased more than 50 percent compared to last year's Black Friday week."
http://n4g.com/news/clickou... When people buy Xbox I'm pretty sure at least half of them buy Live subscribtions.
Btw you flex your fanboyism pretty strong. Everything you post in conjunction with Xbox is always negative. So I tend to completely ignore your comments half the time.
PS3 has around 40million more online gamers than the 360 cause it is free.
Some may argue that MS is raking in the cash but at the same time are restricting the amount of gamers you can verse while also roadblocking others who are interested in buying the system.
Wouldn't it be better for MS to fall in line with the others and benefit the community and developers instead of only themselves?
Both have sold approx 70 million consoles. Approx 20 million PS3 consoles will likely have no internet access whatsoever. (Give or Take)
MS had 10 million Gold members as of last year.
50 million PS3 consoles - 10 million Gold Members = 40 million more PS3 console members.
no
Edit: Nintendo isn't even in the picture
Ask them about security and how there's never any hacked games and lobbies, and how said non-existent games and lobbies have been hypothetically hacked for the last 6 years.
Ask them about Cross game chat which is usually what they'll say is worth all of that money.
Better yet, just let them blow their money on a feature that should be free and enjoy your equivalent experience free and clear as online gaming has always been and how it was meant to be.
Edit: I was online with my Sega Genesis playing Comix Zone like 20 years ago...long before Live or the Dreamcast.
MS doesn't actually run servers more or less, it's purely Peer2Peer. This is why you can still access online features in Perfect Dark Zero or CoD2.
Apparently, sarcasm only works on this site when you type /sarcasm
Will not read or click on the gameshit link.
Yes, xbox live is not the gold standard. Paying to access part of a game you've already paid for is absolutely ridiculous.
Reasons xbox fanboys stick up for it:
1. They've invested so much into it that they just can't make the switch, at least, not until next gen.
2. Denial
Next article please.
I get it, paying for Xbox live is ridiculous. I've been PC gaming online since the mid-ish 90's now for free(sans MMO) and the PS2 offered online for free. But if my parents, sister and friends are all actively using their Xbox more than what`s my alternative?
I'm more of a casual gamer and play mostly single player games so i don't HAVE to have xboxlive but if i do want to play online then i don't mind spending 8 bucks for the month i think i'll be playing a lot... Next gen will undoubtedly offer more for the money... On both sides.
You should read the article a bit more closely as he clearly stated this.
You should pay a small fee for whatever you want and Multiplayer should be FREE! If they would do this then I would move to the next XBOX without a second thought.
I will bet my car that Sony will introduce a similar paid service next gen, they can't afford to keep throwing money at the play station brand.
http://www.gamespot.com/new...
http://www.computerandvideo...
They did also have to borrow money to acquire Gaikai which they are selling bonds now to repay...
http://www.bloomberg.com/ne...
"The sale, the first convertible bond from Sony since 2003, comes after the share price plunged as Sony suffers losses at its main television business. Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai is cutting 10,000 jobs and selling assets as he focuses on mobile devices, games and digital imaging to turn around Sony, whose stock dipped to the lowest since 1980 this month.
Sony, worth more than $120 billion in 2000, is now valued at about $11 billion. Apple Inc. (AAPL) is valued at $511 billion and Samsung Electronics Co. is at $184 billion.
The transaction will be the first convertible sale since 2003, according to Mami Imada, a spokeswoman for Sony.
The maker of PlayStation game consoles will use 60 billion yen of the proceeds to invest in CMOS image sensors, 50 billion yen to repay short-term debts for acquiring shares of Olympus Corp. (7733), 10 billion yen to repay borrowings for acquiring Gaikai Inc. and 30 billion yen to repay bonds maturing next year, according to the statement."