Xbox live Why does it cost money.

[madarame42]

xbox live really isn't all that much expensive as people make it out to be. thats if you buy the 12 month subscriptions at least.

its about 3.85 dollars a month for the 12 month(+1) subscription cards
49.99 / 12 = 4.16583333
or
49.99 / 13 = 3.84538462 (since it comes with a free month)

and about 6.66 dollars a month for the 3 month subscription cards
19.99 / 3 = 6.66333333

so its really not all that expensive when you break it down.

that being said, the xbox live community IMO is much larger and more interactive than the PS3 and Wii online gaming communities which are free.

 

[sabercrusader]

no they make you pay becuase they also update everything all the time and as long as you arent unlucky it is very fun and in my own opinioun better than psn and yes i do have a 360 and ps3 and i hate, positivly hate how long it fucking takes to get one GODDAMN update for a game and the fact that you have to install games to your hard drive.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

it's because um.... because Microsoft breaths on money? I don't know, but it really doesn't cost that much when you buy the year, like I do. and we have to remember: Microsoft is a business, therefore, it needs to make money.

 

[Weaver]

I've never and will never buy a gold account. Xbox live doesn't have dedicates servers, all matches are p2p. PC has had dedicated servers for ever (until jackasstivision came along) and even the PS3 is getting dedicated servers for games like MAG and it's all free.

Live is there to gain MS money, that's the only reason and you all fell for it.

 

[madarame42]

i don't mind paying roughly 3.50 a month for xbox live.

 

[The_Echo]

I still like the PSN better.

I get all that for free

one word: Microsoft

/thread

My entire response... Ninja'd, all in a timely fashion, no less.

But yeah, it's pretty much just because Microsoft likes money.

 

[Johnmw]

And yet people (including myself) do with no issue.

Maybe you shouldn't have a 360, you knew you'd have to pay for Live.

This pretty much. I dislike Microshafts blatant profiteering (denying Iplayer etc.), but its the sacrifice I make to play the games I want with my friends. TBH I'm a penniless student and I don't really give two shits about XBL's subscription fee, it's only 50-60.p a day. XBL fee's just seems like one of the minor issues between consoles that gets trumped up and exaggerated for fanboy flamewars. For references see Sega v.s Nintendo around 15 years ago, these wars are nothing new and still won't produce anything other than people refusing to try games because they aren't from their console of choice.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

...

So besides Making microsoft money. Why is xbox live costing money? Am i missing something.
I don't see why i have to pay to play mp using user paid internet for a game i bought.

Real quickly, here are the points I see:

Multilayer matches are more stable & less likely to have cheaters or hackers.

Robust online community.

Voice, party & video chat.

Lot's of perks such as Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, exclusive or early demos, Last.fm, and One versus 100 where you can win arcade games and MS points.

And I'd like to point out to whoever mentioned paying to shop on their marketplace: You don't have to be a gold member to purchase DLC, movies or anything else. That would be foolish to close out an market of that size, wouldn't it?

 

[Hazy]

I still like the PSN better.

I get all that for free

Don't let people on Gametrailers hear you saying that. They'll flame your ass with the most confusing expletives ever.

The question should be why are you paying if you don't like it, not why are they charging. If I was selling slaps in the face, and you came up to me and bought one....

Well, I'd congratulate you for finding an audience that is masochistic enough to want to pay to be slapped in the face, but then again, that's just me.

Anyway, yeah, I suppose Microsoft just likes money. As absolutely weird as that sounds.
But, to be honest, $50 every 12 months is a pretty decent price.

 

[rynocerator]

Remember that there are other things that connect to Live that aren't multiplayer games. Leaderboards, friends lists, and the like are not hosted on a person's system or internet. Plus the number of people that are using the chat functionality at one time is probably pretty staggering, and if they aren't playing an game online, say they're playing Darksiders for a recent example, they need servers to run the information through to get it around.

 

[robman1130]

all this complaining while microsoft makes money hand over fist off of us.
u dont want it, dont pay for it

 

[Goldeneye1989]

Three cheers for PC!

Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!

Three cheers for PC!

Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!

 

[Erana]

Three cheers for PC!

Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!

Three cheers for PC!

Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!

Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!!
Hip hip, horay!!![/

This is kinda a mean thing to be doing, you know?
It would be one thing to say something like, "This is one of the reasons why I, personally, prefer to play video games on the PC." Its another to be doing something that could be only interpreted as either reveling in the suffering of your fellow escapists, or you trying to gloat about how you think your platform of choice is better. Also, you're not really contributing to the conversation.
Just please, in the future, try to avoid doing rude things like this. It makes the forum's atmosphere more hostile.

Anyway, I like my 360 as it is. I've never had online play, and I wouldn't be playing any games online, other than MMOs, if it weren't for the TF2 sale on steam a few weeks back.
I'm fortunate enough to be an Xbox-lover without a love of online multiplayer- I'm just weird like that. Still, I understood what I was getting myself into when I bought my console; as I think we all should.
The OP's question has been answered, and with MS having an excuse like the recession, I doubt we're going to be able to instigate a change any time soon.

 

[MicrosoftPaysMe]

I still like the PSN better.

I get all that for free

Please don't call me a fanboy but Xbox Live is well worth the money cuz it's so much better. I have both systems and before I did I didn't understand why I had to pay for xbox live either but a demo that take 5 mins to download on xbl while your playing another game takes an hour to download while starring at the menu of your ps3. And on ps3 you cant make a list of things to download and walk away you have to do 1 at a time. And compared to xbl matchmaking on the ps3 takes sooooooooooooo long. Again Im not a 360 fanboy I just understand that you get what you pay for

 

[Akai Shizuku]

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa28/tomlease_000/enjoy_capitalism.jpg

That's why.

 

[Enzeru92]

Microsoft is a money whore that's trying to be like World of Warcraft (or any mmorpg) in the whole subscription tidbit. Will they ever stop it.... HAHA no

 

[Julianking93]

I still like the PSN better.

I get all that for free

Don't let people on Gametrailers hear you saying that. They'll flame your ass with the most confusing expletives ever.

Eh, I can take it.

I've been flamed by IGN before with their biased bullshit.

 

[ASpoonyBard]

There are two major problems with this thread that need to be addressed.

The first is that the only company being called out on being "whores for money" is Microsoft, when Sony first charged $600 for the PS3, and the Wii's wiimote requiring both a $50 wiimote + $15 nunchuck in order to be complete.

The stark truth of it, ladies and gents, is that major corporations do not spend millions and millions of dollars to take a loss on it. They do not provide your favorite developers with massive budgets just because they love you so. They are all in it for the money.

The second is that I'm not sure you guys fully understand the impact of what Live's features offer. More people are more actively communicative--for better or for worse--as a result of Microsoft's push to get as many headsets/chatpads out there as possible, in addition to both fully-function cross-game chat and invites. It takes me all of twenty-thirty seconds to get into a game of Halo on a good night, whereas, say, Killzone 2 takes forever. And as far as I've seen, the sense of community isn't there--I've played 25 games of Killzone 2, and seven of Resistance 2, and heard exactly 3 people talking across both games; none of them were the least interested in trying to co-ordinate teamwork or any sort of strategy, which, I figured, was the primary reason one played online in a team.

What you're paying a few pennies a day for is access to, in my admittedly limited experience, some of the most active, communicative players in the realm of online gaming. I have a much easier time settling into a team of pick up players on Live--in any game--than I do on PS3. Microsoft's feature set is geared towards making gaming a social experience; what you're paying for is access to that experience.