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724 Comments
- Carsonauto, on 06/18/2008, -74/+462Q) Why Xbox Live Isnt Free
A) Because it's good - LetsGoHokies, on 06/18/2008, -14/+389I actually wish it cost more. Maybe that would keep 10 year-olds from screaming curse words and racist remarks the WHOLE time I am online.
But probably not, mommy would pay 10 times that for little Timmy to be happy. - dudefather, on 06/18/2008, -23/+280in before people start using dollar signs in the word 'Microsoft'
edit: looks like I was 2 minutes late - Epyn, on 06/18/2008, -15/+247As much as I detest the average live user, what with the chuck norris jokes, singing into microphones, and streaming profanity and racism, I hate to imagine how much worse it would be if it was a free service you could re-sign up for every time you get banned for breaking ToS.
Free multiplayer services often don't have the amount of control over their players a pay service does. Knowing you may lose your $50 because you cheated/glitched has an impact. - xpose, on 06/18/2008, -94/+326I don't think anyone minds paying for it. It completely revolutionized online gaming. Surely that is worth something?
- inactive, on 06/18/2008, -28/+236I wish it was free, that 7 dollars a month really breaks me.
- relaxeder, on 04/17/2009, -14/+184I just want to know why there are paid advertisements plastered all over the Dashboard when I pay for a monthly subscription.
Microsoft should offer another service tier that lets players use the full set of online functions for free in exchange for having to view ads in between games or something. I hate seeing ***** for Gamestop and Nissan or whatever all over the screen when I'm using marketplace. - greaseddeafguy, on 06/18/2008, -36/+171but the quality of service isn't similar. Online for CoD4360 >>>>>> CoD4PS3 so the article really doesn't have a leg to stand on.
- Drekken79, on 06/18/2008, -10/+121It did. But when the free service it competes with catches up with a new FW, what exactly is it worth?
- SpectralSounds, on 06/18/2008, -10/+117"Live’s best asset is that it allows even small developers to support online play - the value of which can’t possibly be denied. Without it, we’d never see online play in small-budget XBLA titles or even marginalised full-price games. The question to ask is whether or not that’s worth the precious money from your pocket, on rotation, every 12 months."
Umm, yes. It is worth it. $50 a year isn't *****. It costs more to fill up a tank of gas and that lasts less than a week. - Harabeck, on 06/18/2008, -10/+110It revolutionized online CONSOLE gaming. but Xfire has been doing what Xbox live does for free for a long time on the PC.
- teamparadox, on 06/18/2008, -8/+93I see what he is saying but i dont really agree.
With live it always works. In 5 years there has been 2 weeks of downtime and it wasnt constant and it wasnt down for everyone. Every game has the same feature set which is great. I just set myself up to play MGS4 online and it was a NIGHTMARE. The thought of doing that on a developers whim does not bring a smile to my face.
PSN does and will have alot of lives features but the ones we have now took forever to get and they dont work as good...not even close. I wont even comment on the Wii because its almost pointless as we know how thats going.
You also have to consider the future of live. That $50 a year is going towards building out the network and its helping pay for dashboard updates. So far every feature Microsoft has added works, unlike the PS3 where Sony will add a feature and then 2 months later another update will fix it. We also have no idea what is in the pipeline for the future. Live as we know it today has been around for quite sometime and everyone else is playing catchup. What happens when MS releases the next version? Then everyone will again have to play catchup which could take a couple years.
In regards to PSN being free, yes thats 100% true. What about Home? Aside from the fact that im not really interested we dont know what aspects will cost money. Sony has said the basics like matchmaking and a basic house will be free. What about any extra things in there? Yea we can walk around at no cost but thats about it. Aside from that its taking Sony forever to even get a public beta out...it just keeps getting delayed.
I've been paying for XBL since day 1. I was a beta tester on the original Xbox. Im also a pc gamer so I know what free is and how well it works in the pc space. However comparing my experience on consoles from Saturn all the way to PS3 its pretty clear that xbox live is far superior to all the free services. Its easier to get going, less problems and bugs, less lag, more secure and its unified. 1 interface, 1 username for every single game you play. Microsoft sets the rules and developers follow suit. On PSN developers set the rules and so far more often then not its a jumble of different styles and interfaces that causes more problems then it solves.
If Sony could promise an increase in quality on PSN, and promote a single interface I would glady pay a fee just like on XBL. Free doesnt mean better even if on paper the feature set is pretty close to the same. Now im goin to play some MGS4 online if i can remember which of the 2 usernames i had to create on the Konami website i need to use and which password I used for which name...i need a beer. - f4nt0m4s, on 06/18/2008, -21/+102I don't know if Xbox Live really revolutionized anything. When I think of online gaming revolutions I think of the original Doom and Quake, and their extensive mod community. I think of Starsiege Tribes and Tribes 2 with their expansive mutliplayer image. I think of STEAM and it's simple unification of online gaming - and all above things didn't cost a dime.
Xbox Live was marketed well, and because online gaming was not seen in the console world people paid for it. Paying for Xbox Live is like paying for AOL Broadband. You still need to pay for an internet connection to use AOL Broadband, they just offer you "exclusive high quality content." You can get the stuff for free. Xbox Live will go the way of AOL Broadband, people will realize that paying for it is ironic and without a point. - relaxeder, on 04/17/2009, -6/+86Steam too.
- Aleman360, on 06/18/2008, -10/+90I have both a PS3 and 360 and I would gladly pay $50/year for PSN if it made it as easy to play and communicate with my friends as Xbox Live does.
- RetepNamenots, on 06/18/2008, -2/+72What's Xbox Live got to do with open source?
- Seafea, on 06/18/2008, -9/+77oh ho ho. I see you've replaced the S with a dollar sign! I get it! It is because they like making money. Good show!
- LaSepultura, on 06/18/2008, -23/+88It put the $50 a year or whatever it is on my credit card and don't even think twice about it. I can't believe there are people out there who complain about it not being free.
- Chirp08, on 06/18/2008, -3/+67It's tough choosing between one cup of starbucks coffee a month and endless hours of online play. Some months, I make the wrong choice.
- frasermoo, on 06/18/2008, -24/+85I think the real answer is 'They need the money to cover the warranty units'.
(on my fourth 360) - Tebixan, on 06/18/2008, -6/+65Hmm, I missed the part where Sony & Nintendo started giving away their products for free, since only MS is interested in profit. The Wii's "free" web service is worse than the free Silver edition of x-box live, and maybe the lack of a fee is why PS3 games get a fraction of the downloadable content that 360 owners get.
And what's with the America bashing? I understand that it's the cool thing to do right now, but at least focus on our foreign policy, or something specific to America. Every nation is ruled by the dollar, or the euro, or the yen, or.... - hbusa2003, on 06/18/2008, -3/+61I would pay extra for an option to not play with people under 21 in an open party.
- inactive, on 06/18/2008, -4/+57SpectralSounds: "It costs more to fill up a tank of gas and that lasts less than a week."
Oh crap, he's right. Guess $50 just ain't what it used to be. - inactive, on 06/18/2008, -4/+56$ee comment #1.
- cthellis, on 06/18/2008, -17/+65Then why is Steam better, free, doesn't serve you ads, has more features, etc., etc., etc.?
- zingyGecko, on 06/18/2008, -2/+50$hut the ***** up
- Carsonauto, on 06/18/2008, -6/+53Steam is on a computer. If steam doesnt do it, 10,000 other programs do. Console online is proprietary. Also, on computer, PEOPLE pay for servers. Dedicated servers, with ventrilo. It's all paid for by the players (or clans).
If nobody is paying for console online, then whats the quality going to be like? - CollapseControl, on 06/18/2008, -10/+55Considering how I purchased a $50 year subscription in late 2004 just to get online with my friends to only play one game (Halo 2) with them, I'd say the service is well worth it now.
What the 360 does now is leaps and bounds ahead of what the original did. So if I payed $50 to play JUST ONE GAME in 2004, why would I stop paying a small fee with the hundreds of other things to do with the service? Microsoft literally built the 360 to be LIVE and that is one of the great things about it.
But you wouldn't know how great it is if you:
1) Have hatred for the company. [only support Sony's PS3 or Nintendo's Wii]
2) Only play PC games. [My gaming friends and I never go into gaming on a PC, consoles ftw]
3) Have no friends that enjoy gaming on a console. [I never play online games without my friends] - reaper527, on 06/18/2008, -1/+46i know that was a sarcastic comment, but thats actually almost double the price. its much closer to $4 a month, and if you go online, you can get 12 month subscription cards for $30-35, bringing the price even lower.
- shondell, on 06/18/2008, -21/+65A) Because it's Microsoft.*
- VacantThoughts, on 06/18/2008, -2/+39Beating your kids is the way to go, as soon as they act up you have to give them a few good smacks with a belt to show them they are no better then the family dog.
- richiewrt, on 06/18/2008, -1/+34Hell no, I wouldn't beat my dog. Kids get the belt though
- briansearles, on 06/18/2008, -16/+49Was worth something. Past tense.
- raublekick, on 06/18/2008, -5/+37I hate Microsoft as much as any Linux using, Nintendo loving guy. But, despite that on the surface, a Live Gold account doesn't offer much more than competitors, it offers a lot more underneath. Everything is pretty cohesive, unified, and consistent. That's something that neither the PSN, Wii, nor PCs (as a whole) have. In my experience, the Playstation store isn't that great, and the Wii doesn't have the storage to support all the games I want to download.
- shondell, on 06/18/2008, -1/+33I was about to say, the little ***** brat would scream and bitch until his whore of a mother buys the ***** for him instead of beating his ass.
- dblespresso, on 06/18/2008, -6/+37No no no ... Digg users don't believe in this myth called capitalism
- greenlight2001, on 06/18/2008, -1/+32at the strip club?
- inajeep, on 06/18/2008, -0/+30Does not make a difference.
- kgibby, on 06/18/2008, -7/+37Live has halo 3, and a stable cod4 and Rainbow Six V2.
Im willing to pay $4 a month for an infinite amount of great online gaming. - CollapseControl, on 06/18/2008, -1/+301 - Click on your Gamercard.
2 - Click Edit Profile.
3 - Click Privacy Settings
4 - Click Voice And Text
5 - Click Friends Only
There you go, now you will not hear any annoying kids. It is that simple. Of course I suggest you do what i've been doing for 4 years now, ONLY PLAY WITH FRIENDS. - logicalnoise, on 06/18/2008, -0/+29you can turn ads off. It's in your gamertag options. thing is then you just get big empty spaces and I tend to asthetically perfer at least something there rather than nothing.
- inactive, on 06/18/2008, -4/+32im so misunderstood.
- inactive, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2650 bucks a year.
- bobalien, on 06/18/2008, -10/+36Isn't this a bit of over-analyzing something that costs $50 a year?
- finn, on 06/18/2008, -0/+25its not $50/month, its $50/year
there's no way in hell i'ld be on Gold if it was $50/month - namelessXsilent, on 06/18/2008, -3/+2710 a month? you pay $120 for live?? i dont
- HolyChimp, on 06/18/2008, -0/+24You mean $team? Ho Ho!
- psylemon, on 06/18/2008, -8/+31way to have people miss your sarc..
- maxsunset, on 06/18/2008, -0/+22You sir, deserve a beer.
- cthellis, on 06/18/2008, -0/+21See, now THAT is a worthwhile premium service! ;-)
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