Topic: Microsoft justifies Xbox Live costs (Read 851 times)

Xbox-Scene · « **on:** June 25, 2007, 09:27:00 PM »

Microsoft justifies Xbox Live costs
Posted by XanTium | June 25 22:51 EST | News Category: Xbox360

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Quote

A recent podcast has the Gamerscore crew expounding the virtues of Xbox Live, particularly by defending its $50 a year price tag.

"There are bandwidth costs, there are things that go above and beyond", said Chris Paladino of the Xbox Community Team. "I think it goes back to this unified system. We have to have voice communication, text communication, now we're doing cross-platform. There's Marketplace, there are demos, and all these things don't just mystically hover around that you can pull them out of the ether."

Microsoft PR manager Michael Wolf later appended Paladino's statements by emphasizing that, as a Live customer, "you get what you pay for" with the service's myriad of options. And in Wolf's estimation, the customer satisfaction numbers for Microsoft's Live service have been "through the roof". But, as a means of comparison, Wolf also equated it to other services one might pay for outside the realm of gaming.

Full Story: gamepro.com | gamerscoreblog.com

mlapaglia · « **Reply #1 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:17:00 PM »

IMO i think the price is very reasonable.

EDIT: grammar (talking in past tense)

This post has been edited by mlapaglia: Jun 26 2007, 04:18 AM

RiPpN-N-TrIppN · « **Reply #2 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:20:00 PM »

i love it how ppl complain about the $50 a year price tag
its $50 for f@#ks sake
its pretty cheap if you ask me
the only ppl that bitch are the pirates coz they want it all for free
Rip

angryyoungnpoor · « **Reply #3 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:26:00 PM »

It's not the fact that it's "cheap." You still have to pay for it. With no other system do you have to pay for online playablity. And they're talking about extras that you can do on live. The extras you have to pay extra for.

Not only does it cost money to play online, but the games for pc are cheaper and cost nothing to play online. The extra 10 to 20 addon charge should more than suffice for the 3.50 to 4 dollars a month spent for a live subscription.

xnoelahg · « **Reply #4 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:35:00 PM »

I love how they completely dodged the fact that the voice/text communication as well as marketplace features are all FREE with your FREE silver account. I AM a LIVE customer, and I love using it, but paying to be a GOLD customer simply 'unlocks' the online multiplayer features. If you have a silver account, you pay only for content that costs. You can still text me, send photos to me, and even voice chat with me. You can also play the free demos, and the rest of the marketplace content...JUST LIKE ME.

The main thing I'm upset about is that gold is a ripoff. Is $50 a year much? No. I spend more than that on drinks sometimes, but I like to get what I pay for. When you're a gold customer and you're playing online with people, you are using your own bandwidth, which you've already paid your ISP for. Sony is offering their customers dedicated servers, and it's free. Why should we have to pay $50 just to unlock the multiplayer feature, and have to use our bandwidth?

ydgmms · « **Reply #5 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:36:00 PM »

QUOTE(RiPpN-N-TrIppN @ Jun 25 2007, 10:20 PM)

i love it how ppl complain about the $50 a year price tag
its $50 for f@#ks sake
its pretty cheap if you ask me
the only ppl that bitch are the pirates coz they want it all for free
Rip

Would you care to pay my Xbox Live subscription? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

The fees are horrible, yet I pay them to play with family/friends. I don't want to play crossplatform. If I download downloadable content, I have to pay again. No. Just.... no.

Its bad enough that now they have ADS all over the place on Live (no, I don't wanna see an Axe commercial on my console... I see it on my TV) AND In-Game (I wanna kill people, not have to see Dodge ads)

Shonk · « **Reply #6 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:44:00 PM »

i wish it was $50 here

..

in the uk its $80

_LaZy_ · « **Reply #7 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:57:00 PM »

there server bandwith cost?
please halo2i know for a fact we host are own games USERS BW
Host gets picked out of USER with best pings (think T1 user or FiOS vs standard comcast.net or anything slower) pointless to even play the game when people with good pings just kill you with few clicks of BR
and if i had FiOS i wouldnt be complain !
i get paid to get a asswhopping 50 a year!
only time we send info to XBOXservers are proably for stupid STATS ,FEEDBACK

Demos?Wallpaper ->SKINS??Voice Message?Text Message?

why dont they allow us to download the demos on any OS an transfer it to the XBOX HD?
open up !
screw the subscription fee's

and its really not 50 a month add some MSPOINTS download your DEMOS, TV EPS movies addon mappacks
your looking at well over 100dollars on MSpoints online if you plan on filling up your XBOX360HD

anyway i can rant on forever just wanted to throw in my 2cents

dvsone · « **Reply #8 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:58:00 PM »

I think the online model MS has put in place is extremely healthy. It definitely couldn't grow and survive without some cost. Sony is going to have to charge for their service at some stage. They are just building up an install base now but as the beast grows it's really going to hurt them.

I would like to see MS put more API's into their development tools to enable developers to more easily take advantage of more advanced online matchmaking and content sharing features. Now that they have finished implementing Live Anywhere that should be their next goal.

This post has been edited by dvsone: Jun 26 2007, 05:02 AM

xnoelahg · « **Reply #9 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:25:00 PM »

QUOTE(_LaZy_ @ Jun 26 2007, 04:57 AM)

Demos?Wallpaper ->SKINS??Voice Message?Text Message?

That's all stuff you can get with the FREE Silver account. You pay $50 to use your own bandwidth to play games with other people.

ZX3Junglist · « **Reply #10 on:** June 25, 2007, 10:03:00 PM »

They are right. I'd rather pay a bit of money to have a paid group of people ensure that I'm getting the best possible service.

I mean, it's less than a dollar a week!!

My only gripe is the advertising, i think if they're charging me, they could go a little lighter on it all..

TheIrishLad · « **Reply #11 on:** June 25, 2007, 10:03:00 PM »

I'm pretty sure this was in response to the PC gamers complaining about the gold fee. For things they have been getting for years free.

For the Xbox 360 I don't mind paying the $50 americans. But now M$ is trying to push this on their PC games, Shadowrun/Halo 2/Uno...The only happy PC gamers are the ones who already have XBL for their 360, and are essentially getting both services for one price.

Psygnosis · « **Reply #12 on:** June 25, 2007, 10:29:00 PM »

I don't mind the cost so much, I just don't like how expensive most of the game content is. $10 for more content when I'm already paying $50 year...

dvsone · « **Reply #13 on:** June 25, 2007, 10:06:00 PM »

QUOTE(Psygnosis @ Jun 26 2007, 05:29 AM)

I don't mind the cost so much, I just don't like how expensive most of the game content is. $10 for more content when I'm already paying $50 year...

I understand what you are saying but it does cost the publishers money to make these things. Your funding them not MS with your $10 purchase.

jimjom · « **Reply #14 on:** June 25, 2007, 10:09:00 PM »

TAKE MY MONIES. PLEASE.

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