Xbox Live Gets a Price Hike

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CmdrGoob

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This is why PC gaming is ultimately cheaper than buying a 360, despite the higher hardware costs...
 

AMMO Kid

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Only $10? Yea, no one is going to care. As long as they don't add a $10 fee to every download that is...
 
Apr 29, 2010
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That's how much the price hike is going to be? Hell, that's..almost nothing. That's less than a dollar increase per month, if my math is right.
 

Thunderhorse31

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Ironic Pirate said:
I kind of like the aesthetic more, but other then the Mii rip-offs I'm not aware of any features the PS3 lacks.
Cross-game party chat
Streaming Netflix sans disk
Netflix parties
Streaming ESPN (soon)
Last.fm
DLC exclusivity (if only for a while, it some cases a LONG while, like GTA IV or Fallout)

I'm sure there's more, but that's just off the top of my head. Basically if you have friends and prefer to keep in touch with them, XBL is miles ahead of PSN. Is the above worth $5 a month though? That's up to you.
 

The Rockerfly

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Yeah I only got 3 months subscription to play Borderlands and maybe again when Halo Reach comes out

It's the same price as a game for a year. I've got muc better value just playing COD4 on my pc which I paid £40 and have been playing for 2 years and had a lot more use out of it then live

People will be unhappy with this Microsoft, you fuck people over and people will probably take it, you do it any harder and people will react. Like I am, I am not paying for Gold membership
 

TheLaofKazi

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dbmountain said:
they should have different rates depending on what each individual wants. Silver is the free default, Gold should keep the same price and be used for gaming and videogame related things, while the premium service (Platinum?) would offer all the other things like music and movies and would be a bit more costly.
This. There's plenty of features on XBL that I could go without if I had to pay less. All I really need is multiplayer, party chat, and a friends list.


Thunderhorse31 said:
DLC exclusivity (if only for a while, it some cases a LONG while, like GTA IV or Fallout)
I would rather have no exclusivity and have the DLC released for all platforms at the same time. I don't feel special for having some exclusive games or content.
 

IamSofaKingRaw

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Grant Hobba said:
JaymesFogarty said:
Grant Hobba said:
JaymesFogarty said:
That's why I bought a PS3. If you don't play online, I don't see the point in Xbox live. I don't, (as I prefer games with real stories and interesting characters) and I opted to get the PS3 because of that. But why are they hiking it? PSN is free, and that's been updating itself for a while now.

all the games you can get on ps3 are on xbox... and metal gear solid and little big planet do not count.... their games in the same way swimming is a sport...

and no im not a live fanboy ... tbh i dislike live and never paid for it again after the first subscription...
Games like God of War 3, Heavy Rain? There are more interesting games for me on the PS3 than on the 360, which of course is why I opted for the PS3. And I don't know what you're talking about. LittleBigPlanet is obviously a video game. And if Metal Gear Solid 4 isn't a game because it has long cutscenes, wait what? That's like saying Halo 3 isn't a game because it's shit. Or that Gear of War 2 isn't a game because the main character has shit for brains. On your basis, what constitutes a game?

god of war was the worst series ive ever played ... and heavy rain was not far behind it... and gears of war and halo are just as bad.... granted gears of war was fun and intuitave to play but as far as story goes none of these games had even a half decent writer... for the most part games like lbp are for children... they are a niche market simply and only.... mgs4 is a movie.... there is little gameplay to be had... im told playing earlier games would make this more fun and it didnt... no one wants to play a game thats 90 story and 10 percent pressing buttons to make more story happen....
It seems to me you hate all great games. Also the guy you're arguing with forgot InFamous, Killzone, Resistance, Sly Cooper etc.. but still, what game is actually great to you if classics like MGS4, Heavy Rain and Halo are shit?
 

IamSofaKingRaw

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Eclectic Dreck said:
Googenstien said:
according to most peoples responses here.. Microsoft should charge you fools even more money for nothing special! Maybe $99 a year will make you guys happier? hehe
I like how you assert that people might be "fools" for paying for a service. Am I a fool for paying for my internet? How about my cell phone? These are services too and they cost significantly more than my XBL subscription.

Yes, yes. I know that such things are free elsewhere. The fact that PSN is free is what ensures I am not annoyed when terrible problems occur or by a less complete feature set or by a less intuitive interface. The fact that playing most games on my PC is free is a boon as well, but it is also the price I pay for the frustrations that sometimes accompany PC gaming. That things are free elsewhere however does not mean I cannot appreciate the value a service provides. There is certainly a price that is sufficient that I would reconsider XBL membership. As it stands now, I simply do not have to. The price asked amounts to but a few hours labor in a 2,000 hour work year. Were I asked to pay perhaps 300 USD per year, then it would be a sum that I would notice missing, and we would have reached a point where the question of value became pertinent in my decision making process.
Thats a terrible comparison. If you didn't pay for those things then you would not get those services because no service provider offers them for free.

In XBL's case it is a premium service in a market where everyone else provides similar if not better service, FOR FREE.

You might say well the service is worth the money and $60 isn't much" but thats if you get he most out of the service. What if you are a busy person that doesn't find time to play alot/ Paying $60 for someting you don't regularly use is a waste. Especially if you could get a new game with that money. What if you are unemployed and barely have the money to afford to new games? Guess you better leave Fable 3 till next year and be content with Halo.

I myself can afford Live but when at a local game store I'd rather use that money towards a game. I didn't use most of the service they provided when I had the free trials simply because I turn on my 360/ps3 only to play hames. So for me its not really paying for a service, its paying just t play games online.
 

JaymesFogarty

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Grant Hobba said:
JaymesFogarty said:
Grant Hobba said:
JaymesFogarty said:
That's why I bought a PS3. If you don't play online, I don't see the point in Xbox live. I don't, (as I prefer games with real stories and interesting characters) and I opted to get the PS3 because of that. But why are they hiking it? PSN is free, and that's been updating itself for a while now.

all the games you can get on ps3 are on xbox... and metal gear solid and little big planet do not count.... their games in the same way swimming is a sport...

and no im not a live fanboy ... tbh i dislike live and never paid for it again after the first subscription...
Games like God of War 3, Heavy Rain? There are more interesting games for me on the PS3 than on the 360, which of course is why I opted for the PS3. And I don't know what you're talking about. LittleBigPlanet is obviously a video game. And if Metal Gear Solid 4 isn't a game because it has long cutscenes, wait what? That's like saying Halo 3 isn't a game because it's shit. Or that Gear of War 2 isn't a game because the main character has shit for brains. On your basis, what constitutes a game?

god of war was the worst series ive ever played ... and heavy rain was not far behind it... and gears of war and halo are just as bad.... granted gears of war was fun and intuitave to play but as far as story goes none of these games had even a half decent writer... for the most part games like lbp are for children... they are a niche market simply and only.... mgs4 is a movie.... there is little gameplay to be had... im told playing earlier games would make this more fun and it didnt... no one wants to play a game thats 90 story and 10 percent pressing buttons to make more story happen....
Obviously, 10 million people did want to play a game like that. Just like 10 million people played Half Life 2 with no cutscenes at all. You simply press buttons in order to be able to press more buttons, and that game is loved by many including myself. Tell me, are there any games that you like? Or are you just trolling?
 

JaymesFogarty

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IamSofaKingRaw said:
Grant Hobba said:
JaymesFogarty said:
Grant Hobba said:
JaymesFogarty said:
That's why I bought a PS3. If you don't play online, I don't see the point in Xbox live. I don't, (as I prefer games with real stories and interesting characters) and I opted to get the PS3 because of that. But why are they hiking it? PSN is free, and that's been updating itself for a while now.

all the games you can get on ps3 are on xbox... and metal gear solid and little big planet do not count.... their games in the same way swimming is a sport...

and no im not a live fanboy ... tbh i dislike live and never paid for it again after the first subscription...
Games like God of War 3, Heavy Rain? There are more interesting games for me on the PS3 than on the 360, which of course is why I opted for the PS3. And I don't know what you're talking about. LittleBigPlanet is obviously a video game. And if Metal Gear Solid 4 isn't a game because it has long cutscenes, wait what? That's like saying Halo 3 isn't a game because it's shit. Or that Gear of War 2 isn't a game because the main character has shit for brains. On your basis, what constitutes a game?[/quote


god of war was the worst series ive ever played ... and heavy rain was not far behind it... and gears of war and halo are just as bad.... granted gears of war was fun and intuitave to play but as far as story goes none of these games had even a half decent writer... for the most part games like lbp are for children... they are a niche market simply and only.... mgs4 is a movie.... there is little gameplay to be had... im told playing earlier games would make this more fun and it didnt... no one wants to play a game thats 90 story and 10 percent pressing buttons to make more story happen....
It seems to me you hate all great games. Also the guy you're arguing with forgot InFamous, Killzone, Resistance, Sly Cooper etc.. but still, what game is actually great to you if classics like MGS4, Heavy Rain and Halo are shit?
Do you think this guy is trolling? He's new, and he hates everything. And thank you, I did forget those.
 

SyphonX

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It really is just a stupid joke.

Virtually everything on Xbox Live is something you have to pay for anyway. Pay for a Gold membership just so I can pay to download DLC for a game I already paid for, on top of already buying the console, on top of already being subscribed to an internet service?

F-ing Microsuck.

No, it's not a "big price issue", it's a common sense "go stuff it" issue.

It would be virtually identical to say.. an Internet browser subscription. Having to pay $5 a month to use Chrome/Internet Explorer/Opera/Insert any browser, on top of your internet fees, just so you can get online to buy more things.

Oh.. wait.. We're already going in that direction!! Oh man I am so psyched!! I would so let Microsoft stomp on my consumerist balls if it pleased them!! Aw yeah man!
 

Googenstien

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Eclectic Dreck said:
Googenstien said:
according to most peoples responses here.. Microsoft should charge you fools even more money for nothing special! Maybe $99 a year will make you guys happier? hehe
I like how you assert that people might be "fools" for paying for a service. Am I a fool for paying for my internet? How about my cell phone? These are services too and they cost significantly more than my XBL subscription.

Yes, yes. I know that such things are free elsewhere. The fact that PSN is free is what ensures I am not annoyed when terrible problems occur or by a less complete feature set or by a less intuitive interface. The fact that playing most games on my PC is free is a boon as well, but it is also the price I pay for the frustrations that sometimes accompany PC gaming. That things are free elsewhere however does not mean I cannot appreciate the value a service provides. There is certainly a price that is sufficient that I would reconsider XBL membership. As it stands now, I simply do not have to. The price asked amounts to but a few hours labor in a 2,000 hour work year. Were I asked to pay perhaps 300 USD per year, then it would be a sum that I would notice missing, and we would have reached a point where the question of value became pertinent in my decision making process.
I called the people who say its no big deal/like the price hike fools. They are when they are the only ones paying for the ability to play a game online where PC and/or PS3 people pay nothing. There are very few true 360 exclusives (meaning no PC too)so the reason why you pay for it really gets pricey when you look at it that way.

The price is affordable to most, but once again its a pointless fee that went up for really no reason at all.

I own a small service business and have monthly customers.. you should see shit hit the fan when I try to raise my monthly service fee $2-5 a month after 7 years of same priced service. Even with the cost of chemicals I use doubling in that time AND the gas price hike, people do not like having anything raised on them and in the real world most will fire me over a price hike.
 

Reynaerdinjo

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SyphonX said:
It really is just a stupid joke.

Virtually everything on Xbox Live is something you have to pay for anyway. Pay for a Gold membership just so I can pay to download DLC for a game I already paid for, on top of already buying the console, on top of already being subscribed to an internet service?

F-ing Microsuck.

No, it's not a "big price issue", it's a common sense "go stuff it" issue.

It would be virtually identical to say.. an Internet browser subscription. Having to pay $5 a month to use Chrome/Internet Explorer/Opera/Insert any browser, on top of your internet fees, just so you can get online to buy more things.

Oh.. wait.. We're already going in that direction!! Oh man I am so psyched!! I would so let Microsoft stomp on my consumerist balls if it pleased them!! Aw yeah man!
You got it right. I really don't get why they would raise the price without at least announcing some staggering new features. This seems such a greedy dickish move and in the end it will only hurt their public image.
 

Ironic Pirate

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Thunderhorse31 said:
Ironic Pirate said:
I kind of like the aesthetic more, but other then the Mii rip-offs I'm not aware of any features the PS3 lacks.
Cross-game party chat
Streaming Netflix sans disk
Netflix parties
Streaming ESPN (soon)
Last.fm
DLC exclusivity (if only for a while, it some cases a LONG while, like GTA IV or Fallout)

I'm sure there's more, but that's just off the top of my head. Basically if you have friends and prefer to keep in touch with them, XBL is miles ahead of PSN. Is the above worth $5 a month though? That's up to you.
Netflix Party? I don't know what the hell that is, but it sounds awesome.
 

Geo Da Sponge

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I can not fathom Microsoft sometimes. It's like they like jerking people around because they enjoy being yelled at, not because they actually have anything to gain. Oh well, it probably won't affect me because:
A) I probably won't be paying for Xbox Live after this year.
B) If I read correctly, the USA is the only area getting the annual price hike and therefore this might not make a difference to annual payments in the UK.
 

Kif

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People not reading articles correctly is always a larger concern to me than the articles themselves. Half the back lash is incorrect, the other half is just stupid... I'll fork out an extra couple of hundred on a PS3 and ditch my Xbox because the extra $1 on XBL is a rip off. Riiiiight, cause that'll work out cost effective.

Anyway, my PS3 owning colleague at work says the PS3 home network is rubbish compared to live.

PCs all the way in my opinion, you still pay (service provider charge) but it's a much more flexible service to get stuff off the Internet.
 

GonzoGamer

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Geekosaurus said:
GonzoGamer said:
Geekosaurus said:
This probably wont change much. People aren't going to boycott XBL over a $10 rise.
It won't be a big exodus or anything but I know at least one guy who's been thinking about canceling gold. This might be the extra push he needs to cut the cord.
It'll probably convince quite a few people to quit. But I had a think about it, and I've come to the conclusion that Microsoft will get back the money from the customers they've lost from those that are willing to the extra. Needless to say, it's not going to cripple XBL.
I'm not worried about them losing money. I'm worried about the xbl population. The annoying thing about this is that the little screechers will still get the expendable income to carry on while most of the people who need a tighter budget (grownups, usually) will be the ones getting rid of it.

The thing is that it really is a better service than psn but not so much better it's worth money on top of what I already pay for my internet utility.

What's surprising is that with all the advertising they do on it, they can't provide it for free.
 

Eclectic Dreck

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IamSofaKingRaw said:
Thats a terrible comparison. If you didn't pay for those things then you would not get those services because no service provider offers them for free.
I can get internet for free if I choose to simply access hotspots or other public resources. I can legally make phone calls for free through any number of mechanisms. The alternatives exist but they are, almost without a doubt, inferior solutions. Thus the example holds true.

IamSofaKingRaw said:
In XBL's case it is a premium service in a market where everyone else provides similar if not better service, FOR FREE.
In a direct comparison, I suppose we ought to look at the three current generation consoles. I can play for free on the Wii certainly but the experience is, to put it kindly, terrible. Sharing friend codes, lack of a universal support for communication and indeed a simple lack of games that support online functionality all contribute to ensure that the online package is of lower value and quality. The PS3 does better, certainly but the frequency of network outages is increased, the interface is kludgey, the VOIP system has less functionality and the user experience varies from game to game. That latter point can of course be a boon as easily as a flaw. Burnout Paradise's multiplayer experience was generally better on the PS3 version because of this in my opinion. Of course, in the case of the PS3, there is also a major initiative at Sony to figure out how to make money out of the deal.

On the PC front, the situation is literally the wild west. There may be no inherent online infrastructure beyond that which the players provide. There may be an extensive infrastructure that is supported for free. There may be an extensive infrastructure that requires a recurring fee to access.

That these experiences are better or worse is of course a matter of perspective. The question of value is much the same. I value a coherent user experience. I value functional, flexible communication options. I value predictable network functionality. That I might be asked to pay for these things when the operation, maintenance and development of said features certainly has an associated cost is neither a surprise nor a point I feel is worthy of contention.

IamSofaKingRaw said:
You might say well the service is worth the money and $60 isn't much" but thats if you get he most out of the service. What if you are a busy person that doesn't find time to play alot/ Paying $60 for someting you don't regularly use is a waste. Especially if you could get a new game with that money. What if you are unemployed and barely have the money to afford to new games?
Let me introduce you to a concept known as a rhetorical fallacy. You are constructing a straw man here by introducing a new element into the value equation. This is not a debate regarding a potential future course of my life circumstances. This is a question of perceived value, something that is inherently variable. I see a value in the service. I have finite resources to expend on things in my life. The value I currently see in the service is great. The resources I have to expend are sufficient that the asking price is inconsequential. You might as well ask "What if I was a trust fund supported lay about" for all the use such a point has in this argument.

IamSofaKingRaw said:
I myself can afford Live but when at a local game store I'd rather use that money towards a game.
That is a choice you are free to make.

IamSofaKingRaw said:
I didn't use most of the service they provided when I had the free trials simply because I turn on my 360/ps3 only to play hames. So for me its not really paying for a service, its paying just t play games online.
Again, your perception of the value of the service is the problem. You have the resources but your interpretation of the value on offer is lower than mine. If you have no access to internet for example, there is no value in the Live service. If you have resolved to never play an online game there is no value in the service. I will not tell you your perspective on the value of a service is incorrect even if it differs from my own.