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