Xbox live Why does it cost money.

[pcload1etter]

So that poor people will complain about it.

 

[13thforswarn]

Why does Live cost? Because it's a good service. Why doesn't PSN cost, because it's a piece of crap.

 

[Knight Templar]

It has more features, party chat for example. Well thats the excuse, I don't know how true it is.

I wish it didn't cost as much as it did, but I think it's worth the money. I've played on both Wii online and PSN and XboxLive is just the easiest one to use.

That is because the Wii online is a joke in itself. It is quite possibly the most unintuitive thingI have ever had the misfortune to use. I have not used PSN but I am assuming it is not as good because it is free.

PSN isn't bad, it's just not as good.

 

[pcload1etter]

That's not really trolling at all. Unless they're all lying about liking PC gaming.

Anyway,

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

You see, trolling has never been truely defined to me, at least i've haven't met enough people to actively state one opinion. But say i'm wrong about the term, what would you call what your doing?

To me it seems like your gloating, being smug, acting superior and this makes me feel that you are being unkind to users who don't game on the PC. Now if thats not trolling, what is the correct term i should use.

Are you Cruel?
Are you elitist?
Are you fanboys?

Whatever you are, i think you know full well your not being very nice to other members of this community, make a statement about why the PC is better and i'd be fine, just don't swoop in and make a thoughtless comment just to smear in others faces.

Okay, I previously owned an Xbox360, but sold it due to the lack of features. I prefer PC gaming by far. One thing that really got to me was paying for Xbox Live. Paying to use an internet connection you already have? Yeah, I'll pass.

Dude I love using my xbox to stream tv shows/movies from my file server. It's the perfect media box. Plus it does netflix. Rock Band is pretty much the only reason I bought a 360 since it's the perfect party game.

I'm mainly a PC gamer but there is the occasional title I'll pick up for the 360. Bayonetta is tons of fun. But Batman Arkham Asylum, Fallout 3, COD MW2, GTA IV, Borderlands I bought all on the PC.

Also if you play any "Games for Windows" it requires a live subscription as well.

 

[Normalgamer]

/facepalm

Because they have to have servers to keep running, and you paying 50$ a month fund those servers. Your paying for the service to keep running allowing you to pay, don't complain.
Besides, 50$ a year is only 4 dollars a month roughly.

 

[Volafortis]

From my experience, XBL does have much better download servers, VoIP, and matchmaking protocol on games than PSN, and 4 bucks a month is nothing, really.

But still, PC gaming is what shines there.

 

[LordGarbageMan]

I don't mind the costs, considering I'm on live almost every day and I use most of the features it has to offer. Too bad ps3 isn't popular, because if the two were competing, microsoft would have to up the ante, perhaps add a browser to live. It's pretty obvious why it costs money though, not everyone is going to buy a ps3 just because they have to pay for multiplayer.

 

[Laxman9292]

It has more features, party chat for example. Well thats the excuse, I don't know how true it is.

I wish it didn't cost as much as it did, but I think it's worth the money. I've played on both Wii online and PSN and XboxLive is just the easiest one to use.

That is because the Wii online is a joke in itself. It is quite possibly the most unintuitive thingI have ever had the misfortune to use. I have not used PSN but I am assuming it is not as good because it is free.

PSN isn't bad, it's just not as good.

Hence me saying "not as good". I mean it usually follows the trend of you get what you pay for and that anything that is cheap is usually not worth it. Or that nothing good is free.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I still like the PSN better.

I get all that for free

I am willing to grant my Playstation a LOT of leeway when it comes to PSN simply because it is free. That it has been steadily improving since I have owned it is also a plus, but do not mistake this for thinking the service I am given is on par with that of my 360. Of all the complaints I can lodge against the service, the most damning is simply that I have regularly been denied service for reasons unknown. The other complaints I have are far less important - lack of cross game communication and party chat are one such shortcomming but it is a non-issue for me since I only know one other person with a PS3. The odd refusal to bundle even a cheap headset with the system also ensures that few people actually use the VOIP feature common in online gaming. This is of course a double edged sword considering just how utterly useless most attempts at communication are.

As far as why XBL costs money, the simplest answer is because people are willing to pay for it - millions of them in fact. There are certainly perfectly good reasons why such funds are requested beyond the fact that Microsoft would like to eventually turn a profit on the console as a whole. The most obvious is to offset development costs for future versions of the software - the engineers and artists involved likely don't offer their services to Microsoft out of some incredibly misguided attempt at charity after all. Then of course there is the support of the back end infrastructure - from hardware and bandwidth to the utterly unsung administrators responsible for keeping the service functional. The choice then is either one charges for the service and potentially turns a profit or they don't and lose money in the endeavor.

 

[James Cassidy]

Playstation network blows. The only redeeming quality is it is free and THAT is the ONLY thing that is redeemable. It's full of bugs, Sony doesn't care about, and they care even less about their online gamers.


Xbox live costs money because you are paying for the servers. It's not perfect, but it is pretty damn good. You also pay for other features, but some features are now free regardless if you pay or not.

Oh and one other thing, you don't have to buy it you know. I am tired of people complaining about paying what $5-$7 a month to play every game, but have no problem $15 dollars a month playing WoW or any other MMO game on the PC?

I am sorry, but servers are not free and costs money to maintain such things. Even for PC games.

 

[Dommyboy]

That's not really trolling at all. Unless they're all lying about liking PC gaming.

Anyway,

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

You see, trolling has never been truely defined to me, at least i've haven't met enough people to actively state one opinion. But say i'm wrong about the term, what would you call what your doing?

To me it seems like your gloating, being smug, acting superior and this makes me feel that you are being unkind to users who don't game on the PC. Now if thats not trolling, what is the correct term i should use.

Are you Cruel?
Are you elitist?
Are you fanboys?

Whatever you are, i think you know full well your not being very nice to other members of this community, make a statement about why the PC is better and i'd be fine, just don't swoop in and make a thoughtless comment just to smear in others faces.

Okay, I previously owned an Xbox360, but sold it due to the lack of features. I prefer PC gaming by far. One thing that really got to me was paying for Xbox Live. Paying to use an internet connection you already have? Yeah, I'll pass.

Dude I love using my xbox to stream tv shows/movies from my file server. It's the perfect media box. Plus it does netflix. Rock Band is pretty much the only reason I bought a 360 since it's the perfect party game.

I'm mainly a PC gamer but there is the occasional title I'll pick up for the 360. Bayonetta is tons of fun. But Batman Arkham Asylum, Fallout 3, COD MW2, GTA IV, Borderlands I bought all on the PC.

Also if you play any "Games for Windows" it requires a live subscription as well.

I prefer to use my PC to stream media or use an XBMC based system.

 

[LuntiX]

This is the reason me and a bunch of friends came up with one day when comparing PSN to Xbox Live.

With Xbox Live you pay and generally get a better service with less problems, you basically get what you paid for, and since you are giving Microsoft your money, they have to actually take care of Xbox Live. As for PSN, you don't pay Sony for anything so they don't have a commitment to keep it stable and in a good condition.

 

[Skizle]

Three cheers for PC!

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

Horay...now i gotta renew my WoW subscription

 

[Giovanto]

one word: Microsoft

/thread

I have to second this. Microsoft is known for forcing people to pay for DLC against the will of the developers. Or that's how the Team Fortress 2 story goes. Sure, the charge for XBL is small. It has to be to ensure people will pay for it. BUT...do the math. Log onto CoD4 and look at how many people are online, then do the math for the minimum amount they are making on that group of people alone. Then make an estimate for every other game. Yeah, people say "Only 50$ a year? What a steal!" so they pay for it without question. But the quantity of paying subscribers multiplies to HUGE amounts of money. It's basically perfect equilibrium (if you've ever studied Economics, you know what that means). So yes, Microsoft is greedy. This might be pure greed, or it might be worry. Windows is quickly being made obsolete. So it might be semi-justified. SEMI justified. They could sidestep this worry by not sucking (but we all know that isn't going to happen, no Portal reference intended). So yes, charging such a small amount for such a basic service is a brilliant little scam. I'm taking to the PSN myself. I just got my PS3 and I love it a lot. If Microsoft were to die...meh. No real loss, I can live without it. *hugs my Mac*

 

[inpachi]

Well depending on how much money you have the cost of a game can be quite a lot and that *IS* one less game (that they doubtlessly get a cut from anyway), and playing games is why I bought the console. Besides the other thing to consider is that you need to pay for your internet (and to game requires a decent connection) already, the XBL fee is on top of that.

To correct what appears to be some misinformation however, XBL does *NOT* require a paid service to download demos, movies, or arcade games. You need to pay points for those things but "gold" is not required, I know because I use the free membership and have done all of those things. I have more games from XBL Arcade than I'd like to admit, some of which turned out to be truely horrible even when I tried the demo first.

In general XBL Gold Membership allows you to play multiplayer, and be eligible for XBL membership benefits like contests and give aways and such. The big selling point to their multiplayer is both it's alleged quality, and in addition to the contests and such that they periodically hold organized events like "Gamerchix nights", and get developers and celebrities to play with the public at specific times. Part of the arguement being basically that if you like think the Fragdolls, or some of the promotional models, or whatever are hot there is a chance with XBL that you can actually meet them in whatever game they are promoting. I haven't really checked out these events in detail since my interest is minimal, but they do spam my dashboard with that stuff as incentives to try and get me to pay them for gold membership (which I might do a month at a time when I get a new fighting game or something... usually I'm done multiplayer within a month).

Aside from the "celebrity game matching" I see no real benefit to this as free multiplayer has been something the PC has been providing for years. The PS-3 has ALSO provided it for free even though Sony is getting greedy and plans to start providing premium features to do the same thing. The basic attitude is that just because something was free, doesn't mean that they shouldn't start trying to wring MORE cash out of the players.

Honestly I think the support for XBL has motivated a lot of companies to get greedy (proving that stupid mainstreamers are ruining gaming more than anything else I can think of). It seems right now that everyone is trying to get people to pay for online. I've heard stuff here and there about companies charging for access to their servers for various games in the coming years, and of course there is the PS-3 thing, and while they say everything you can do now will remain free, I have my doubts that this will remain true in any practical sense. For all I know what they will wind up doing is simply letting you play the current games free online still but any new ones beyond a cut off date will require a premium membership or whatever. Either that or they will create something so integral to creating online that while "optional" will force people to pay to avoid being gimped... whatever, we'll know more as more time goes on.

Truthfully I have both a PS-3 and XBox360. I play games on both with some frequency (though admittely I play single player on my 360 a lot more). I'm not just ragging on Microsoft for the heck of it when I say that Gold is a complete rip off. However since so many people buy it, there is no reason for them to change it. At the most, gamers who want to play multiplayer will whine as they pay the fee. The only way for them to change would be for people to stop buying it, and really I don't think the mainstream gamers supporting it are going to forego immediate gratification even for their own benefit.... Halo addicts alone would justify keeping it a pay service, and there is no way your going to convince enough many of the fanboys to stop playing Halo for ANY reason, even self interest.

This post is pure genius! It is well thought out and not written by some jack ass 8 year old! YOU HAVE ALMOST RESTORED MY HOPE IN THE INTERNET PLEASE DO THIS AGAIN PLEASE!! YOU ARE MY ONLY HOPE!!

But anyways back on the subject of why Xbox Live cost money still.. The real answer is above but ill put my own 2 cents.. It is because people are willing to pay for it.. The current generation of gamers are willing to pay such a stupid fee to play games.. Hell people even allowed the increase of games from 50-60 like it was nothing.. I however am no excuse.. The truth is i just bought a 360 2 days ago..

I bought a pro of course i didn't buy it new.. I bought it from a friend i know who lives in Florida i bought the pro with a 10 gig HDD, Cod4, Ikaruga, Doom 4(or whatever it was), and 1 other game i forgot, and 1 controller, and a free live for 1 month card.. For 200$.. Its soooo much cheaper to buy it used than to buy it new..

But anyways back to my point the truth is i am willing to eventually pay for the live because i knew when buying the 360 that the multiplayer is a big part of it.. I was hoping to use XBC or Xbox Connect if you dont know what it is you should look it up its proof that Xbox Live

can be completely free!!! Because it is a 3rd party program that works on all Xbox Original games and some 360 games that allows you access to worldwide gaming for FREE! But anyways Microsoft fixed this loop hole and made it so all there games have a pinging program thingy
in them so that it is impossible to use this loop hole for the majority of the games..

However if your EXTREMELY LUCKY it could work for you.. I highly doubt it tho.. DAMN THOSE THIEF'S IN MICROSOFT! I might just have to pay for XBL in the end.. But until i absolutely have to i wont give them a dime!

PS: Why is the site going so slow at this very moment? Is it a error? It is taking forever to load anything.. I loaded another site i go to to check if it was ME. But when i did it loaded just fine so its not me it must be the site..

 

[OneBig Man]

Xbox live has been up for how long? Why are people still complaining about it. If people will pay for it, then why not go for more cash? If you don't want to pay then don't get Live.

 

[CmdrGoob]

It's funny that often xbox fanboys will criticise gaming PCs for being more expensive, but will act like paying XBL gold is cheap. Maybe if people did their accounting better and added in the cost of endless Live subscriptions and more expensive console games they would notice xbox gaming is not cheaper at all...

 

[Icehearted]

I'm seeing a lot of reasonable conclusions here. Clearly it's money. They have no competition at all on the Xbox, making their online service a complete monopoly, meaning they can do/charge/change whatever they want for whatever reason at any time.

If PSN were a bit better managed and Ken "too cheap at $600" Kutaragi didn't muck up the PS3 from day 1, the landscape might very well have turned out differently.

What a shame.

 

[SextusMaximus]

I still like the PSN better.

I get all that for free

Just you wait sir, if you want premium stuff soon Sony are thinking of...

Spoiler

MAKING YOU PAY FOR IT!!!!

...not to worry if you don't mind paying for it though..

 

[Caprice0083]

The idea that it costs money because "its Microsoft" is simplistic. What you are paying for is:
- The service and mantainance.
- The servers, both for MP and for content (demos, movies, etc).
- The bandwidth to download games/demos/movies.

I know its not perfect, but XBox Live is a service with a significant cost, and the consumers pay for it.

Exactly, and 50 bucks a year!? c'mon you broke idiots, you have a job or decent parents that ain't crap so stop winning. You should know by now there isn't anything in this world for free. Just like most websites, free for you but not for the owners and need ads on them to pay for it. Don't you think Sony works the same way!