Why do people pay for Xbox Live?

[neilsaccount]

*argument*

So your saying its too much to pay for something that you could pay off with a dollar a day for two months? Thats no skin off my nose. Especially if it is the console all of your friends have and it's the console with all of the games you like?

 

[DefinitelyPsychotic]

They pay for Xbox Live because they want to play online...

 

[ragecandybar]

PC? PC.

 

[Maddenfreak]

cause PSN is shutdown lol

 

[Judgement101]

Just look at the PlayStation Network and Live.That money goes places.

What about Steam?

That money goes places also.....dark...mysterious places. (STEAM beats all)

 

[Judgement101]

I'll tell you why we pay. Because we have to! We can't to crap without it. All you get is damn text chat without it.

 

[Zeraki]

People pay for a gold subscription because they have no choice, you're forced to pay for the service if you want to play games on-line(or just about any other Live service now I hear). Hell they even force you to get a subscription if you want to watch Netflix, which is a subscription service itself.

I've never been fond of the system, but something happened last summer(which I won't go into right now) that pushed me to tell Microsoft to take their gold subscription and shove it.

 

[Katana314]

I think this thread would be much harder for XBL fans to argue if PSN didn't exist. They'd actually have to stand on their own merits.

Oh yeah, and all those demos and such that take up so much bandwidth, and that peer-to-peer multiplayer experience; they're free on Games For Windows Live, as horrible as it is. It is absolutely possible for Microsoft to give out that experience for free.

The money you pay doesn't just go to Bill Gates' wallet, it's used to improve and manage the very thing you're paying for. The more you pay the more money they have to maintain and improve the services they provide.
Yes i realise they're rich, but they're rich for a reason, because people like you and me choose them over other companies, and that amount of money allows them to invest in really great stuff which in turn rewards us for choosing them.

What? I JUST covered why they don't need that money to maintain anything. In most cases, they are easily able to survive simply from purchases of games themselves, as demonstrated by Games For Windows Live. If it were unprofitable for them, they'd shut it down and call it a day.

The "and me" in "people like you and me" is incorrect; I don't pay for XBL. I certainly don't pay Microsoft for things like operating systems just to invest in their future; I pay because I expect a solid-featured product.

Filthy socialists! Microsoft does not exist to give you free stuff while just bringing in enough money to "stay afloat". They exist to make a profit. The better they perform the more customers they get and the more money they make. That's the market incentive.

Well, the thing is, I'm not posting here to try to convince Microsoft to lower their prices. Economically, it makes sense to charge as much as you can.

"All I know is, I find the dumbest, most useless stuff I can, and when you guys ask for it,I think of the biggest number I can! A million! A hundred million! A TRILLION! And you guys PAY IT!! So who's the dummie now, huh!?" - Bosco, Sam and Max

I'm posting here to convince XBL payers that that they are paying for more than their service is worth. If people stopped paying for it, Microsoft would lower that price or eliminate it entirely. It's all about supply and demand.

But why would i NOT pay for it? Why would i boycott a service i am entirely happy with?
If you can't afford ?30 a year, you need to get a better job.
I see no reason why Microsoft should lose millions of dollars a year just to please an entitled minority who think people should give them stuff for free, just 'cause.

The reason I'm citing that you wouldn't pay for it is because other people are able to get the same services for free, and those companies still turn a really nice profit. It's like this; I realize you buy Blue Bread every day, and you love the taste and wouldn't ever trade it for something else. But what if I told you about a corner market that sells Red Bread at half the price, and it actually tastes just as good if you give it a try?

In the end the question comes down to whether services like XBL and Steam are comparable. As a Steam user, I'd definitely say I enjoy it, and I don't have to pay $15 a month.

I was never "envisioning a mass boycott" or anything, I'm getting people to think about whether, on an personal level, you're not getting what you pay $15 for.

 

[Spygon]

and only 3 worthwhile 1st party games mag doesn't work, killzone is a ripp off, oh..and you get hacked on a regular basis,i don't see how you trolling here debating the facts given to you is gonna do you or anyone else any good.

So Sony has 3 more worthwhile 1st-party game as Microsoft as Halo and Gears are nothing special. MAG doesn't work? Huh, MAG works great and it's the best online FPS I've played this gen and I only played the beta for about a month. It's just that FPSs aren't my shooter of choice (I'm a 3rd-person shooter guy) and no online shooter has better gameplay than Metal Gear Online (which is only on the PS3) and uses dedicated servers for Survival and Tournaments.

I find it funny you try to act unbiased but as soon as someone puts up some information you against what you claim you explode repeatly into a fan-boy rant.

To answer the question yes i can see we shouldnt be paying as much for xbox live but i have played on both consoles and to be honest live just seems so better put together.There customer has always been rather good compared to sonys.The cross chat thing i find not having it on psn is shocking to be honest.Also i have only seen very few instances with xbox live and one them was because a few christmas ago when a ton load of people bought one so what did microsoft do the reasonable thing stop all the new people signing up while they quickly brought in more servers leaving most of there customer base uneffected.Psn does have a browser that i would always like to see on live.

So i agree that live is overpriced but its better than psn.Steam beats both to be fair but i dont play many games on my pc these days for a number of reasons.

 

[Turtleboy1017]

This is not at all a Live sucks, PSN is better thread, I actually think both services are very similar in what they do and how well they do it. Everything I'm about to say is completely factual.

My problem with Live is that Microsoft wants to blah blah blah blah blah

Translation, I don't agree with other people using a system I believe inferior, so I'm going to try and call them out on it so that they will change their mind and transfer over to the much more superior and free system that has been around for less time and has been hacked into oblivion in the past 2 weeks.

We don't care. We can afford 60 dollars a year. I can pay off my Live account for a year in what I would make for 2 hours work.

 

[Dansrage]

I think this thread would be much harder for XBL fans to argue if PSN didn't exist. They'd actually have to stand on their own merits.

Oh yeah, and all those demos and such that take up so much bandwidth, and that peer-to-peer multiplayer experience; they're free on Games For Windows Live, as horrible as it is. It is absolutely possible for Microsoft to give out that experience for free.

The money you pay doesn't just go to Bill Gates' wallet, it's used to improve and manage the very thing you're paying for. The more you pay the more money they have to maintain and improve the services they provide.
Yes i realise they're rich, but they're rich for a reason, because people like you and me choose them over other companies, and that amount of money allows them to invest in really great stuff which in turn rewards us for choosing them.

What? I JUST covered why they don't need that money to maintain anything. In most cases, they are easily able to survive simply from purchases of games themselves, as demonstrated by Games For Windows Live. If it were unprofitable for them, they'd shut it down and call it a day.

The "and me" in "people like you and me" is incorrect; I don't pay for XBL. I certainly don't pay Microsoft for things like operating systems just to invest in their future; I pay because I expect a solid-featured product.

Filthy socialists! Microsoft does not exist to give you free stuff while just bringing in enough money to "stay afloat". They exist to make a profit. The better they perform the more customers they get and the more money they make. That's the market incentive.

Well, the thing is, I'm not posting here to try to convince Microsoft to lower their prices. Economically, it makes sense to charge as much as you can.

"All I know is, I find the dumbest, most useless stuff I can, and when you guys ask for it,I think of the biggest number I can! A million! A hundred million! A TRILLION! And you guys PAY IT!! So who's the dummie now, huh!?" - Bosco, Sam and Max

I'm posting here to convince XBL payers that that they are paying for more than their service is worth. If people stopped paying for it, Microsoft would lower that price or eliminate it entirely. It's all about supply and demand.

But why would i NOT pay for it? Why would i boycott a service i am entirely happy with?
If you can't afford ?30 a year, you need to get a better job.
I see no reason why Microsoft should lose millions of dollars a year just to please an entitled minority who think people should give them stuff for free, just 'cause.

The reason I'm citing that you wouldn't pay for it is because other people are able to get the same services for free, and those companies still turn a really nice profit. It's like this; I realize you buy Blue Bread every day, and you love the taste and wouldn't ever trade it for something else. But what if I told you about a corner market that sells Red Bread at half the price, and it actually tastes just as good if you give it a try?

In the end the question comes down to whether services like XBL and Steam are comparable. As a Steam user, I'd definitely say I enjoy it, and I don't have to pay $15 a month.

I was never "envisioning a mass boycott" or anything, I'm getting people to think about whether, on an personal level, you're not getting what you pay $15 for.

But the red bread they're giving away for free has only half as much dough and you can't spread butter on it, i'd rather keep paying a little more for the blue bread than have to settle for less simply because it's free.
Also, i have a freind who had all of his red bread stolen

 

[Katana314]

The reason I'm citing that you wouldn't pay for it is because other people are able to get the same services for free, and those companies still turn a really nice profit. It's like this; I realize you buy Blue Bread every day, and you love the taste and wouldn't ever trade it for something else. But what if I told you about a corner market that sells Red Bread at half the price, and it actually tastes just as good if you give it a try?

In the end the question comes down to whether services like XBL and Steam are comparable. As a Steam user, I'd definitely say I enjoy it, and I don't have to pay $15 a month.

I was never "envisioning a mass boycott" or anything, I'm getting people to think about whether, on an personal level, you're not getting what you pay $15 for.

But the red bread they're giving away for free has only half as much dough and you can't spread butter on it, i'd rather keep paying a little more for the blue bread than have to settle for less simply because it's free.
Also, i have a freind who had all of his red bread stolen

Now you're trying to assume "red bread" was specifically referring to PSN. It wasn't. As I said, in the end it comes down the comparative quality of services, mostly between XBL, PSN, and Steam. As I said, I feel Steam is somewhat comparable, and it's not "settling for less." I also see Games For Windows Live as, technically speaking, comparable, only in the sense that it offers many similar features (of course, since barely anyone uses it to any extent it's not all that useful) The analogy I was making assumes "red bread" offers all the same taste and quality.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Fixed.

Hahaha, that's such huge grammatical pet peeve of mine. I can't believe I let that through. Thanks for the catch.

I normally don't correct people but since that particular error seemed like a hot button issue awhile back(probably still is), I pointed it out.

You're welcome.

 

[SovietSecrets]

A little over $50 a year for great services and usually stable online gaming? Why wouldn't I pay? As for your game content that you pay for, you have to do that with PS3 and PC too. Oh and my information doesn't get stolen.

 

[Dansrage]

The reason I'm citing that you wouldn't pay for it is because other people are able to get the same services for free, and those companies still turn a really nice profit. It's like this; I realize you buy Blue Bread every day, and you love the taste and wouldn't ever trade it for something else. But what if I told you about a corner market that sells Red Bread at half the price, and it actually tastes just as good if you give it a try?

In the end the question comes down to whether services like XBL and Steam are comparable. As a Steam user, I'd definitely say I enjoy it, and I don't have to pay $15 a month.

I was never "envisioning a mass boycott" or anything, I'm getting people to think about whether, on an personal level, you're not getting what you pay $15 for.

But the red bread they're giving away for free has only half as much dough and you can't spread butter on it, i'd rather keep paying a little more for the blue bread than have to settle for less simply because it's free.
Also, i have a freind who had all of his red bread stolen

Now you're trying to assume "red bread" was specifically referring to PSN. It wasn't. As I said, in the end it comes down the comparative quality of services, mostly between XBL, PSN, and Steam. As I said, I feel Steam is somewhat comparable, and it's not "settling for less." I also see Games For Windows Live as, technically speaking, comparable, only in the sense that it offers many similar features (of course, since barely anyone uses it to any extent it's not all that useful) The analogy I was making assumes "red bread" offers all the same taste and quality.

I do actually use steam, i don't think Steam can really be compared to XBL or PSN because it's cross-platform, it's not linked a specific brand. If you want a 360 you have to use XBL, if you want a PS3 you have to use PSN, but you can have Steam on any configuration of PC or Mac.
Steam is independant of a specific machine.

 

[Demonicdan]

Mostly so I can play halo, and most of my friends are one there so I might as well.

 

[mr.mystery]

Well, we pay to not have our information stolen >.>

<..>

omg I literally laughed out loud

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

My cousin went through 6 Xbox 360s before he gave up and got a PS3)

I find it really hard to believe stories like this, I've only ever had 2 xbox360s' and the only reason the first one broke is because I tripped over and dropped it down the stairs.

I'm aware RROD happens, but if you go through 6 xbox's that RROD, either you've won the lottery for fail or you're using your xbox to cook eggs.

I know a couple people that have gone through 4+ 360s. I have 6 close friends and we all have PS3s, 2 of us got a YLOD after about 2 years. The PS3 isn't perfect; however, the YLOD issue couldn't really have been tested for as it occurs after a year+ of use. The RROD issue was probably known by Microsoft (since standard testing would've easily found the issue) and they released the console anyways.

 

[Katana314]

The reason I'm citing that you wouldn't pay for it is because other people are able to get the same services for free, and those companies still turn a really nice profit. It's like this; I realize you buy Blue Bread every day, and you love the taste and wouldn't ever trade it for something else. But what if I told you about a corner market that sells Red Bread at half the price, and it actually tastes just as good if you give it a try?

In the end the question comes down to whether services like XBL and Steam are comparable. As a Steam user, I'd definitely say I enjoy it, and I don't have to pay $15 a month.

I was never "envisioning a mass boycott" or anything, I'm getting people to think about whether, on an personal level, you're not getting what you pay $15 for.

But the red bread they're giving away for free has only half as much dough and you can't spread butter on it, i'd rather keep paying a little more for the blue bread than have to settle for less simply because it's free.
Also, i have a freind who had all of his red bread stolen

Now you're trying to assume "red bread" was specifically referring to PSN. It wasn't. As I said, in the end it comes down the comparative quality of services, mostly between XBL, PSN, and Steam. As I said, I feel Steam is somewhat comparable, and it's not "settling for less." I also see Games For Windows Live as, technically speaking, comparable, only in the sense that it offers many similar features (of course, since barely anyone uses it to any extent it's not all that useful) The analogy I was making assumes "red bread" offers all the same taste and quality.

I do actually use steam, i don't think Steam can really be compared to XBL or PSN because it's cross-platform, it's not linked a specific brand. If you want a 360 you have to use XBL, if you want a PS3 you have to use PSN, but you can have Steam on any configuration of PC or Mac.
Steam is independant of a specific machine.

Actually, I don't quite understand why that excludes it from being considered. In fact, I'd say that's a benefit of it. Nobody using an Xbox can decide "I don't like Xbox Live. I'm going to use PSN." because they'd have to swap their console and all their games for PS3 versions. Besides which, Steam is slowly starting to creep onto the consoles; the beginnings of which are visible in Portal 2.

Just to reiterate, I'm not trying to talk against specific hardware; heck, I think both the 360 and PS3 are great consoles. I'm just talking about the gaming networks they use.