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[Xbox-Scene]

An Inconvenient Truth: Xbox Live Gold is Overpriced Posted by XanTium | April 20 14:52 EST | News Category: Xbox360

From teamxbox.com: Back in the Xbox days, online multiplayer on a console could be considered a value-added proposition--but in this generation, it is just a commodity. The PlayStation Network is vivid proof of that. It is also worth highlighting that, with this new incarnation of the service, Microsoft is getting lot of money from Xbox Live, thanks to its Marketplace. The success of TV shows, films and other downloads have exceeded Microsoft's expectations, so it's not like Uncle Bill is losing money this time around. But it is easy to criticize without proposing solutions and alternate options. To prove I'm not the typical make-it-free whiner who is demanding Microsoft to make Xbox Live completely gratis, I'm instead proposing that the two-level memberships should exist as it does now, but with online multiplayer gameplay (as we know it) being free for everyone, while a paid membership incorporates new features. What features, you ask? * Server-Based Online Multiplayer * Clan and Party System * Dedicated Download Servers * Microsoft Points Program * No Ads Full Story: teamxbox.com

[bucko]

He also forgets that M$ makes a loss on each 360 sold, and that gold members will soon get access to PC cross platform services free as an extra with this service. Remember on Xbox 1 it was only for online gaming, on the 360 it's all manor of things, and I think it's more value for money.

Edit, also the Market place is optional and so is Video Market Place. You DON"T have to buy them extras.

This post has been edited by bucko: Apr 20 2007, 07:59 PM

[mlapaglia]

last time i checked companies liked money though, so this probably won't happen, no matter how witty you make the title

[pimpmaul69]

i disagree.. i pay for live to get quality control..the ps2 is a great example.. no one monitors it to stop cheaters.. and im sorry but the ps3 service is garbage imo.. 50 dollars a year isnt much to get a better service and better servers

[Textbook]

Make Live free and you ruin it for thousands of people.  Seriously.  You might make a bunch of 12 year olds playing a certain Mature-rated first person shooter happy, but you'll piss off your older crowd by doing so.  There was a posting on Digg some time ago, and I think there was only one person who said make it free, and a shit-ton of others that said keep making us pay.  What is the punishment for a cheater?  If they pay for Gold, then get banned, they lose $50.  If it's free, they have nothing to lose.  No incentive to keep them honest.  It is just a really bad idea in my opinion.  I spend at least $5 a day on lunch/sodas (caffeine to get me through classes).  I can deal with 14 cents a day.

[Darkjasper]

I payed the 50 for regular XBL on Xbox one. Never did I once think that it was to expensive. Then you add all the extra features tat the 360 has over the XBOX and there is no way it is over priced.

[Billyfett]

I like it the way it is. I tried PSN and it SUCKS!!!! I could not log in so I called their so called customer support center. The chick told me that all of my info was right and log in with my current name and password. When I did I get "incorrect username/password" I called back same thing everything is right, I just need to sign in. It still does not work. I said screw $ony! I sold my PS3 to a friend and got a Debug Xbox 1. I have had problems with Xbox Live but all of them have been resloved thru Microsoft's customer support.

[TeamDevil]

This raises a valid point.

Microsoft does make money for basically utilizing their customers network. They use the customers bandwith and they use the customers console to host the game. Microsoft currently has no dedicated servers and they have no plans to use dedicated servers in the near future. Microsoft does what xlink kai and xbconnect do for free. Microsoft however has an advantage simply because it is their system so they can customize the software and manage it easily.

Most people don't mind paying the extra 50 dollars a year and though this isn't a huge fee as many of our monthly bills cost this much, it is however alot considering they use a great deal of out bandwith and or consoles for thier network. If they used some servers in conjunction with our consoles that would help alleviate the strain and reduce the lag problems.

 But I've never had to pay for live so what do I know   (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

This post has been edited by TeamDevil: Apr 20 2007, 08:40 PM

[Boydster]

I personally think themes and gamerpics should be free to gold members.

Online gameplay should be free for all.

Gold members should get group chat, silver one-on-one. It costs more money for the servers to have group chat, use the money we pay for that purpose.

And why the fuck do we pay for gamerpics? I would think we were doing the companies a favor by ADVERTISING their games, but they make us pay for them. That pisses me off more than anything.

[Antinous-ODY]

Well, I know I would keep paying for the gold service if the features suggested were implemented... I have been waiting for so long for server based console gaming...

[47_M450N_47]

I didn't have XBL with the Xbox 1 because I didn't think it was worth $50 to do the same thing I could do on my PC for free, and XBConnect was available so I used it.  As soon as the 360 came out and I tried it's version of XBL with the downloadable content and all the extras, I was instantly hooked.  Even for a while I thought $50 was too much for the 360 version, but when you look at all that you get with it, it's really not too much to ask.  It costs money for MS to host all the downloads on their servers, and when you have as large of a network as XBL is, that is a LOT of bandwidth.

I completely agree about the little kids and the cheaters.  Having to pay for something makes people think more before doing something to lose it.  Granted that these little kids probably don't give a crap anyway because mommy and daddy's paycheck is paying for it instead of their own.  I'd be willing to pay $80 per year if we could make a "no-one under 15 policy."  It would be awesome if there were age divisions in XBL.  Like when you put your game in and chose multiplayer if you could choose an age range.  I doubt that will happen but I know it would make a lot of us happy.

[Xx The 0ne xX]

QUOTE(bucko @ Apr 20 2007, 02:29 PM)

He also forgets that M$ makes a loss on each 360 sold, and that gold members will soon get access to PC cross platform services free as an extra with this service. Remember on Xbox 1 it was only for online gaming, on the 360 it's all manor of things, and I think it's more value for money.

Edit, also the Market place is optional and so is Video Market Place. You DON"T have to buy them extras.

microsoft doesnt loose money now, they are past that stage in the 360 era, i remember a few months back they reported they cut the manufacturing cost of the 360 by 40%, so they are raking in even more cash. Yeah true, we do get an advantage for having live on PC, but what about people on PC that dont want to use Live? Thats not gonna float very well on PC. And if they expect users to pay for xbox live they need to have dedicated servers for the games instead of peer to peer. PSN has it and its FREE, so why doesnt xbox live have it? They also need to let devlopers release free content instead of trying to nickel and dime the users left and right.

PS: i love xbox live, i think u get what u paid for, but it has room for IMPROVEMENT.

[jdsony]

Well I for one would like free online gaming because it's really rare that I do it. I only have a bit of time to game but I would like to game online casually. Maybe they could offer up a certain # of hours a week for free. Say 10 hours free for silver every week. I think that was what they originally suggested when they first talked about the tiered system.

I do fully understand why some are happy paying for it especially in regards to snotty kids. They are there regardless but I supposed there would be more if it was free.

This post has been edited by jdsony: Apr 20 2007, 08:43 PM

[twistedsymphony]

QUOTE(bucko @ Apr 20 2007, 02:29 PM)

He also forgets that M$ makes a loss on each 360 sold, and that gold members will soon get access to PC cross platform services free as an extra with this service. Remember on Xbox 1 it was only for online gaming, on the 360 it's all manor of things, and I think it's more value for money.

Not to pick apart your argument... ok I guess I am going to pick apart your argument

1. Microsoft DOES NOT LOSE MONEY on the 360 anymore... they've been turning a profit on the console itself for months now... true they did lose money at launch but that ship has long sailed. As of November of last year they were MAKING about $75 on every premium unit sold.
http://www.techspot....0-hardware.html

2. You're right that Xbox 1 Live was just for gaming .... but Xbox live GOLD is just for gaming too. IMO  the features that make Xbox Live so great are all available in the Silver package. Marketplace, Achievements, Messaging, Standardization across games... it's all part of Silver

Beyond that the Gaming service has been dramatically devalued since the Xbox 1. Games used to be played on Xbox Live servers (that's what you were paying for) now you play on someone else's console... "Host advantage" wasn't something we worried about with the Xbox 1 but it's a big problem these days. Other crap like only being able to private chat with one person at a time is also due to this. Xbox Live Gold is nothing more then a match making service, equivalent to paying money to unlock content that was already on a disc you bought. saying that Gold gives you "more value for money" is a joke...  because most of what you payed for on the Xbox 1 is now being given away for free... those free features have been enhanced dramatically while the features you're still paying for have been dramatically downgraded in terms of quality. In effect you're paying the same amount but considerably less.

With that said I still pay for gold because as devalued as it has become I still think it's worth what they're charging. Honestly $50 a year is peanuts IMO.

[Naquadah]

Me thinks its a fair enough price, live downloads could have a few more servers for when everyones DLing at the same time, but its better than crap like WoW, £11 a month for 1 game... psh!