No More On-Time Free Content and Demos for Xbox Live Silver Members

1UP's Patrick Klepek reports - 12/04/2007:

"When people talk about features they'd like to see added to an Xbox Live Gold subscription, dedicated servers, expanded buddy lists or separate bandwidth pipes for popular downloads are first to mind. Instead of adding features to the Gold experience, however, they're 'enhancing' Gold subscriptions by continuing a practice started last summer of stripping Silver members of features and making them Gold-only.

The latest? Playable demos are no longer available right away for Silver members. Instead, they'll have to wait a full week before they're allowed access. Starting with the Fall update, Silver users will start seeing a red circle with a slash through content that's currently inaccessible."

[ash_divine]

I know I shouldn't really care about this, but thats kinda mean. Way to cut your fans wrist for them microsoft.(j/k)

[rofldings]

lol microshaft.

Xbox live is the biggest scam since Nigerians. Seriously Microsoft, you're going to make gold members PAY TO USE THEIR OWN BANDWIDTH? That's not exactly "leaps and bounds" ahead of PSN that has dedicated servers. But it is a great way to make almost 100% profit.

I can live without a few demos and movies, etc - when I can play on 40 player resistance, 32 player warhawk, etc games for FREE with NO LAG and DEDICATED servers.

If I want to play with more people, I'll go on my PC, play some CSS or UT3, kthx.

[sonarus]

WTF msoft. what i liked most about xbox live were the demos. I dnt pay for gold membership but now i gotta wait for a week. A week aint that bad cus dats still getting it before ps3 most times but damn msoft chill with the greed

[SaturnTo]

Way to stick it to your customers who can't afford to keep paying you every year for something they can get for free with your competitor. Real Stupid move, making me wait a week before I can download it! Your just making me think buying my 360 was a bad decision. If it wasn't for Gears of War I wouldn't have, and it sucks I can't play it online because you feel your overflowing pockets just aren't overflowing enough! But this is just down right wrong.

[Jo0j]

There's no need to freak out here. Since launch, this is how it has always been with the Silver/Gold DLC relationship. This is not ''new'' info. Major Nelson is just saying that with the new update there is now a visual representation of this in the marketplace.

[marionz]

sorted! just made a dummy account and cha ching one month free gold, im not lettin MS force me into buying somthing i really dont need ill just keep makeing fake accounts thank you verry much microsoft! greedy b@stards

[ravinash]

M$ are more than happy to take your money in one hand and then cut your nuts off with the other.

[MADGameR]

Way to ruin the love for X Box 360 users Microsoft! That sucks for 360 users but I think some of them don't mind. SONY will keep online free and such. The only thing they will charge PS3 users for is for premium items for Home.

[PS3PCFTW]

LOL!!!

follow me, XBOT LOSERS!!!!!!!!!

[lessthanmarcus]

360? Do people still use that garbage?

[straightpiff420]

Why all the hate towards the 360? I personally am a huge PS3 fan, I don't own a 360 or the original Xbox, I've been sticking with Sony since the PS1 but I don't feel the need to hate on people just because they have a 360. It does suck that MSFT is doing that, like they don't already have enough money...All the 360 and Vista sales and they want to charge people for Live- Completely ridiculous if you ask me. But not surprising at all, it's Microsoft what do you expect. I just hopes PSN stays free.

[whoelse]

If you have an Xbox yu should have a gold membership anyway as theres no other way of playing online which is like the whole point of XBL.

[rareairtone]

Since they sell xboxs cheaper than the manufacturing cost, like ps3 does, and have been doing it since the first when it was going against the ps2, the sells never eclipsed the money lost on selling them cheaper. the 360 is probably almost evening it out since it was the first to launch and continues to be popular, but with the loss of money on every sell, the got to look for profit elsewhere. Yea microsoft has a lot of money from their other divisions but one has to look at this situation from a business point of view, not from a "oh we make enough money elsewhere to lose profit on making this one." microsoft is still trying to create a profit margin, wherever it is now, off of the xbox division, like any businessperson wants. but doing this was gay tho

[Mr_Kuwabara]

Talk about monopoly. They basically just want to push you into getting the gold subscription. Then it didn't really make that much sense to create this silver membership to begin with eh MSFT?

I know that the silver folks should upgrade to gold since it really isn't that much to begin with, but how can this not "annoy" silver members if this wasn't like this since the beginning?

Comeon MSFT be reasonable.

Oh well, why should I bother, my friend is the one that should care since he is the one that has a 360 so I play all his games and even online for free. lol

[Douchebaggery]

Just a way to make goldmembers feel better about getting robbed

[SkolarVisari]

That is pretty lame, I refuse to pay again for Xbox live (I'll let my membership expire when that time comes.) and this just made me want it even less.

[DJ]

But you need to call in before your subscription ends and get customer service to Cancel your account. I know a few people that found out a month or so after that Microsoft was still charging automatically.

[ArmrdChaos]

Funny...Every year I get an email from them 1 MONTH prior to renewal that lets me know when to cancel otherwise they will continue my service uninterrupted. So either your "sources" were ignoring their email or something got lost in translation.

[unlimited]

this is freaken bull crap..i just got a 360..lol...a early gift from my parents..i mind as well sell it now and spend more money on ps3 games..

[toughNAME]

look before you leap unlimited

[Panthers]

You could spend more money on a service that should be free...

[unlimited]

Its still lame...Its just another way for Microsoft to milk money from people who isnt paying for xbox live..

[unlimited]

Why cant they give gold members premium/faster servers to download from?
oh yeah their cheap and only think about making money..lol..

[Mikey_Gee]

Sell you 360 for this reason.

Talk about bite off your nose to spite your face.

[socsca]

Omg you are lying, little troll... If not, you need to get your priorities right cus that would be the dumbest reason evaaar to sell a 360.

Something like buying the ps3 and finding out you need to buy the hdmi-cable "oh my gaaaaad, that's too much!".

[ElementX]

Quit complaining everyone. Just wait a week for the demo. Who uses silver anyway? Not going to renew because of something which doesn't affect you as a subscriber, anyway? Lame.

[hektop]

There is always an alternative company that does it for free and has the best hardware in the market and yes it plays Blu Ray movies

[Snukadaman]

they dont even own 360's...seriously...the most vocal are people who hate microsoft,xbl and the 360.

[jackdoe]

Really don't see how you could possibly defend something like this.

[Marcellus Wallace]

If you MUST play the demos immediately, penny up. Otherwise, be patient and wait. There's no reason to NOT have a Gold membership if you're already connected.

That's my .02...

[dantesparda]

Cuz they aint worth sh!t! You're just being defensive cuz you dont like what people are saying about your beloved Xbox. This news sucks anyway you cut it. And it makes it plainly obvious that MS is using strong tactics to get your money. Not right!

[razer]

It's not like these people are being denied access to this stuff completely.. They just have to wait longer. They don't want to pay so thats the price YOU DO PAY. But these are the same people who have no problem using the servers and bandwidth that Gold subscribers pay for each month.. And are probably the type of person that when you all order a pizza they are the ones that "don't have any cash on them" free-loaders!

It's 4 freakin dollars... Are these people that poor?

[sonarus]

@razer you do realize paying to play online is wrong in the 1st place. Msoft are the only ones that make you pay to play like buying the console wasnt enough now you have to maintain a subscription. Waiting a week isnt that bad but those who don't want to pay to play(freeloaders) are wondering why microsoft is the only company that makes them pay to play online

[boodybandit]

really cost MS some $$$?
If this is true and doesn't turn out to be just another rumor, I think it's a bad move by MS. I really can't see this happening. Can people with silver accounts make purchases like movies and themes?

[Hydrollex]

Sony ? What a generous company ! thanks Sony.

LOL MS even doesnt care about xbox 360 fans

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Your comment made little-to-no sense and you should redact it as soon as possible.

Sony sucking c0ck has nothing to do with him following them.

BTW...Microsoft sucks c0ck!

I sound intelligent!

[ArmrdChaos]

There are NO angels out there when it comes to corporations...only the fanboys try to convince otherwise.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-...

[rofldings]

lol ok, even though Microsoft was fined TWO TIMES by the EU for shady business practices and I IIRC, they lost their case for billions of dollars. I agree no corporation is an angel, but microsoft is just THAT much worse.

"Sony along with all the other record labels have been ripping off the consumer with inflated CD prices for the last 15+ years."

Yeah, and what has Microsoft been doing? I just loving paying hundreds of dollars for something that's full of bugs/security holes when there are better options available such as linux/open office FOR FREE.

[ArmrdChaos]

Like that wasn't a major screw-job either. Sony along with all the other record labels have been ripping off the consumer with inflated CD prices for the last 15+ years. From one point of view...most of the Microsoft related fines in Europe were related to anti-trust judgements. Meaning...that they were punished for adding features to their operating systems/program suites...the other smaller (and equally greedy) companies didn't really like that. My thoughts...every last one of them are greedy SOBs. Only the fanboys will try to argue one worse than the other in order to elevate their corporation of choice. They don't give a damn about you...just your money.

**********

Well I don't see MS forcing you to buy their programs...if there is stuff out there with the same features for free then go for it. In contrast...if I have a favorite artist I have NO choice but pay the label's excessive cost. Unless one was to resort to illegal means, which is how they created their own P2P nightmare due to greed.

[The Snake]

Not cool Microsoft. Not cool. Instead of giving us more perceived value for our money by taking from the non-payers, how about you give us more real value for our money by adding new services for gold members and giving us the things we've been asking for? This is not the right way to increase membership.

[DJ]

I can't believe they're punishing their userbase for not spending more money.

[Hydrollex]

You are a 360 fanboy, You can bash me, I'm a PS3 fanboy but remember Microsoft doesn't give a sh!t to you. We bash 360 and is it worth it ?why ? Because we will get PS Home and it's free + Free online + free downloading + ...

YEA YEA YEA

[snoop_dizzle]

Marcellus Wallace...dude that was uncalled for.

edit: Please people, report his comment as offensive .

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

That was just LOW!

I'm reporting you...which is something I've never EVER had to do before.

[rofldings]

Reported. That was uncalled for.

Make fun of his PS3 all you want, but do not make fun of his skin color.

[C_SoL]

i bet it was something racist..white people and their pathic ways always tryin to bring the underdogs down. we colored people feed off racism & haterade...tell me what he said?

[sfinXters]

@ 11.5
"white people and their pathic ways" - who's being racist now?

"we colored people feed off racism & haterade" - wtf? good for you, then.

[mccomber]

they just remove a reason to stay with Silver... yeah, that sounds like a Microsoft business plan alright. I'm sure it will get people to pony up for a subscription who didn't before, but it still seems pretty underhanded.

[WilliamRLBaker]

why would their need to be incentive to stay with silver? when it doesn't matter if you have silver or not, your paying nothing, and with this your just missing the latest demos by a week, still far sooner then what you get on ps3's free service, incentive is a reason to stay with something your paying for not something for free.

and it saves bandwidth so the gold members can the week before the silver members get the demo get it faster.

[WilliamRLBaker]

DAMN them how dare they want to make money! no other buisness wants to make money! damn microsoft for doing what you do in buisness..and thats make money.

@rolf your ignored so i cant see your text but i reiterate! damn microsoft for wanting to make money! how dare they!

[rofldings]

You support everything they do, don't you?

Microsoft can do no wrong, right?

edit: lol @ ignoring me. Ignoring people is for noobs; srsly, can't deal with a comment? Is the internet too hard for you? :/

[Foliage]

He doesn't want reality to burst his bubble, I bet half the site is ignored.

[Ri0tSquad]

I'm still on silver.

[nextgengamer]

Thats why I'm glad to be a PS3 owner.

[Rice]

Lets see wat i can spend with this extra 50 bucks maybe i shud buy a game or give it to the homeless, or maybe give it to someone who can't afford to get xbox live gold... i think i shud buy a game... lol

[jackdoe]

That sucks and doesn't make much sense. Demos are meant to promote a game and all they are doing is hurting a game's promotion.

-edit- Don't understand how I got a disagree. Must be some fanboy who likes to pay to get demos on time.

[gEnKiE]

LMAO!!!!! Wow, M$ really does suck....

[RoseSapphire]

You should NEVER have to pay for demos. Demos are the only thing short of renting (which usually doesn't lead to a purchase) for a player to test out a game before they buy it.

MIcrosoft is making a huge mistake. I'm glad I own the PS3 as well so that I don't have to put up with this kind of bullshit.

[Marcellus Wallace]

...only waiting. It's NOT that big of a deal gents. Patience is key here.

[MikeGdaGod]

that's some bullsh!t

i just don't understand how you guys continue to support MS and they do nothing but try to find new ways to get your money.

ok so we all know companies are in business to earn money, but MS is charging for every little thing and you guys eat it up.............why???

[scrillakiller]

buck ms xbox.its halfarssed and they suck.thank god i was never stupid enough to buy any of their garbage.thanks sony i love you

do urselves a favor nd buy ps3.xbox is a sinking ship

[Marcellus Wallace]

That is all. LOL.

[Ju]

That ultimately kicks the 360 off my shopping list. I want to own a console, not rent it with a ~$300 down payment...not that I would have to buy Live, but that's just so sh!ty. Lure you into buying with a cheap entry and then charge you every year. No AceCombat and ME for me then. ... not that this wouldn't be expected from a company like M$...

[DJ]

Silver subscribers, and I don't think they're going to take this lightly. Either way, Microsoft is hurting their publishers and sponsors by pulling this crap, as well as themselves

Publishers: "Wait wait wait, so half of your userbase doesn't get to view our content until a week after it's available everywhere else?"

Microsoft: "Yup!!"

Publishers: "Uh, then why should we even bother paying you to post up content in the first place?"

Microsoft: "Because we're Microsoft. You...you need us!"

Publishers: "Hahaha, right."

[joevfx]

score another point for the PS3. im sorry the PSN gives me all the stuff i need for free, and they are still gonna add home for free. im sorry i dont need more and i dont need less, PSN for free all the way.

[chrno6]

As long as the likes of bladestar and powerofgreen continue to support this kinda of tactic or service, MS will continue to exploit them. You know, Sony and Ninendo are not saints and they do sometimes engage in dirty tactics, but the money hungry MS sure takes the crown.

[Solotov]

XBOX LIVE is the AOL of gaming. An overpriced, tightly-controlled service. Can't believe they're doing that to silver members.

[DJ]

+Bubble for the laughs.

[BloodySinner]

"This is not done to annoy our Silver members—limited time exclusive access to content is just one of the many benefits of having a Gold Xbox Live account." - Pretty funny, Major Nelson. NOT!

Wow, Microsoft totally screwed the Silver members. Had this been in place LONG before (during the Xbox 360 launch), it would of been understandable. But now? All of a sudden you want to take this privilege away from Silver members? That's just ridiculous and a cheap move.

[razer]

Speaking of cheap how do you think Gold subscribers feel when they want to download a hot demo like Bioshock when it was first released and it took 24hours because all the free loading silver members were sucking off the teet for free?

It's Gold subs that pay for the servers that host that content you download and the bandwidth you use to download those games..

EDIT: Banning them? How is making them wait a week banning them? I can see if the content was denied all together but it's 1 freakin week! I do believe you are a Gold, I shouldn't of said YOU I was meaning more general.

[BloodySinner]

How foolish. You already think I'm a Silver member... well, you are terribly wrong. Also, if we Gold members are the ones paying, don't you think that money would go to having a dedicated server for us to download from? Instead of just banning Silver members altogether?

EDIT: If you don't believe me, my gamertag is "BloodySinner." - I am a Gold member.

[Douchebaggery]

Doing this now is ridiculous, they're just artificially creating a premium feature.

[andy001]

I reckon it is a move to try and persuade those people who don't bother renewing their Gold membership to renew. With the advent of the PS3 and people who own both consoles it is possible that the rate of renew rates are down and they need a way of persuading people to join, but with a laggy service, trash talking 12 year olds playing mature rated games, and charging for stuff like gamer pics and themes which should be free, it will be very hard for them to persuade me to do so.

This move by Microsoft simply means I will download the demos on PS3 instead. I haven't seen many exclusing game demos released on the Live network before the actual game release anyway, such as GOW, Halo3, Mass Effect, so renting is a better option for xbox owners anyway, that way you don't end up buying overhyped games and being disappointed.

[Jo0j]

read 1.4

[Foliage]

XBL Silver Subscribers Kicked In Nuts Again, This Time MS Means It

You might remember, little over a year ago Microsoft said they'd be trying something new on Xbox Live. Something aimed at enticing bullying those pesky Silver subscribers into upgrading to a paid, Gold account. Thankfully the whole thing seemed to go away, everyone got free stuff at the same time, everyone forgot about it. Til now. Microsoft PR mouthpiece Larry Hryb has sent notice that a new feature's been implemented into the dash that will endlessly remind Silver subscribers that until they want to start paying Microsoft money for the privilege of being marketed to, they'll be locked out of content for a week. Same argument as last time, we know, but implementing it into the dash like that makes us think they really mean it this time.

kotaku: http://kotaku.com/gaming/mi...

[razer]

again a %99 of the commments in this section are from assclowns who don't own a 360 and it doesn't even effect them..

I say IT'S ABOUT TIME!! Gold members pay to maintain the servers and bandwidth of the service they should be compensated as much as possible.. The silver folks get to suck up bandwidth free of charge for things like big demos, etc. I think the community is going to be more than happy about this and have been asking for MS to do this for a long time..

You don't like it?? Take that poor ass and spend $4 a month on Gold or sell it and buy a PS3 and use that crippled ass marketplace. They get 1/3 of the content and have .01 percent of the content online that Xbox Live has. People will go and buy a cheeseburger for that but then complain that hours of gaming a month is a rip-off..

Hell, Ketchup is free at McDonalds why not fill your bag full of that and eat it for lunch.. Nah, you would rather have a Big Mac.. Free doesn't always mean better.

[Ju]

Well, I am one of these "99%", but I am also a potential customer. One the M$ just lost. Maybe not because they charge you, but just because they change their policy to get you best, your cash, whenever they see fit.

And, congratulations, you just insulted 50% of the 360 fanbase (the silver members). Good job!

[razer]

I could care less if you buy it or not.. If $4 a month is too much for you and a deal breaker have fun on your "cheap and affordable" PS3.. lol

If $4 is so bad you must not own or buy many games..

EDIT: You are right we could talk in circles. But just consider that you still get access to this stuff just not on the same day as gold. I would be complaining as well if they outright denied content but it's just a week wait. 15 is a lot so you don't seem too cheap to me.

[Ju]

Well, I don't know. How would you qualify 15 since spring ? Yes, and I am to cheap, sure. Whatever fits your perspective. I think we could discuss this in circles here.

[Snukadaman]

honestly...no one is forcing you too buy gold....you can wait the week too get a demo...hell if your a ps3 owner you will feel right at home....only instead of a week its a month or 2...I gladly renewed my gold subscription today and downloaded culdecept saga and will try it out tonight...do i feel cheated...nope...but do i wish xbox live were fre..hell yea...but its not so i wont biatch and cry and accept it since my relatives and friends are on xbox live and we can play some halo 3.

lol bs police...you better have alot of cells...theres some bullsh!tters on here for reals....

[The BS Police]

Where do you get your numbers? Saying 50% of the Xbox Live community are Gold members is pretty farfetched when you have no numbers to abck up your claims, don't you think?

[367 To Your Ass]

PS3 IS THE BEST.

[razer]

It has been that way for awhile.. But come on this is a perfect point of attack for the fanboys so of course they will make a stink about it.. Just look at all the disagrees you got when everything you said is true. It is worthless/pointless to have a debate or discussion about it on this site..

[cr33ping_death]

damn......thats f@cked up.

[akaFullMetal]

still stinks to take something away that was there before, i know its not gone, but now having to wait a week does suck, you have to admit that

[Korosuke]

I don't have xbox360, so I don't care about this. maybe near future I own.

But I think this treat is reasonable.
If I am a gold member and some popular game's demo like gta is released and server is busy/down with excessive access.
Probably, At first I will think that I'm a gold member, let me DL first, shut up the silver...

[Hydrollex]

I saw some racist stuff about me ! do you think I give a sh!t about my skin color and you ? No Go ahead and send me bunch of racism stuff and youll see I don't give a sh!t. LOL today I'm dealing with sh!t.

[Double-Edged]

does the PS3 have Demos like 360???

Cuz having Gold subscription gives you a high priority in downloading a demo a week early.

and it's always been like that. CrackDown Demo for example.

[367 To Your Ass]

look.

i have a cleaner shot than what this guy have straight from my 360.

you guy are parading about something that was out since 05.

give me the disagrees i don't care 10, 100, 1,000 10,000 it doesn't matter.

the truth is know one really notice this if they have gold IT'S RIGHT THERE AND IT'S NEVER lEFT SINCE 05, if you have silver the door will
smash you in the face and that what it looks like when it hits you.

when you disagree with me i will make you LOOK like an A$$ watch i do some thing you cant undo if want to disagrees go ahead.

if 3 or more disagrees are on this i will put ps3 is the best.

AND YOU CANT UNDO YOUR DISAGREES I WILL BE DOING THIS FROM NOW ON.

I WIN :)

[Genki]

besides that's pretty underhanded. My condolences to new 360 users. I suppose this isn't too bad for those who have had a Silver membership for a while now, but what a crappy little tactic. Seriously, I personally don't think a week is that bad, but then why did MS even bother?

Oh well, good luck gamers, I hope this situation doesn't escalate for you.

[DarkSniper]

This further confirms my theory that Microsoft's sole intention is to bring users in, and once they are lured into their product, those poor customers will be forced into being treated like slaves.

Freedom is something that is preached highly in the homeland of the XBOX 360. America. No longer do gamers have the freedom to give a quick trial run of a highly anticipated XBOX 360 game. This is an injustice to gamers worldwide.

Exclusive to the Sony PLAYSTATION 3© home entertainment console, you're able to download demos upon release. This feature is accessible to all members of the Playstation Network© and it's free of charge.

Actions that Microsoft has taken lately is why I predict that the death of the XBOX 360 will show it's ugly head in Q1 2009.

$niper

[ddcab]

Rally up the troops, this is getting ugly!

[gnothe1]

silver users dont feel bad because on the average you still get the demos faster than they get them on the PSN!! I just love the way these sony boys try an make a big deal out of nothing, if MS wasnt allowing you to access the content at all then I could see a problem but 1 week later come on. when I tried to download the bioshock demo it took forever, with this I wont have that problem anymore. I'm a paying customer an i deserve to be put to the front of the line, you would feel the same way too!!

[NextGEN Gamers]

With each new blog post, Major Nelson's reputation continues along with Xbox's to sink to record lows. As soon as a PS3 becomes affordable for me next year, I will no longer have to pay money each year to game online. And with my annual Gold subscription fee I can, instead, buy another game... on the PS3.

And Xbox Fanboys can bite me in advance!

D

[OatLoops]

How Microsoft of them.

[games4fun]

havent been spoken in a while on this site agree and bubble

[Bladestar]

All this time Sony fanboys kept talking about Xbox live not being free.. and now you complain about this? good! I hated sometimes when I had to download some demo and had to wait for free loaders to suck on my bandwidth! Yeah, that's right you wait... hey at least is not like PSN and the PS3.. where you don't get the demo at all!

As far as Sony fanboys were concern xbox live silver account did not exists, so why all the complain?

Also, even if silver account have to wait 1 week for those who pay for the service could download their content first... they are still getting more than what PSN users are... come on.. they still have more demos, game trailers, etc... So, you have three choices... a) wait 1 week until content is available to silver account. b) pay for gold account. c) get PSN and don't get the demos at all... LOL.

Sony fanboys complaining about xbox live silver account having to wait 1 week for something that they have to wait for.... errrr... ever ... when was the last time you got a demo? When sony released a demo they call it update... firmware update 2.21231231 bugs bunny theme...
firmware update 2.4523451212 Game demo... and you are complaining about silver accounts having to wait 1 week when you have to wait months or not get demos at all? wow... at least have the balls to complain about something that Sony is giving you... you get like 1 demo a month... we get demos everytime a new game comes out... you get a demo when the game is huge... sometimes..

[Douchebaggery]

You don't let your ignorance stop you from posting comments

[367 To Your Ass]

i see for many people this is unacceptable, but there's other things you can do on silver, in fact you can watch whole moves on silver in HD, also download old Xbox games...if people want things on silver that gold members get they will have to wait the maximum of 5 to 6 days.

i'm not trying to be mean hear that not my department, if your just looking for flaws you will find it, i'm not going to say it's perfect.

it's just from day one they wanted gold to be special, however if you have silver you get at least 98 percent of what gold gets you.

[OatLoops]

Oh man, I don't have a Gold account, but I do love the movie download service. I hope they don't pull this crap with new movie releases on the marketplace as well.

[Mikey_Gee]

I think if I pay $50 a month, I SHOULD GET THE PERKS. And for the one that want something for nothing ... well ... limitation and restrictions should be expected.

If you don't want limitation and restrictions .... pay like the rest of the Gold Members.

[OatLoops]

"And for the one that want something for nothing ... well ... limitation and restrictions should be expected. "

Right, and that perk was online gaming. Something for nothing? Last time I checked, we actually bought the console and software that help make the Microsoft Gaming Division the success that it is today. You may not realize it, but this isn't about appeasing you gold members, it's about manipulating the impatient nature of gamers and trying to make them pay for a something they may not even want. In my case, I have Steam, so I'm not paying for something that I'll rarely use.

[Meus Renaissance]

Why not instead give more incentives to get Gold - additional perks other than a minor thing like downloading demos. That should be free. Instead of taking away something from Silver members, to give the illusion that are you giving something extra to Gold members - why not just create something unique for them so they feel that their subscription is worth it? Doesn't Microsoft understand that most people, if they go above their bandwidth, will have to pay extra to their ISP's? So this is meant to do what exactly? Pay up for the ability to download demo's when they come out, and then consequently pay extra for actually downloading them?

They should just spend all this money they get from subscriptions to pay for dedicated servers. Why does a free service like PSN have so much of that, whereas Live - whose been a premium service for several years - is still some what unfamiliar to this aspect of the most important feature of Online gaming; the multiplayer experience?

I think it's ridiculous and a poorly calculated step from Microsoft. And just because it doesn't affect me doesn't mean I can't comment on it.

[The BS Police]

It's really odd thateveryone wants justification in order to having to pay for a Gold account for more than just online gaming.

Well heres one of the reasons.

As always everyone argues over everything so trivial, the fact is this is a common thing for all software services, Quicktime for example is limited in just the free version, same can be said for most anti-virus programs, video coverters, P2P download programs, etc.

[aiphanes]

The PSN service is free and will always be free after what microsoft has pulled today....and the nintendo service is free also...console online services should be free....Also people forget the PSN service has dedicated servers for all its games...there is NO lag...it is awesome....this is not even possible on xbox live...and the PSN service is open allowing user generated content...(UT3, Little big planet, HOME) HOME is going to kick ass now...people will be buying PS3 like no tommorrow in 2008.....Microsoft screwed up.....maybe they can fix it later....if only they had dedicated servers...

[The BS Police]

When Microsoft started the online console revolution 5 years ago to begin with?

[Covenant]

I enjoy my 360, and I enjoy Live...and I don't mind paying for it.

But this is an indefensible move by MS...it's an unnecessary screw-job on Silver members.

[Mikey_Gee]

I could pay $400 (or more) and have games delayed on me on a regular basis.

Oh wait .... I think that already happens to some folks ....

Either wait the week, or look in your couch for the huge amount of $4 a month you need for GOLD. If you are not willing to pay for Gold, then you must be willing to wait.

I can see why some are pissed, but I see it as a "Members Only Club" perk. How does the saying go ... oh yes

"Membership has its benifits"

[kamisama]

Fking BS i really hate you now MS i have gold membership but still my 1 yr is almost over and now i wont be able to play demos when there out MS is all about the money and because of this there going to loose customers total assholes my friends stick with MS if you want but its gonna cost you literally!?

[The BS Police]

Why don't you just extend it for another year? Problem solved.

[Mikey_Gee]

you just have to wait a bit longer (1 week). Not to much to ask. If you want to play ASAP ... then pay for the Gold package. But you will still be able to play demos with silver ... just not day one.

Members should get a better deal. That is why we PAY !!

And yes, the way they it cost dearly ... man, that $50 for 13 months (or that wopper of $4 per month) is killing me.

Get over it ............... !!

BTW, you will need to buy a 360 first. Your post reaks of troll.

[Bathyj]

I'm a Silver member. I was Gold til recently but it expired and I dont care to pay AU$100 (YES One zero zero, the price of a game) to play online with a game I already paid for against bad mannered swearing kids.

This is pretty rude on M$'s behalf. Its not about bandwidth, its not saving anything. Its all about convincing you to upgrade to gold. Giving a feeble reason to make you think you need it if you dont already. Bah, I'll wait the week and continue to buy ALL my multiplatform games on a console with free online.

And dont call me a tight-arse or a freeloader or cheapskate because I spend thousands on this hobby of mine every year. In fact, I love spending my money but I like getting a good deal too.

If you're a Halo freak and dont mind spending the cost of the game every year to play it online then go for it, I have nothing bad to say about you. Me I dont need it and wont get gold again. I think if I go online I'd rather be playing Motorstorm, Warkhawk or Little Big Planet anyway.

The sad thing is, M$ seems to not care when they burn their customers in order to make money from gaming (abandoning XB1, cheap, rushed hardware on 360, now this among other things) yet, they've NEVER made money from gaming so far, so you might argue they're shafting us for nothing.

[jaja1434]

Jambalaya!

[Last_Life]

Give more to gold users, taking aways isn't the solution, idiots.

[OatLoops]

There are no gains here, just losses. I figure when a high profile demo is released, it'll still take gold members a pretty long time to download it since everyone will still be trying to get it.

[DaEnforcer]

Poor xbots, if it continues that way only the dumbest and most fanatic xbots will stay with M$. Billyboy thinks he can do everything with gamers these days, release crap quality console, release a pay only online gaming service, sell the peripherals for ridiculous prices and now this. What has the world come to tztz

[eagle21]

(home) is launching soon and 2008 is PS3 game heaven. I wish I could buy you all one so you can SEE! It is the right choice. Wifi, hdmi 1.3, 7.1 surround sound, Bluetooth, ethernet cable (for non broadbanders), dvd upscaler, no power brick, excellent lag free browser, lag free online gaming, usb cable, (rechargable bluetooth sixaxis) and 1080p full HD Blu-ray player (+5 films)...FREE.Everyday you will discover things you never knew. It sounds too good right, but I think you deserve luxury! THINK.

[jaja1434]

May I make a few points?

First I can count the number of times I have had lag on Live with 1 hand. Ok maybe 1 hand and 1 finger.

The PS3 Power Brick is inside the system, hence why its a larger and a bit heavier. Though I'll admit I rather have it on the box than behind the TV.

The rest of the monjo, Sound Sound, Upscale and all that Jazz is also on the 360.

BUT! The PS3 does indeed have a Blu Ray Player, but sadly it isn't free as you claim. Its the reason the PS3 is more expensive. Without BR it would probably be around the same price as the 360. What your saying is equivalent as saying I bought a car and got 4 free tires. When in reality the tires are counted in the price.

Though everything you said, except the BR is true, so there you go!

Just wanted to point out the 360 has the same, just to even it all out a bit.

err I forgot, you do have free online...I'm jealous. :(

[KidMakeshift]

I bought the 60gb at launch, and even though I regret it a little once Sony announced the clearance price drop, I can't help but feel relieved knowing that my PS3 has all the goods still intact.

Sony has been absolutely stupid with all the model sku's.

They should of only had the 60gb from day one and sticked with it at $400. Within a year they have gone through 4 sku's. What the hell is going on?

[andy001]

The 360 does not have wifi. In the UK we pay $120 for the wifi adapter. Even the Wii has Wifi FFS! I am amazed the MS is still not making any money consistently with the Xbox 360. When you add up what it costs for a complete system, it is far more expensive than the competition, and now they cut services for so called 'freeloaders' LOL.

My 360 system has cost me $600 for the console, $70 for a second controller, $120 for the wifi adapter, $50 to make the two controllers rechargeable, and then another $80 for the ability to play online, coming to a total of $920. That is quite a lot of money to be called a freeloader!

[jaja1434]

Sorry I didn't see that WiFi was mentioned. I know its a bit more of a pain but why didn't you just run a Cat5 cable? Especeally for gaming I would never use WiFi, its just to slow.

I really have no idea what the PS3 comes with in terms of controllers, but I thought it was only 1. Also does it come with its or rechargeable?

And why did you pay 80 for Live? Unless its more expensive over there?

[Ju]

BTW: Resistance 40p or Warhawk 32p (and split screen) absolute lag free over WiFi. What makes you think WiFi is to slow ?

[jaja1434]

In terms of just speed, WiFi is always slower, but I say its slower by general experience. Be that at my jobs WiFi, Home, School, Cafe's. But thats to be expected. A direct wire transfer is always faster than a open signal one.

[Adamalicious]

Bogus. My Gold Account just expired and I'm done with XBL. If I want to play online now I just turn on my PS3. I just can't stand the idea of paying for P2P gaming - I gave it a year, and now I'm done.

[jaja1434]

Out of curiosity, why would something such as this that has no effect on you cause you to cancel your account?

I'm sure its wasn't the 4$ a month, so is it just the principal of the thing? If thats the case then I must say that I really wish I could play for free, its silly to think any kind of service would be free.

Though how Sony is affording to have there for free is beyond me. That has to be a somewhat large money sink for them. *shrug*

[KidMakeshift]

Demo's are to help sell games. These are the things that get people excited about the product, but now Microsoft want's to segregate it's members even further.

What next? Will we have to start paying for demo's? I'm sure it has crossed Microsoft's mind a bazillion times already.

[eagle21]

and reliable. It's unmatched.

[jaja1434]

*sigh* There is just no getting you people to use your heads is there?
Did you pay for the system? Yes? Then it was not free, its really simple.

[The Chief of Mjolnir]

"Just a reminder that if you have a Silver account, you won’t have access to free content on the the Marketplace (like demos) when they are first posted. That content will be available to Gold level exclusively for one week, after which Silver members will have access to the free content."

Ok, that´s not so good, but a week isn´t much. But I would like to see a little more exclusive content for the Gold.

[InMyOpinion]

This is just stupid. Greedy and stupid.

[Gantrfaxx]

This is outrageous. Microshit actually has a problem with silver member, it's not enough that we have to pay for playing online but now silver memmbers have to wait for demos also. What a shame, whats next? Demos that you have to pay for???

[riksweeney]

No more game patches or Xbox 360 updates for Silver members.

[jonnyjd1]

I'm currently Silver not b/c I'm cheap. I just don't play a lot of games online and I'm more of a casual gamer.

Bottom line is that it is only a week and paying members should get perks, but at the same time it does seem like Silver has been pushed out of the way.

It won't ever come to the "no updates for Silver" issue but I can definately see why people are upset.

[Ahhhh]

@C_SoL - you do realize by saying that "white people and their pathic ways always tryin to bring the underdogs down." your also saying something racist? Not all white people are racist their, buddy. And, if you think ALL white people are racist, then your just as blind and immature, cause if that was so then howthefack did slavery get abolished? So don't say "white people and their pathetic ways" cause your making it sound as if ALL white people, as a whole, are racists.

Back on topic.
It isn't right, but it's not the end of the world. I have the gold membership but I only check for new downloads probably every two weeks, so if I did have the silver membership, it wouldn't bother me anyway. MS should start paying more attention to what people wanna see instead of what they think should be put in the updates.

Chyeaaaaaaaaa.=Þ

[Ghoul]

Here we go MS charges you for everything.
Just wait when ms will charge like 5 bucks for those updates.

but thats how ms operates slowly charge you for stuff that was once free.

and right at this moment they try to destroy the pc too live for vista is the biggest scam in pc gaming ever, now i have to pay for mp games.

god i hate that company

[7ero H3LL]

even when with all this 360 bashing i'm just having fun with my 360, with this update divx and downloading Xbox games i'm good to go.

elite360 showed hard evidence and thats what silver gets you, to over come this is to be patient and wait the 5 to 6 days.

[predator]

well i cant see why u complain, if you dont pay you dont pay, people who do play need a reason to, this is just another reason why to pay £30 a year, which you work is not a problem at all.

[power of Green]

Its always been like this with the spotlight content so what if they wan't to enforce it further.

Good God theres alot of Sony trolls in here.

[Noodlecup]

Does it feel good to get dikked in the ass by MS and still praise a company for something which they shouldn't be doing just because you're a fanboy? more power to ya I guess...

[power of Green]

Whatever you say idiot. lol

I'v seen those same messages back in March of 2006 before I was gold this isn't news to me.

I'm gold how am I getting dikked?.

Go play kid Sony loves you.

[power of Green]

Timed exclusive content has always been on XBL if MSFT does this with all content I'm sure it will "suck for them" (silver members)lol.

#69: Wash that mouth out with soap... No milk and cookies for you...
Acting like silver members don't get access to any XBL content and never will get Demo's etc. lol

Silver members still got it better than 90% of the losers in here trash talking.

[Vip3r]

"Silver members still got it better than 90% of the losers in here trash talking."

If you are referring to PS3 owners then how's that? At least we get online play for nothing.

[Noodlecup]

As with most children/fanboys you completely misinterperate what I say. I said the silver members are getting screwed by microsoft. MS is a multi billion dollar company, they shouldn't be treating the consumer like this, instead they should be doing things to make the customer happy.

Look at sony

- Free online service with no lag and dedicated servers, which are paid for by Sony themselves
- Things like changing your gamertag doesnt cost a penny
- Themes/wallpapers etc can be downloaded/made yourself instead of buying them on xbox live
- Huge projects like LittleBigPlanet & Home are being given away for free to the consumer because they want to keep their gamers happy so that they get a better experience than other systems

I find it funny how most xbox 360 fanboys are illiterate/type in capitals or stray from using facts and instead opt for a more insulting approach. It's quite sad really, but it's your money they're taking not mine, online gaming has been free for decades, since when did MS think they were doing a good enough job to charge users for their own bandwidth.

[mighty_douche]

Scabby F*ckers.....

M$ is the Devil, with good Marketting.

[Shadow Flare]

Xbox fans (mostly) are idiots frankly. You defend inferior hardware, you defend it's dvd-drive, you defend paying for online, you defended it (before) for its lack of HDMI, you defend the rrod and Microsoft is loving it cos they get money from your stupid brainwashed heads. At least playstation fans defend good hardware, free online, a variety of games, and a company that knows how to do business in the gaming world, has actually made a profit and has won 2 console wars straight

What i would like to know is, why the hell did microsoft charge for xbox live for the xbox 1? What did you get for your $50? Online play....a buddy list...but wait, ps3 offers so much more, and even more when Home comes out, for free! Microsoft is milking you for everything you're worth and you're accepting it

[JokesOnYou]

I'm a 360 fan but I have to agree that its a bad move by micro, I mean I have no problem paying for Gold membership its worth every penny, but why make silver members wait at all, but I will say that most silver members are silver members 'cause they don't care much at all about online and xbl games, I dont see them buying online content anyway. hell I dont even know any silver members, so maybe I'm wrong, still from a PR standpoint I think it was a bad call on micro's part, but really its not a big deal and of course sonykids are the ones concerned the most about it, go figure???

JOY

[Shadow Flare]

I can see what's going on now. Its all so clear. Remember when Microsoft jacked up the price of the xbox 1 before it floundered, just to grab more cash before it graved it.....i can see microsoft making silver members pay a way of saying, we've shot all our ammo, damn....we have nothing for 2008 and sony has, everything coming out in 2008...we're dead. So jack up the price before you die, the microsoft way of milking their customers to the extreme

[DaddyDC650]

but MS shouldn't even be charging ANYONE in the first place. I'm a gold member who owns both a 360 (obviously) and a PS3. For all of you 360 fanboys, PSN is 100 percent free, has dedicated servers and new demo's come out usually around the same time as Xbox Live now. Sometimes even BEFORE (Timeshift is the latest example since it came out a few weeks before it appeared on Live). The reason as to why I payed for Xbox Live is because I have friends who don't own a PS3. The only thing Xbox Live has over PSN is in-game chat and the party system. Is that really worth 50 bucks a year???

[hardcorehippiez]

while i think you shouldnt have to pay in the first place those that do should get preference of download so props to micro gold membership's the way to go whether you want to or not.

[ultraviolentz]

LOL! Micro-whipped

[socsca]

Guess it sucks, but... haven't it always been like this? I mean, except for the red thingy?

[Mercutio]

Me,I already knew this was gonna happen one day, what are the poor guys, who like playing online, but cant do it every time supposed to do?

Milco$soft, is sad....

[The Chief of Mjolnir]

OK, did anyone of you jackasses actually read the damn article? If you had, you would´ve seen that they are just giving the demos and stuff a few days later to the Silver accounts.

Do yourself and everyone here a favor and read the f*cking article next time, and don´t go on with the title.

[Mercutio]

I did read the article, all i said was microsoft is sad, and I dont understand why you would defend microsoft, do you have a share in microsoft?

I doubt it....

[andron]

LOL

How much has xbox live gold cost you if you subscribed since the beginning?

Or better not think about that;)

[Miller]

Isn't this just business? There are so many examples of premium/normal business models in the world, that's just how things work.

I pay £25/$51 a month for my mobile phone contract, if I have any problems I get priority customer support over Pay-As-You-Go customers. I'm in a written contract to pay money with my provider for a service, so why shouldn't I receive priority support over someone who might pay £10/$20 every three months? It doesn't mean the PAYG customer has to be ignored, far from it, it just means that if you're putting your money where your mouth is every month you're entitled to being dealt with quicker.

I pay a yearly support fee for a software licence for my website, I don't have to but I do - why? So I get priority customer support and assistance if any problems arise...

So - why shouldn't Gold subscribers get content a couple of days before Silver? It's not like MS are saying "Oh by the way, if you're a Silver member you're no longer entitled to demos. Oh or videos. Oh or anything, actually" - they're just saying "Okay if you're a paid subscriber to the service you're entitled to get new demos a few days early".

Both sets of members are still getting the same content, so looking past any fanboy tendencies you might have what is the problem? Isn't it just the same as the way half the world works?

[The Wood]

what you just said triple edge was so out of touch with everyday joe with bills coming out of their ears, families and living in a world where the cost of living is increasing faster than the increase of wages. Lets say its only x amount a year, yeah i know, a pittance you keep adding that to all the over pittances and it could become annoying. Pay for something that you like fair enough but paying to play using your own bandwidth, which you probably pay for seems wrong to me. I have friends who pay and feel that the gap between the gold and silver should be greater and rightly so but im sure they were thinking more of an upgrade for them not a downgrade for the silver members. Microsoft like all companies are their to make money but there are different models that could be used in terms of xbl. MS are using the MS way which is starting to become more apparent to people especially at expensive times of the year AND when their direct competitors service which isn't perfect but far from 'broken' is totally free with no adds.

PC users seem to have voted with their wallets by giving games for windows a big two finger salute and im one of them. I will never pay to play online and no cross game chat, in game messaging or demo's a fraction earlier is going to change my mind for now.

The only thing i say to people who feel paying for online gaming is kool is that the gap between xbl and psn is decreasing. psn has some better features but xbl is stronger all round at the moment. MS, to keep its customers happy, will have to either better its service or lower the price just to quell the perception that free is better or achievable (both good for 360 owners).

All companies are cunning its just some are more cunning than others. If collectively you all voted with your wallets MS would have to eventually listen just like they did with the whole rrod debacle. Dont let them off the hook with that 'we dont mind paying' nonsense.

[The Wood]

what was i thinking

[Laxe]

I think the main reason why many aren't exactly 'peachy' about all this is because Microsoft is taking something away from around half it's user base - that being timed exclusivity for downloads.

Yes it sucks and I personally don't agree with it either BUT I do think that if Microsoft had done this since the 360's launch, then nobody would have battered an eyelid about it.

I don't believe you can take away a service that used to be free and then charge for it after a long time of giving said service away for free anyway. It just creates a bad rep and negative feedback. I'm actually surprised this has happened tbh. I would've thought they would give MORE features to the gold-subscribers...but I guess that's not Microsoft's way.

[MaximusPrime_]

*coughs* *coughs*

[moolox]

Might get the department of fair trading rumbling again. There was a rumour as it is not clear when you buy the console you have to pay £40.

The give you a month free, to get you hooked.

[Amsterdaam]

They aren't saying that the silver members cannot EVER download the crap, they are saying that they have to wait ONE WEEK. If that is such a big deal to you all, then maybe you should, I don't know, go outside. Maybe hang with your family, talk to your friends. Non-Gamers reading this comment section would give you all atomic wedgies and tell you to grow up.

Microsoft is a company, and as such, is capitalistic. Just like every other company out there, they are not looking to make you happy campers, they are looking to MAKE MONEY. Just like Nintendo, just like SONY, just like Proctor and Gamble. Do you think they care about your hemorrhoid-ridden ass? NO. They want your cash, brah. So all you bleeding souls with your "how could a huge and faceless corporation make me wait a WHOLE WEEK to download when I don't even PAY FOR THEIR SERVICE" need to shut it. Of course they want you to pay for their service imbeciles! That's how they make money, which is the sole purpose of a CORPORATION! If you want hand-outs, go to the salvation army. I've never seen people that will gladly pay 399 dollars for a console complain about 4 bucks a month for a highly-developed online service.

Consider your feathers ruffled.

[Vip3r]

What are the changes Microsoft started listening to "We're in the money" after thinking up that idea.

LOL

Looks like it isn't just the PS3 that has delayed content now.

[Jo0j]

In case you missed it...
This is not ''new'' info. There's no need to freak out here. Since launch, this is how it has always been with the Silver/Gold DLC relationship. Major Nelson is just saying that with the new update there is now a visual representation of this in the marketplace.

[TheMART]

I can say only one thing:

At least XBOX 360 users GET downloads. Even if Silver accounts get it one week later then Gold members, it's still months before demo's and content will appear on the 'so great' PSN

[Noodlecup]

You're incorrect, PS3 users get demos too and sometimes before the 360 users. Do your homework and stop being such a blind idiotic fanboy, try and bring us some facts next time because you're getting rather boring.

[arcadegoal]

Give your money to microsoft why dont you,i myself did have a gold acount this past summer it is a good service with plenty of demos no doubt but the red rings of death 3 times finally swade me to buy a ps3 and with free dedicated servers free demos (not many though)its all money in my pocket,evan the will has a new channle soon with free will demos and no online fees.360 dousent have a web brouser and i think for the money you pay it should but the reasion 360 has so many demos over the ps3 to download is simple PS3 has just been born it was the same when 360 had only been out a year but the ps3 always gets slaged of and it makes me laugh. free online gamming is the way to go microsoft....so stop milking your loyal fans...not one of them...

[ThaGeNeCySt]

This doesn't bother me being a gold member but it does suck for silver members

[unlimited]

It will bother you when your gold membership expired and have to pay 50 dollars again. lol.unless you want to wait one whole week or more for free demos and contents. How would people feel when they get a 360 and open it up and realize you cant download anything until a week later..lol..Its going to irritated a lot of users.

[ThaGeNeCySt]

I've been on xbox live since 2004.. I don't have a problem shelling out 50 a year

[Meus Renaissance]

When HOME is released and if it fulfils in providing a community service, we'll then hear about the attempts of justification of Live being a subscription, against a service that seemingly does the same thing and more, that is free.

Because this is why most of you pay for Live right? Because it's worth it. And right now, there is no disputing the fact that it probably is because of its unified community features, something the PSN lacks. But when that issue is resolved, Microsoft should prepare additional improvements to Live that make the price worth it otherwise we'll see less and less people here defending the price issue.

[DFresh]

suckers
should of stuck with the PS3 in da beginning
they would of never made you pay for all this extra crap
MS with there nickel and dime scamming is making you pay more money
and
you get nothing back in return
just another reason why you should of got a PS3

[Amsterdaam]

Don't worry, Sony will do the same soon, they are all out to make money.

[zonetrooper5]

Wow you guys are making a mountain out of a mole hill. ONE WEEK, that is really not that long to wait tbh and if the person is on a sliver account then I suspect they do not care much for online play anyway. Also Sliver memebers of XBL can play Halo 3 online for free but they can not play in ranked matches.

[Silver Bull3t]

"Sliver memebers of XBL can play Halo 3 online for free but they can not play in ranked matches."

That's cool. I didn't know that was the case. Wonder how long they'll be doing that for?...

Know of any other games they do that with? :)

[Silver Bull3t]

I'm still dumping my gold account. I 99% of the time play single-player campaigns anyway... (when I get a chance to play).

I can also wait 1 week for demos.

I do think it's a crap move to their install base though. Try ADDING features to gold members instead of strong-arming silver acct. holders to upgrade little by little.

Won't be surprised if they eventually make chat and texting a gold-only service.

[pwnsause]

wow, not to be a troll or anything, but its kind of funny and I cant believe Xbox 360 owners let microsoft get away with that, this is a way to scam people to get XBL gold. thats very bad microsoft.

[Boink]

I pay for live anyway, and now I get acces to stuff first.

I hope this is just a first step in doing extra for paying subscribers. I would love to see discount on content, marketplace show etc. for gold subscribers as well.

silver members who are whining can get your poor ass a subscription (the WHOLE 4$ a month) or wait a freaking week. stop whining, you pay less, therefore you get less. same goes for PSN. and those who are saying psn is just as good, it aint. XBL has set the bar as to what an online service should be. when you at least get voice chat in EVERY and cross game voice communication, then maybe you can talk.

[TheExecutive]

MS never ceases to amaze me. They would charge you for breathing if they could.

[Noodlecup]

Steam/Xfire on PC makes xbox live look like a joke, considering your dumb Halo avatar you probably haven't played on both networks so your opinion is void.

[DarkSniper]

All XBox gamers now have "the choice" to download their demos exclusively for a week or actually WAIT B3YOND a week to play said demo.

After all, that's what you Xbots do brag about correct? Having "the choice" to play how you want.

$niper

[Funky Town_TX]

I have been gold since 03 so IDC. Now for the none paying people this is not good. M$ should sit back and think about this sh8t. It's not like they need the money. Increase the server cap with all that darn money I pay you.

[Horny]

I think Online Gaming should be free. The silver Live acount should let u play online and thats it. Gold should be the downloadable content and everything else.
I personally dont care about all the extras besides playing online with friends. Id be pissed if Sony would charge for that. I dont feel like having to resort to a Wii for my online gaming.

Either way this doesnt affect most users since most people have gold. I got a question though, if Microsoft kept taking more and more from u guys and started charging more money for equal service would u still follow their lead or actually do something about it.

[power091999]

I don't really agree with this idea.

I can say though that XBox Live equals out to about 5 bucks a month. I don't think that's asking a lot.

[BenderDGreat82]

...while my PS3 is being used almost everyday. I think it's idiocy that we are being forced to pay $50 for using our own connection. It's funny because MS keeps bragging about how amazing their system is and how much cheaper it is compared to the PS3, but they're putting their own foot in their mouths with all these wonderful charges. Let's look in retrospect to see which system you'd rather have

PS3
-Next Gen HD player (included)
-Free Online play
-Wired/Wireless internet connectivity (wirelss included)
-Hard Drive included (choice of 20, 40, 60 or 80gb...included)

360
-No Next Gen HD Player ($170 extra)
-No Free Online ($50 Membership per year)
-Wired internet connection only (wireless optional at $100)
-Hard drive not included (20gb hard drive starting at $100)

So basically, if I want all the "next gen" features the 360 can offer me, I'd have to spend $420 extra (plus $50 every year for my Xbox Live subscription) to get all the features that the PS3 already offers me. Jesus Hopping Crist, Microsoft, how stupid do you think we are?

[DiGiTaL Ki11eR]

its always been like this. demos and other free content ALWAYS CAME LATER to silver members, now with the new update, there is a visual cue that tells you (if you're silver member)

[zonetrooper5]

Depends on the sort of 360 you buy, Elite, Pro or Arcade. I think most of the 360's have got HDMI in them now, the Elite has a 120GB hard drive and the Pro has a 20GB hard drive, if you buy an Arcade pack then sorry but your either a casual gamer or just stupid. I do agree with the Wi-Fi, I've got it included in my PS3 but I had to buy it for my 360 which was a bit annoying.

Sliver is a free and you can play in co-op, forge, custom games and non ranked games in Halo 3 online. You don't have to buy a HD-DVD as I don't want one and I really don't care about it. I also really want to know why people always add in the HD-DVD add on, onto the 360 in price when comparing it to the PS3 in price. One is included and one is not.

As for Sliver memebers being able to play online in other games then I don't know tbh.

[tethered]

I refuse to pay to play online so I will be waiting the full week. No big deal I guess.

Right now I have a free 30 day trial on live but I will not be buying a membership when it should be free.

What is bad for Microsoft is that because I can't play online for free on my 360, guess what company gets my money when there is an online mode........ thats right, Sony.
Meaning I will be getting:
GTA4
COD5
all third party sports games
Etc.
All for PS3

I now have the choice and with free online on one, the choice is easy.

[GameHero]

will that RED CIRCLE BE FLASHING....RROD?

[Rhezin]

good, pay your sh!t like the rest of us.

[Relientk77]

Microsoft is evil... seriously STOP BEING GREEDY WITH MONEY

[Nevers]

I salute you :D

...but...

$50 per year is hardly going to make or break someone who is paying $30-$70 for each videogame they purchase and if it does... see ya ... we in GrownUp-Land call that natural selection.

...and saying Sony's answer to XBLA at this point is the best, is just making those who do so seem naive or ignorant. Maybe someday Sony's PS3 will gain an advantage, but I see none yet. So sorry... but free is not always better *flip/sarcastic examples not included.

[i Shank u]

MS is sucking. heres to hoping PSN improves and drives them out in a few years

[Adamalicious]

Microsoft is really going out of their way to make sure I buy all my muli-platform games on the PS3 instead of the 360.

[ROCCOZILLA]

your getting sleepy,very sleeeepyyyy.are you kiddin me!m$ sure knows how to brainwash people into buy more crap.60,40,20 dollars a year membership,live is not worth a dime and if achevments are worth it your an ass.i play for free on ps3 and its great free demos free games.ITS FREE GOT IT!PLAY B3YOND

[Ri0tSquad]

I'm just happy I'll get demos earlier on the ps3 for free since I'm still on silver with 360. Maybe when gears of war 2 comes out I'll buy a 3 month card but until then silver is here to stay.

[LiquifiedArt]

Mainly because, your the IDIOTS who support this kind of organization. doing so in teh gaming industry is retarted.

AND YOU A$$holes are the F'Tards, who will conitually cause the industry to enter into a bullshit state. Which it where inevitably go. Complete monkey's I STAND by SONY. Keep Dancing with the Devil(M$)idiots.

[mintaro]

sure its kinda lame that MS is doin this, but after all it is only a week, and really are demos really worth payin 50 dollars a month?

[Rice]

True say..... But by paying 50 bucks you can brang to your friends who dont have xbox live gold, about the demo's and you also get to play with your buddies online.

[Grown Folks Talk]

to b & moan about. This is how it's been since day 1. It just visualizes it for them instead of them finding out that can't get it after they've already tried to access it. To those of you who have never & have no intention of doing so, touched a 360, please continue to act like you know more about it than everyone else. Both sides of the fence, people can't stand the product, but claim to know everything about it. This is nothing new. The best part is people who've had to wait for everything are complaining on behalf of people who have to wait for something they don't even care about.

[Pika-pie]

MS have gone to far with this. Dont they make enough money, No they have to squeeze a bit more out of its fanbase.

Paying for demos defeats the object of a demo.

[JIN KAZAMA]

MS screws its customers, and people like BladeStar and Power Of Green and all the other zombies willingly bend over. AHAHAHAA

This is just too dan funny, seeing how MS just totally takes advantage of their user base because they know that they are brainwashed. AAHHAHAHA

PLAY B3YOND

[sabbath420]

Why do waitstation fans even care? Seems there are an awful lot of you just waiting for a scrap. You all should spend more of your time complaining to sony for the crap they pull on you and let us xbox owners worry about what we pay for.

[KarateExplosion]

I own a ps3 and uhhhh I can see I made the right choice. I think sony does a good job giving us content. I dont dislike xboxers because I am a Fan of gaming in general. It just seems like microsoft has a priority and it is not the consumer. Instead of finding things to add. They were lazy and did nothing but piss off silver subscribers. Why do you guys take this? I know the lot of you arent on your first 360 either due to the 30-33% failure rate (as reported by best buy) so why do you guys keep coming back honestly?

[Keyser]

abusing the customers you have is no way to get ahead. I think that they argue that people who don't pay shouldn't hold up people who do from downloading and extending queues but if you feel that way then it should have been that way from the start. You can't pull it now. That's a real slap in the face.

I don't agree with this move at all.

[moses]

One little bad thing happens on xbox live, something extremely minimal and petty, and everyone pounces on it like a hungry lion.

[JIN KAZAMA]

rrrrRRRRAAAWWWWRRR rrrrrr rraaaaWWWRRRRRR RRRAARWRWRWWRAAAARWRWWW!!!!!!! !

[moses]

Exactly :3

[darthv72]

it has always been the practice that gold members got stuff first. Just cause you are silver doesnt mean you dont get the content AT ALL!! you just wait an extra few days unless you opt to join the full ranks of live. This is not a new as there are lots of sites who offer similar restrictions to dl content. Either you are a member of the site and can get access to the faster dl servers and even que up dl's together or you go with the free access and have to wait in line on metered servers.

Why is this a big deal again???

[Winter47th]

Nice of them stripping instead of adding, so awesome.

[sabbath420]

You are just jealous because you have a broken service with sony's online network. You can't even compare that with live service. What do you care anyway? What about all the blows sony has dealt there fans? (You) Lies and false promices. Where is your 4D world you should be playing in? PLAY B3YOND should be PLAY B3HIND.

[zonetrooper5]

Well I am paying for Sliver memebers to use the same servers as me so I think they should wait a few days and its not going to kill them to wait.

Although I can download stuff very fast already, I think that Gold memebers should had seperate servers for downloading content and MS should add deadicated servers to first party games at least.

[tordavis]

The demos are still free, just a week later for Silver members. You know why I don't have a problem with this?

1. More bandwidth on day 1 of new demos
2. I pay for Gold.

Read again, SILVER MEMBERS STILL GET THE FREE DEMOS! JUST A WEEK LATER. They aren't hurting silver members, they are giving gold members something more for their money.

[Myth]

Games Windows Live!! Can you believe Microsoft is charging PC gamers for playing games that are listed as games for Windows!!!! A WHOLE 6 GAMES FOR THE SAME PRICE OF XBOX LIVE!! Wow MS just sucks, I want to play Gears online but it's hard for me to justify paying for that crap for just 6 games. At least 360 has a lot of games they can play online. But MS shouldn't be charging crap to play online at all!

[TheExecutive]

one more reason why MS and the Xbox will NEVER be #1, they are too greedy to really break into any established market.

[Jo0j]

In case you missed it...
Again, this is not ''new'' info. There's no need to freak out here. Since launch, this is how it has always been with the Silver/Gold DLC relationship. Major Nelson is just saying that with the new update there is now a visual representation of this in the marketplace.

[crimsonfox]

hhahaha