Why do people pay for Xbox Live?

[Treblaine]

Obviously: to play online multiplayer.

They don't have a choice as online multiplayer is such a huge component of gaming today you can extort quite a bit of money out of people to spite not actually providing something of any inherent value, only INDUCED value by how XBL restricts access to the internet so much.

I do not play for XBL Gold Membership because I find so few games I get for Xbox 360 have worthwhile online multiplayer.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Am I the only one who honestly likes the PSN interface more then lives?

I like the XMB better than the Dashboard. The Dashboard just feels to busy with too much stuff that is really unnecessary. The XMB may not be fancy but it's as simple as you can get; I like stuff simple and I like minimalistic type interfaces and themes. Just give me what I need and nothing else.

This is pretty much what my XP desktop looks like (although my background is different now):
http://th01.deviantart.net/fs17/PRE/i/2007/123/d/5/The_Phoenix_Desktop_by_phoenixmgs.jpg

 

[k-ossuburb]

Nope, Microsoft has no bandwidth or server costs when you play COD. COD servers are run by Activision and those servers just track stats after the game is over. One of the players in the game is the host (basically the server); every other player uploads what they are doing to the player host, then the player host sends all of the uploaded player data to all the players. The player host plays with a 0 ping (aka host advantage) since he sees where all the players are before anyone else. It's your standard peer-to-peer system. If it wasn't P2P and all games were ran off dedicated servers, you'd have Activision charging a monthly fee for COD like MMOs do (like World of Warcraft).

Yeah, I did kinda just pull that out of my ass.

 

[SQN Leader 095]

We pay for xbox live because yes a silver membership allows you to download stuff but a gold membership allows you to start a private party with you and your friends so you can talk via audio when sitting on the dashboard which from what ive heard PSN does not unless your in a game and a gold membership allows you to play online.

as i said the private party can something up to 8 players in your party so you dont have to listen to the immature tards that seem to dominate the cross game chat that you have specified.

also we in australia do not have netfilx so the netflix stand point is invalid we do however have Zune which is like a video rental place you pay what i have calculated to be $1.50 for a 24 hour rental when you watch it straight away or a 13 day rental until you watch it then 24 hours.

also i may not speak for everyone on Xbox live but i do not use facebook on xbox. i have a computer for that (even then i do not have face book or my space or an iPhone for that matter) and why whould i be dumb enough to pay for radio when i could just listen to the music i like that i have taken the time to rip from purchased cd's onto my xbox or i could just lean over and turn on my radio.

I would further more like to point out that at least i can say that Xbox Live is up and running and i dont have to worry about identity theft. I pay for a properly coded security system unlike PSN which was only hashed. The only times Xbox Live goes down is once every 2 years for maintenance and even then its only for 24 hours and you can still play online.

 

[Treblaine]

Microsoft uses the extra money to actually protect users' data.

It doesn't cost much to protect networks, not even a tiny fraction of $60 per-user per-year.

Sony weren't greedy, they were amateurs. They seem to have fundamentally misunderstood the importance and significance of network security and how important it actually is to keep those networks secure.

Microsoft GET network security, hell the practically DESIGNED most of the networks we use today. Steam too is full of geeks who know networks with a passionate vigour.

 

[TelHybrid]

In response to the OP take a look at a lot of the responses defending live, and there you will see the big overall answer. People pay for Live gold because they're morons who like being ripped off and supporting others being ripped off.

They're almost as stupid as the people who think the Call of Duty DLC packs are worth £12.

This post makes me cry at night, because it's stupid.

Regarding the CoD Packs, I think anyone who buys them at full price is a bit of a numpty.

Yes fair enough if you really like the game then go for it and have a blast I'm not saying you're stupid for buying it, but it's because of the absolute rip-off that they charge for these packs just makes me think you could just wait until it's on a deal and use the points for something else.

What's so stupid about it?

 

[YunikoYokai5]

I don't see why people say cross-game chat is good...you can have MSN or Yahoo or Skype or something on your computer and speak to them through that, AND have a webcam on if you want. That's what me and my friends do when were on PSN, and my friend doesn't need to be on their gaming console either. I don't know exactly how cross-game chat works. I don't own an Xbox (the controller is FAR too chunky for my liking, that and I still have no idea if the Red Ring of Death is still a problem. My cousin went through 6 Xbox 360s before he gave up and got a PS3)

And to those who are rubbing the whole hack in our faces: Names, address, birthdays and the like are already easily obtainable from a phonebook, your Facebook page etc. People have managed to hack into the Cloud (which is run by Microsoft), which far outshines PSN in every way, since that is where some banks/companies store their details, and Sony is making a password change mandatory when PSN comes back on. They are trying to improve their security systems. XBL is not bomb-proof. Everything has weaknesses as internet crime gets more and more sophisticated. Let's just hope it doesn't happen to Xbox Live or they manage to shut the servers down in time.

Besides, changes don't occur until something bad happens. Case and point: transport accidents (plane crashes, train derailments etc), someone has to slip up at some point, and there will always be a next time (may not be the same company)

 

[Calcium]

I have a 360. A PS3 costs about £160 (not sure?) with the controllers / headsets. The free online would only pay for the cost of the console after 4 years, and that's without looking at the cost of any games.

Sure, Gold membership being free would be nice, but I really don't perceive it to be a high cost. I feel more cheated at the cost of a bottle of cola than the cost of using online.

 

[Catchy Slogan]

Goddammit, why does this topic sill exist? It's been done to death every few weeks for so long I can practically summarize the transcript of the arguments about to be posted:

- XBox 360 owners will rant about "quality service" and "better tech support".

- Playstaion 3 owners will rave that both services are the same except for PSN being available for free, often hinting at some real or imagined superiority PSN exudes like a Mac user in a "Mac vs PC" debate.

- People with enough disposable income to afford both will stop by to remind us of their financial security, accuse both sides of fanboyism, and say that they can't tell the difference between the two to RAEG bait them.

- PC gamers will butt in uninvited to stand on the soap box to set us "poor, unwashed masses" straight, say Steam is a better distributor than LIVE and PSN, and claim superiority over console gaming in general as the "golden haired and golden skinned PC gaming master race" with the infallible logic of a hipster saying "You just wouldn't understand."

Give or take a few (hundred) remarks about PSN getting hacked. The only reason I can think of for you to make this kind of thread at this point is that it's easy post bait. Now hurry up and end this so we can get back to our Portal 2 Cave Johnson jokes and fawning/raging over BioWare releases.

You are now my hero.

 

[DeadlyBritishDisease]

(you are not even playing on a server as almost every console online game is player hosted) and the publisher of the game is running the game servers that just track stats and nothing else

If thats the case, then its absolute BS that Activision are thinking about making online CoD subscription based, it barely costs them anything (relatively speaking). Sometimes I worry where the industry is headed...

Goddammit, why does this topic sill exist? It's been done to death every few weeks for so long I can practically summarize the transcript of the arguments about to be posted:

- XBox 360 owners will rant about "quality service" and "better tech support".

- Playstaion 3 owners will rave that both services are the same except for PSN being available for free, often hinting at some real or imagined superiority PSN exudes like a Mac user in a "Mac vs PC" debate.

- People with enough disposable income to afford both will stop by to remind us of their financial security, accuse both sides of fanboyism, and say that they can't tell the difference between the two to RAEG bait them.

- PC gamers will butt in uninvited to stand on the soap box to set us "poor, unwashed masses" straight, say Steam is a better distributor than LIVE and PSN, and claim superiority over console gaming in general as the "golden haired and golden skinned PC gaming master race" with the infallible logic of a hipster saying "You just wouldn't understand."

Give or take a few (hundred) remarks about PSN getting hacked. The only reason I can think of for you to make this kind of thread at this point is that it's easy post bait. Now hurry up and end this so we can get back to our Portal 2 Cave Johnson jokes and fawning/raging over BioWare releases.

You are now my hero.

Oh, and this too XD

 

[Druss the Legend]

Because it's my money and what the fuck do you care what I do with it?

Seriously, I'm sick to shit of these console war threads, and yes, this is a console war thread no matter how you dress it up. I play games to play games, as I'm sure everyone else does, I have money to spare so who cares what i spend it on as long as its FUN. I don't care about hard drive space, graphics or online capabilities (I see no real difference anyhow), an Xbox is what I happen to have and I make do.
If I had a PS3 it'd be the same story.

Get over yourself and remember what gaming is actually about.

 

[Digitaldreamer7]

It makes it so microsoft doesn't lose shitloads of money maintaining the systems as a whole; look at how much money sony is losing on the ps3. (even before all of the hack business) Consoles take a lot of money to produce, and the producers often lose money on the sale. The money i pay ensures better and continued service, which I will gladly pay for.

Also, "I'm white enough to afford it." ~Yahtzee (paraphrase)

Pretty much this.

I give microsoft my money for live, they continue to pay developers and smart people to come up with cool new features and functions for my xbox online experience.

I'm sad to say though that this will be my last gaming console cycle. Ill keep my 360 for a media center til it dies then build a media PC or just buy a boxiee box to replace it when the time comes.

 

[Thundero13]

I see your point but it's really just that gamers will stand by their favorite conole no matter what, within reason of course, besides the Xbox does other things better than PlayStation so its all about even in the end.

Oh also will everyone shut up about how "Microsoft actually protects its user data, Sony just made a mistake, Microsoft could've too, oh no i'm defending Sony, WHAT HAVE I BECOME?! *cries*

Sony didn't "just make a mistake", they purposefully didn't put up ANY firewalls to protect the user's data. Thats not just making a mistake thats stupidity at its finest. A twelve year old with some computer skills could of hacked that.

Oh right, fair enough then, Sony are a bunch of idiots that could have put up extra firewalls even without the extra money.

 

[Gibboniser]

I pay it so I can go online really.

 

[Treblaine]

It makes it so microsoft doesn't lose shitloads of money maintaining the systems as a whole; look at how much money sony is losing on the ps3. (even before all of the hack business) Consoles take a lot of money to produce, and the producers often lose money on the sale. The money i pay ensures better and continued service, which I will gladly pay for.

Wait, is the Gold Membership paying for securing the network or subsidising the hardware?

Microsoft is VERY focused on Xbox, it it their central money making venture in gaming, no handheld, no other hardware nor licensing. Everything plugs into or integrates with an Xbox, they want to make money from the Xbox, as much as they can as unlike Sony they cannot make peripheral income from their console's presence in the market.

Sony is a major Consumer Electronics and Entertainment conglomerate with fingers in so many pies (music recording industry, Hollywood movies, laptops/PCs, Video game publishing) they don't HAVE to make a huge profit on PS3 console itself, as long as it facilitates profits in their other ventures such as movies, music, video games that Sony makes many many more than Microsoft does who depends hugely on 3rd party development.

Xbox Live gold membership is required for full network features purely because that is the price Microsoft sets and people are willing to pay that much not because it COST that much but because it is WORTH that much, to certain people.

The money goes directly into Microsoft's central bank account and is offset by their major spending which is mainly hardware manufacturing, R&D, marketing, buying exclusive content, and so on. Not network maintenance.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

As of this minute, the 250g Xbox, with built in wireless adapter is £175 on amazon.co.uk. The Slim PS3 (160g) costs £225. That list is so outdated most of the models on it are not in production anymore.

What's that? The sound of you being wrong?

In the words of the internet: Pics or it didn't happen, don't worry, I just got them for you, and before you complain about the HDD, they're the closest in size that aren't in a bundle or stripped bare.

Fair enough, I'm going by prices where I am, converted to USD the xbox is $286.44 and the PS3 is $368.28 for those HDD sizes. Price difference seems odd to me personally, why on earth is a PS3 worth more in the UK and an Xbox worth less?