First, we have the Playstation Network. No catches. Then, we have Steam dishing out the asskickery without remorse. And yet... here we are, paying whatever a year for an online service that isn't even free of advertisements?
Seriously. Let's think about this for a wee moment here.
We pay for an online service that tosses advertisements at us left and right. Advertisements are supposed to make things free, if you're willing to deal with them.
You make a point.
M$, we need to chat. I want my money back.
well as i've experience online on the Playstation 2 then Xbox live on the 360, it is honestly worth every penny. and wow, 50 bucks a year. that is a little over 4 bucks a month? surely you can afford that
Lets not forget, that the PSN's free service also offers dedicated servers with no lag.
I would say the things we do online that we should pay for, downloading Demo's, downloading themes games etc.
I would say the things we do online that we should pay for, downloading Demo's, downloading themes games etc.
There's no doubt that downloading a game should cost you money, but don't you pay extra for that on top of the Xbox live gold package?
And Wenis, you can't compare what the PS2 online experience was, because I don't believe that used any dedicated servers like PSN does now.
I have no problem paying £40 a year for such a great online service.
and wow, 50 bucks a year. that is a little over 4 bucks a month? surely you can afford that
I can also afford to pay $40/mo to join a gym, but if I can get similar results elsewhere for free, why should I?
I understand the reason behind charging for a paperless subscription, I just don't agree with it.
Yes it should be free. Chances are that Gold members will be buying stuff with M$ points anyway.
They've started it so I doubt they'll change it.
Gold is a whole different matter to diamond.
PSN still isnt a threat to XBL. and although XBL uses P2P, there still needs some sort of server on their end. how else can we see worldwide leaderboards? COD4 uses something to instantly update/modify the playlist. lumines live also uses them to instantly upload one of your games for other people to d/l and watch the replay of.
im pretty sure that once home and the in-game XMB for the PS3 show up, and depending on people's reactions to it, maybe we'll see XBL become free. if MS still wants to continue to charge, then there really needs to be a better incentive for being a gold member. what i'd want is for gold members to be able to d/l pics/themes for free. maybe discounts on xbla games and stuff on the marketplace.
i have a question regarding dedicated servers. does sony or the game's respective developer/publisher provide these servers? i cant see 3rd party devs keeping servers up for a game that doesnt even have an active bursting community. what happens, for example, 5 years down the road when you want to play that classic PS3 game online, but the servers were closed for that game because a newer version is out? IIRC, when xbox shuts down the servers for their game, you can still play online, but the leaderboards and stat tracking(if any) are no longer available.
I have no problem paying £40 a year for such a great online service.
Same..well $50. Its definately worth it.
I'm talking to people in Cali-UK without having to do additional payment..like thats one hellofa phone bill
PSN still isnt a threat to XBL. and although XBL uses P2P, there still needs some sort of server on their end. how else can we see worldwide leaderboards? COD4 uses something to instantly update/modify the playlist. lumines live also uses them to instantly upload one of your games for other people to d/l and watch the replay of.
im pretty sure that once home and the in-game XMB for the PS3 show up, and depending on people's reactions to it, maybe we'll see XBL become free. if MS still wants to continue to charge, then there really needs to be a better incentive for being a gold member. what i'd want is for gold members to be able to d/l pics/themes for free. maybe discounts on xbla games and stuff on the marketplace.
i have a question regarding dedicated servers. does sony or the game's respective developer/publisher provide these servers? i cant see 3rd party devs keeping servers up for a game that doesnt even have an active bursting community. what happens, for example, 5 years down the road when you want to play that classic PS3 game online, but the servers were closed for that game because a newer version is out? IIRC, when xbox shuts down the servers for their game, you can still play online, but the leaderboards and stat tracking(if any) are no longer available.
Microsoft's servers don't host the actual gameplay though, thus there's minimal strain compared to Sony's. I'm not sure how it all works, but I do know that Sony said games will still be playable after servers are taken down.
A thoughtless answer. "Because they can" sure doesn't make it right!
Think. Think long and hard about this.
Hypothetically, if the Live of yesteryear (which was just bare bones online play and voice chat) was still carrying a tag today, we'd be outraged. Of course, this isn't Star Trek and there are no alternate realities. Maybe.
Over time, I notice Microsoft keeps injecting pointless functionality into Live to justify the price tag. Being the greedy bastard that I am, I don't feel these gimmicks are nearly enough based on Live's competitors offering practically the same services (minus the extraneous nonsense) for free.
What I want to see, is something so mindblowing, so utterly awesome that the principle of having to pay for a service others offer for free can be looked over without a second guess.
Don't be so complacent with yourselves - ask for more, pay for less. It's the American way!
Or your a Sony fanboy who is ok with second rate service.....
Hows the Sony customer support people?? All from India ? Damn I'm sorry we only speak to Americans if we need help.
I am quite satisfied with XBL I don't understand why your even bringing this up.
A thoughtless answer. "Because they can" sure doesn't make it right!
Think. Think long and hard about this.
Hypothetically, if the Live of yesteryear (which was just bare bones online play and voice chat) was still carrying a tag today, we'd be outraged. Of course, this isn't Star Trek and there are no alternate realities. Maybe.
Over time, I notice Microsoft keeps injecting pointless functionality into Live to justify the price tag. Being the greedy bastard that I am, I don't feel these gimmicks are nearly enough based on Live's competitors offering practically the same services (minus the extraneous nonsense) for free.
What I want to see, is something so mindblowing, so utterly awesome that the principle of having to pay for a service others offer for free can be looked over without a second guess.
Don't be so complacent with yourselves - ask for more, pay for less. It's the American way!
If you don't think that XBL is worth the money, then there is a simple solution. Don't buy it. Then I will carry on playing on XBL and be a happy bunny.
Or your a Sony fanboy who is ok with second rate service.....
Hows the Sony customer support people?? All from India ? Damn I'm sorry we only speak to Americans if we need help.
I am quite satisfied with XBL I don't understand why your even bringing this up.
Sony Customer Support continiously wins awards for their service. I understand that you enjoy live, and that's cool, but let's not degrade Sony's Service, because that's not really the topic.
When you comment, and have to lash out at another company, then that usually means your answer isn't well thought out or you really don't have much to stand on. When you then decide to throw in bigoted undertones with the Indian comments... well that totally sinks your battleship, and makes you sound like a douche.
XBL is a good service and it's been the rolemodel for any other service that's come or will come along. Eventually though they will probably change their stance on making players pay. They might as well, espcially if they get even bigger into downloadable content at reasonable prices...IE Television shows and Movies.
A thoughtless answer. "Because they can" sure doesn't make it right!
Think. Think long and hard about this.
Hypothetically, if the Live of yesteryear (which was just bare bones online play and voice chat) was still carrying a tag today, we'd be outraged. Of course, this isn't Star Trek and there are no alternate realities. Maybe.
Over time, I notice Microsoft keeps injecting pointless functionality into Live to justify the price tag. Being the greedy bastard that I am, I don't feel these gimmicks are nearly enough based on Live's competitors offering practically the same services (minus the extraneous nonsense) for free.
What I want to see, is something so mindblowing, so utterly awesome that the principle of having to pay for a service others offer for free can be looked over without a second guess.
Don't be so complacent with yourselves - ask for more, pay for less. It's the American way!
im sorry how is that thoughtless, the answer may not be roses but its true.. werent you just asking why not why does microsoft think its right...
that being said, how can a correct answer be thoughtless? thats a question to wrap your mind around
Or your a Sony fanboy who is ok with second rate service.....
Hows the Sony customer support people?? All from India ? Damn I'm sorry we only speak to Americans if we need help.
I am quite satisfied with XBL I don't understand why your even bringing this up.
Sony Customer Support continiously wins awards for their service. I understand that you enjoy live, and that's cool, but let's not degrade Sony's Service, because that's not really the topic.
When you comment, and have to lash out at another company, then that usually means your answer isn't well thought out or you really don't have much to stand on. When you then decide to throw in bigoted undertones with the Indian comments... well that totally sinks your battleship, and makes you sound like a douche.
XBL is a good service and it's been the rolemodel for any other service that's come or will come along. Eventually though they will probably change their stance on making players pay. They might as well, espcially if they get even bigger into downloadable content at reasonable prices...IE Television shows and Movies.
actually most of microsofts technical support (non xbox live related) is in india, i dont see how thats a problem though, also i cant see them making it free. if you think about it its not the smart move at all i mean millions upon millions (~6-7mill last i heard) so your saying theyre going to loose all those hapy customers business just for the unhappy people it will cost them a shitload to do that, and it would be a dumb move (company wise) i would love for them to do it though
This thread's on the verge of sinking into the fanboy vs. fanboy argument so I'd suggest we abort the spawn before it really gets ugly.