Poll: Honestly, was Xbox Live worth it this gen? Will you pay for it next gen?

[The Selkie]

At the start of the generation I was happy to pay it. In my opinion gold seemed better than PSN for a significant enough margin to warrant my paying for it. As the gen went on my feelings on the matter began to change. Yes, the price per year has fallen from £40 to £30ish, but it's starting to feel like they're locking off unrelated features to force people into buying it (features that I never actually use).

Overall I've been happy with it this gen, but if MS try it again with the 720 I'll be changing to PS unless they include benefits to joining like PSN+, rather than the current benefits which are actually just letting you use apps that are free online anyway.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Absolutely.

It's the best online gaming service I have experienced and it's really quite cheap.

I'll pay 5 bucks a month for better security, more things and apps, more organization and better costumer support.

 

[The_Echo]

I never had a 360, nor will I be getting the NextBox. But Microsoft would be fools, absolute fools, to continue charging for Live. The only people I see putting up with another generation of paid online service are fanboys and those with a large enough expendable income.

Sony really stepped up the game with PlayStation Plus. You don't have to pay to use the full extent of the Network, but if you do, you get a wealth of discounts, free titles, early accesses, and all sorts of other extras.

Keep in mind those "free" games you get from PS+ are only "free" so long as you keep paying for PS+. The moment you cancel your PS+ service, all of those "free" games they give you are no longer playable.

They warn you of this before you purchase the service.

I've never heard of it, and the few times I've had PS+, I never received a warning like that.

 

[SirDeadly]

I have both a Xbox and a PS3 and can definitely say that XBL is worth it. It looks and runs so much smoother than psn. I would prefer not having to pay for it with the next gen but if I have to I will.

 

[Apackof12Ninjas]

I've never heard of it, and the few times I've had PS+, I never received a warning like that.

Read the fine print, Its there.

 

[Snotnarok]

Not worth it, it's not worth it, it's not a value it's not special it's just crap. There's no benifit to getting it, and to top it off you're paying for a service and being advertized to on it. On YOUR console, while you pay for their service.
No, it's mental to pay for it.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

I'm not playing online with the exception of one or two matches just because, so I suppose not.

No because aside from some games like Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed I don't play online and the only reason I even have XBL is so I can buy dlc which they block off from you if you don't have XBL gold.

I thought you'd get the DLC nonetheless? I can get my DLC even on silver membership.
Only demos get delayed for Silver membership.

 

[KelDG]

OT: no. I had a great run with XBL but they have failed to keep up with today's standards so I won't be renewing it.

Same here, used it for Call of Duty 4 and Team fortress 2 a couple of years back, I would not mind playing them again but I am not forking out money to play multi-player when I can do it free on a PC or PS4. If they charge for on-line (which they will) with the next xbox, it will probably sway me to the PS4, and I have never ever bought a playstation before.

I don't use online gaming enough to justify a subscription for it.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I'm letting my renewal slip for XBL, I simply don't use my 360 that much since I bought a new gaming PC.

If the next console charges for it, I may not get it, the service isn't really worth it to be honest, especially since the majority of the fucking dashboard is full of adverts.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

Worth it this generation? Absolutely. It was my introduction to online multiplayer gaming.

But no, if they attempt to charge for it again, I'm not buying the new Xbox.

 

[lapan]

No. As soon as i got my PS3 i stopped buying multiplayer games for the Xbox. I mostly only used Gold for Blazblue anyways.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I stopped paying to use Xbox Live back in 2008 or 2009 whereas the last time I used it was when I got the freebie vaoucher with Reach. It's just not worth it to me. The only thing I can't do on my PC that I can do on Live is play Halo or Gears with other people and I just don't like those games enough to want to play them online. Now if you'll excuse me, I have so Netflix to watch.

For clarification: I'm not really a loyalist to any console and by no means am I a PC gamer. The 360 is the console I went back too in 2009 when I was disillusioned (to an extent) by the PS3. I've used Xbox Live enough to know that it isn't worth it when I can play multiplatform games online with people on the PS3 or Wii U.

 

[FFP2]

Nah. The ads, the stupid one month exclusive dlc bullshit and the fact that we get almost nothing for 60$/year isn't worth the generally better online service. PS+ actually gives you free AAA games and discounts.

And the only multiplayer games I have this gen are BC2 and ME3 so I don't have much use for it anymore.

And considering how much I adore JRPGs now it's pretty much a no-brainer for me to get a PS4 instead of the 720.

If Sony's online was more stable there would be no reason to get Gold instead of PS+.

All of this coming from a 360 fanboy mind you.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

I have used it in the past for the odd month where a game was out worth playing but generally it is a massive con. But when i compare it to my experiences of PC gaming i'd say it's worth it to a small degree...you don't get that many cheaters through XBL but on the PC *shudders*...i swear there are more cheaters than genuine players

 

[ShadowKatt]

I don't know why anyone would pay for xbox live. Every console is now online, and Live is the only one that requires you to pay for it. That's bad enough, but you would think that having to pay for it would also keep the community cleaner. Nope. Not only do you have to pay for it, but xbox live has a reputation of being one of, if not the, worst online communities out there. A reputation that is not undeserved if you play on it or listen to any of the voice chat that goes on in recordings on youtube or any other video service. Other consoles are free online, and they seem to have much less of a problem with bad members of its community in comparison.

 

[Uriain]

I responded with "yes" but its a tenitive yes. We have no confirmation on what the next XBL will be like yet, so I am reserving final judgement for then.

I think the question of "is it worth it" really depends on what/who you play with. I play a lot of shooters with friends on Xbox, so XBL is worth it for me.

If you are primarily a single player gamer, or don't play a lot of online co-op/multiplayer then I would say no, its not worth it. I do agree with many of the comments here, that the torrent of ads and lack of services on a Gaming platform which are tailored to gaming has always bothered me. This concern isn't alleviated by the Wii U or the Xbox 720/PS4 either in a sense, but I do enjoy Sony's consoles more than microsofts for their exclusives.