Elessar Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 "So it was announced via Major Nelson?s blog today that Microsoft will be increasing the cost of Xbox Live Gold to $59.99 a year. The reason; ?Since launching Xbox LIVE in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same. We?re confident that when the new pricing takes effect, an Xbox LIVE Gold membership will continue to offer the best value in the industry.? One would think that in the current economy, and with Sony offering Netflix and Hulu Plus for FREE (you still have to pay Netflix and Hulu), that Microsoft would keep the prices we?re they are currently at. Logic would dictate that at least. But the reason I canceled my Halo: Reach pre-order is because of the fact that I play maybe 2-3 games online on my Xbox 360 each year. Why should I have to pay to play online (let alone $60 a year to do so)? Again, Sony offers this same service for free. And with the rumored voice chat coming before the end of the year, what is my incentive to continue paying for Xbox Live Gold? To have little kids light up the mics because their parents are pathetic? Or perhaps it?s the access to Twitter and Facebook!? I?m already paying $50 a year for services I get free elsewhere. Yes, it?s only $0.83 more per month, but we?re not talking the same cost to playing online as we are to buy a brand new retail game. Personally, I?ll be taking my $60+ for Halo: Reach and putting it towards Sony?s PlayStation Move. But enough about me, we here at WhenSpamAttacks would love to know if you, the readers, will continue to pay Microsoft in order to play games online?" Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jamesyfx Subscriber² Posted August 31, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted August 31, 2010 I used to pay for Xbox LIVE, but I haven't for a few years now - I probably played a few times a week but it still didn't justify spending ?50~ per year for the service. I don't feel like I'd lost anything, but then again I'm not a big gamer - if I ever play Online it would be using Steam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeston Veteran Posted August 31, 2010 Veteran Share Posted August 31, 2010 Doesn't hinder my desire for xbox live at all. In fact I'm hoping it helps get rid of a lot of the whiny kids that plague the service since their parents will not want to spend the extra money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knightwolf20024 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 doesnt effect me , since they only raised the price of our 1 month sub and if i buy it , i go for the 12 month pre-paid card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeston Veteran Posted August 31, 2010 Veteran Share Posted August 31, 2010 Why should I have to pay to play online (let alone $60 a year to do so)? Again, Sony offers this same service for free. Worst argument ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Why should I have to pay to play online (let alone $60 a year to do so)? Again, Sony offers this same service for free. Same service? Last I checked Sony was missing some things in comparison to Xbox Live. I think its worth it. $60 for a year isn't really that bad and this is coming from someone who barely has any money to spare. If you want the service, you pay for it. If you don't want to pay for it, get over it and stop whining. Its amazing how many are complaining over a $10 increase for the 1 Year Subscription. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 Worst argument ever. How? EVERY other gaming service offer's free online, why should we pay $60 to MS for XBL when we still have ads, we still have hackers and cheaters, and we don't use twitter/facebook, etc.? Feel free to keep blindly throwing your money away :) Same service? Last I checked Sony was missing some things in comparison to Xbox Live. I think its worth it. $60 for a year isn't really that bad and this is coming from someone who barely has any money to spare. If you want the service, you pay for it. If you don't want to pay for it, get over it and stop whining. Its amazing how many are complaining over a $10 increase for the 1 Year Subscription. Yes, a $10 increase, but the total cost is now $60 a year. I just want to play games online with friends, that's it. I shouldn't have to pay $60 to do that. Thankfully I have a PC and PS3 as alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 How? EVERY other gaming service offer's free online, why should we pay $60 to MS for XBL when we still have ads, we still have hackers and cheaters, and we don't use twitter/facebook, etc.? Feel free to keep blindly throwing your money away :) Yes, a $10 increase, but the total cost is now $60 a year. I just want to play games online with friends, that's it. I shouldn't have to pay $60 to do that. Thankfully I have a PC and PS3 as alternatives. No one is forcing you to go with Xbox Live, as I have said. You don't want to pay then just don't pay. Theres a silver subscription which is free (but limited). Just because you do not use Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, etc does not mean everyone else doesn't use it. I agree that its not the first choice for everyone to pay to play, but its either that or nothing really. Its Microsoft's service, they can run it as they see fit. The PC and PS3 are OK alternatives but you will still have games that are Xbox 360 only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeston Veteran Posted August 31, 2010 Veteran Share Posted August 31, 2010 How? EVERY other gaming service offer's free online, why should we pay $60 to MS for XBL when we still have ads, we still have hackers and cheaters, and we don't use twitter/facebook, etc.? Feel free to keep blindly throwing your money away :) Yes, a $10 increase, but the total cost is now $60 a year. I just want to play games online with friends, that's it. I shouldn't have to pay $60 to do that. Thankfully I have a PC and PS3 as alternatives. Yes, because Sony's service is really comparable to Xbox Live... You only want to play games with your friends? That's what the free silver service is for. Want to play matchmaking? Get Gold and quit crying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 No one is forcing you to go with Xbox Live, as I have said. You don't want to pay then just don't pay. Theres a silver subscription which is free (but limited). Just because you do not use Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, etc does not mean everyone else doesn't use it. That's the thing, usually you pay for premium services to get more features...why should I have to pay for all of that when all I want to do is play online? I have no other option if I want to play online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
random_n Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I'll probably subscribe for a quarter or something so I can play through co-op and get my fill of matchmaking. I doubt I'll use a whole year (though even if I did, Canadian prices are hardly changing making neither voting option quite right). I let my last subscription lapse after I grew tired of Halo 3 and realised the rest of the games I like to play online are on Steam. Also, there's no chance I'll cancel the pre-order. Although I do have a respectable stack of Xbox games that I've enjoyed over the years, Halo is my Xbox's raison d'etre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 Yes, because Sony's service is really comparable to Xbox Live... You only want to play games with your friends? That's what the free silver service is for. Want to play matchmaking? Get Gold and quit crying. No, I want to play with friends online. Could care less about matchmaking. I think I've played more custom games than anything else in Halo 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killmaster84 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 How? EVERY other gaming service offer's free online, why should we pay $60 to MS for XBL when we still have ads, we still have hackers and cheaters, and we don't use twitter/facebook, etc.? Feel free to keep blindly throwing your money away :) I can think of a couple of MAJOR games that you have to pay to play right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenser.d Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Cry me a river. You can buy an extra year straight from MS for $40 right now. Or at the end of the year, you'll probably find 12 or 13 month subs for $40 on sites like Amazon. And even if you couldn't, XBL is still easily worth $60/year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 I can think of a couple of MAJOR games that you have to pay to play right now. And those would be? I'm not referring to MMOs. More so Wii, PS3, PC (minus MMOs), PSP, DS, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LingeringSoul Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 To each his own. If the writer of that article doesn't use his Xbox Live subscription enough to justify the cost, then perhaps it would make more sense to divert that money towards something he'll actually use. Personally, my longing for Halo Reach far outweighs the annoyance of having to pay for Xbox Live Gold. This is one of those arguments that will never go away (how many discussions have we had in the GH about this very subject?), so you might as well just make a personal decision based on whether or not you're willing to fork over ~$5 a month for the ability to play online. Personally, I spend more money on coffee in a week (sometimes in a day...), and so I personally don't see the cost as being egregious. Unjustified perhaps, but not egregious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hell-In-A-Handbasket Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Silver doesnt include Multiplayer, need Gold for that, from what i understand you cant play online at all unless you have gold http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/joinlive.htm Yep cant play online at all unless you have gold Yes, because Sony's service is really comparable to Xbox Live... You only want to play games with your friends? That's what the free silver service is for. Want to play matchmaking? Get Gold and quit crying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I'm pretty sure Microsoft makes a HUGE turnover each year from XBL. Their excuses for this payment rise is outrageous. I'm pretty sick of paying for a service, also clogged up with crappy ads like Linx and car manufactors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hell-In-A-Handbasket Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 i didnt vote as im debating it atm, currently i dont play much online at all anymore i just use it for Netflix, and i have the Netflix PS3 disk. so i could cancle it and not miss it, no idea how long i have left on my yearly subscription Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiquidSolstice Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 ~Alert, this reply WILL **** off PS3 owners, although I'm not trying to do that. A jab was taken at the 360, so I'm just returning the ball to your side of the court. Ah. So the PS3 owner is deciding to ignore all the hardware premiums that PS3 users have had to pay before Sony managed to finally make money on it. He's probably also forgetting the premium on all the games because of the fact they are Blu-Ray discs rather than cheaper DVD9 media. Do you really think that the PS3's online ecosystem isn't costing you money somewhere down the line? It's like the usual line that car dealerships use to sell you cars ($1500 cashback! You get a new car AND money in your wallet). The stupid thing is that they're not giving you money, they're just taking less of it from you. Similarly, saying that the PS3's online system is "free" is borderline ignorant. it most certainly is not free and I can guarentee you if you cost-analyze all the parts of the PS3, the hardware, and the games (perhaps with some insider Sony knowledge), you'll find that certain parts are conveniently over-priced. Where do you think that money is going to? Sony was also the last person to realize that prefer vibration over movement sensing controls, and because of that, they had to spend even more money to build a hybrid Dual-Shock3/SixAxis controller, which of course people had to go and buy over again, right? You'd think a controller should be a one-time purchase, something you can take for granted. Sony also bundled in the BluRay player into the console before the High-Def format war was even won. Which made it even more expensive, but that's ok, because consumers didn't put two and two together to say "It's more expensive because of the BluRay Player", they decided that it was "worth it because it happens to come with a BluRay player". Microsoft gave you the choice to add on an HD DVD player, if it won, it was worth it, if it didn't, whatever. They weren't going to eat the costs, and they chose not to use high cap media to keep the prices of games down (yeah, the game prices aren't THAT much better, but they still are somewhat cheaper, and that has to do with the media). Because you know, you shouldn't have to pay for things that you don't need, right? Sony has proven time and time again, and it KILLS me to say this because I adored my PS1, and loved Sony back then, but they've proved one too many times with everything from their asinine specialized media (Memory Stick. Pro. DUO. can't be just Pro, can it?) and the failure that is the PSP that they simply do not understand how to respond to the needs of the consumer. The consumer doesn't want to buy a special new Memory Card. They'd rather use the MicroSD cards that come with everything else. The consumer doesn't want to deal with AAC and AAC+. They want to play their mp3s as is without changing it. And so on and so on. They're still riding on the coattails of the smashing success of the PS2. Sony is TOTALLY setting the precedent for what should and shouldn't be free. They totally know how to handle the concept of monetizing their products properly. The point of the matter is that the "free online" play is not free in the sense that you don't end up somehow paying for it, and the idea that it's somehow an "advantage" is kind of crazy, in all honesty. And the sad thing is, I respect the PS3. I think it's a fantastic system, great hardware, decent lineup of games. I just wish Sony didn't try to force the concepts on us, and do better research on what the consumer wants, and how much the consumer is willing to pay for it. And I'm sure someone who owns a PS3 will get totally butthurt and mortally offended by this post, because they're going to read it and only see "omg he's dissing my console omg omg omg RAAAAAGE". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironman273 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I'll keep paying for Xbox Live especially when it gets rid of whiners like the OP. Also, I hadn't paid $50/year since the first year I got Live so I'm pretty sure I won't be paying $60. Isn't capitalism grand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Lyle Global Moderator Posted August 31, 2010 Global Moderator Share Posted August 31, 2010 I'll be renewing my subscription sometime in October, to miss the price hike. It honestly doesn't bother me that it's only $10 more a YEAR. I spend more on stupid stuff when i'm not gaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealistic Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Overly dramatic post. I pre-ordered Halo Reach for $40. If you look hard enough, you can find the game for cheap and it will offset the price for Xbox Live, that has you in a fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omen1393 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Why is it that when developers milk titles with DLC's charging $10 for a couple more maps people still buy the DLC, but when the Xbox Live subscription is increased by $1 more per month people freak out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaredFrost Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 doesnt effect me , since they only raised the price of our 1 month sub and if i buy it , i go for the 12 month pre-paid card. Yeah, it doesn't affect me either, I was already paying 59.99 a year, assuming I don't buy it when it was on sale, which I do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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