Because... they are providing you a service, and you have to pay for services. Besides the party and chat system on the 360 is amazing.
Xbox live Why does it cost money.
- Thread starter outcast_within
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Stop your bitching, people. Xbox Live has been a pretty good investment for me. I've rarely had any problems with connection or stability, and when I did, their customer support was actually pretty good. I see no problem with charging a small fee, if it means motivating them to maintain their servers better and provide good support.
Why does my internet cost money? Why does gasoline cost money? Why does food cost money? How is babby formed? They are providing a service, which people are willing to pay for. If people will pay for something, and a company chooses to charge them for it, they will. People pay for the service Microsoft provides, and it's entirely within their right to charge for it, so they continue to charge for it. They're not doing it out of the kindness of their hearts, they're a business and they exist to make money and continue to produce new products.
Why shouldn't it cost money ?
It helps support the platform and lets lesser developers and indie studios distribute their games to a wide audience.
It helps support the platform and lets lesser developers and indie studios distribute their games to a wide audience.
Then don't. Play on PC or PSN. Many (not all) multiplayer games on PC are free, and the PSN is also free. If XBL doesn't hold value for you, don't pay for it. There are plenty of options out there for people who want to play online, but still plenty of people find value in XBL or else it wouldn't be so successful.
Right now my BS detector is going off, though. It's telling me that you are not a 360 player who is lamenting the fact that it costs $45/year to play every multiplayer game that has ever or will ever be produced for the 360. It's telling me you're a PC or Sony kid who just wants to troll for some 360 user flames.
Right now my BS detector is going off, though. It's telling me that you are not a 360 player who is lamenting the fact that it costs $45/year to play every multiplayer game that has ever or will ever be produced for the 360. It's telling me you're a PC or Sony kid who just wants to troll for some 360 user flames.
While I don't like paying for it, the price isn't such that it overly bothers me, and I can see why they charge, hosting services costs money, I worked for a company that hosted a number of servers that used no where near even a fraction of the bandwidth used by XBL and it cost us an arm and a leg.
IMO I do think the XBL service is better then the PSN service to a degree (though I want the web browser that the PSN service has, would make life easier when I'm feeling lazy and want to google an actor without walking the 20 feet to my computer), any complaints about the people on XBL can't really be levelled at Microsoft, rather the morons that talk smack, but a lot of services have that problem.
Anyway didn't Microsoft start banning cheaters in MWF2 over Christmas while Sony let them get away with it, because banning a PSN account is pointless, where as banning an XBL account basically bricks the console? isn't that a good thing? cheaters can rot in hell.
In addition one major advantage I personally get from XBL is it's free traffic with my ISP, I could burn through my monthly quota in 3 days downloading things from XBL, but thanks to a deal between my ISP and Microsoft it's totally free, all the movies, games, demos, etc are free, which means that I don't get double charged (once from the service provider and once from the ISP) like you do with a lot of companies, I know Microsoft has this deal with a lot of companies in Australia, pretty much anyone who is interested, I haven't heard about the PSN getting the same deal, and when you are talking about downloading games in the 4/5 gigabyte range it does matter.
IMO I do think the XBL service is better then the PSN service to a degree (though I want the web browser that the PSN service has, would make life easier when I'm feeling lazy and want to google an actor without walking the 20 feet to my computer), any complaints about the people on XBL can't really be levelled at Microsoft, rather the morons that talk smack, but a lot of services have that problem.
Anyway didn't Microsoft start banning cheaters in MWF2 over Christmas while Sony let them get away with it, because banning a PSN account is pointless, where as banning an XBL account basically bricks the console? isn't that a good thing? cheaters can rot in hell.
In addition one major advantage I personally get from XBL is it's free traffic with my ISP, I could burn through my monthly quota in 3 days downloading things from XBL, but thanks to a deal between my ISP and Microsoft it's totally free, all the movies, games, demos, etc are free, which means that I don't get double charged (once from the service provider and once from the ISP) like you do with a lot of companies, I know Microsoft has this deal with a lot of companies in Australia, pretty much anyone who is interested, I haven't heard about the PSN getting the same deal, and when you are talking about downloading games in the 4/5 gigabyte range it does matter.
None of those things are paid Xbox live services. You can do all of those things with a silver account. All a gold account lets you do is:outcast_within said:
- Join XBL parties
- Play games online
- Download DLC the first week it launches, after that anyone with a Silver Account and the M$-Points can get the DLC.
That's it.
If you're not enjoying playing games online enough to spend $4.20 a month to do it, then don't do it.
But as for your question as to WHY there must be a fee? I don't know the answer, probably just the old addage "don't do something for free if people are willing to pay you for it", and many many people are more then willing to pay, so they charge a fee.
I finally hooked my 360 to live today. Luckily the 12 month card that came with my system was still valid, so I'm set. I'll use this time to get to know live and see if it'd be a good investment for future years. I get my PS3 tomorrow, so I can compare the two online services.
I think alot of poeples problem with paying for the service is the culture we live in.
Everyone expects everything for free. Music, will i can just download it. Free. Games, will i can just download it. Free. So on and so on.
There was a time when you were provided a service for a fee. Such things do exist. You tip your waitress because she has provided you with a service. Hell i bet you pay more in a year on tips than you do on XBL. Unless your a total shut-in.
Microsoft is providing a service people want. Microsoft wants to be paid for that service... and a deal is then made.
Sure i'd like it to be free, but come-on PsN is only free because they could never compete with XBL at this time with a subcription fee. Its sort of like undercutting the gas station next door because you get no business... but thats because you have one pump... and it doesnt always work... and it gives you herpes.
Everyone expects everything for free. Music, will i can just download it. Free. Games, will i can just download it. Free. So on and so on.
There was a time when you were provided a service for a fee. Such things do exist. You tip your waitress because she has provided you with a service. Hell i bet you pay more in a year on tips than you do on XBL. Unless your a total shut-in.
Microsoft is providing a service people want. Microsoft wants to be paid for that service... and a deal is then made.
Sure i'd like it to be free, but come-on PsN is only free because they could never compete with XBL at this time with a subcription fee. Its sort of like undercutting the gas station next door because you get no business... but thats because you have one pump... and it doesnt always work... and it gives you herpes.
?-Pod- said:
PSN service is almost the same, except more reliable. Sure, XBL has messenger, but PSN has a browser, so you can even use web MSN applications like ebuddy, and access to youtube, or other video websites. What does XBL have that PSN doesn't you ask? Ads.
They're actually going to start charging for it.Julianking93 said:I still like the PSN better.
I get all that for free
Hip hip, horay!MMMowman said:
Hip hip, horay!!
Hip hip, horay!!!Hip hip, horay!
Hip hip, horay!!
Hip hip, horay!!!
Horay for Sega Genesis!
Hip hip, ho-....what? I like it :C
Playing games is not in the premium membership, its still basic service. That's what the console is all about isn't it?SextusMaximus said:Just you wait sir, if you want premium stuff soon Sony are thinking of...Julianking93 said:I still like the PSN better.
I get all that for free
MAKING YOU PAY FOR IT!!!!
...not to worry if you don't mind paying for it though..
Aaaaaaaaaand we have a winner! The 360 is more stable, has more features and uses the money to get more exclusives. Take (just off the top of my head...) Fallout 3. The cash you spent on X-Box Live paid for the DLC for that to come out on the X Box and Games for Windows versions waaay before the PS3.VanityGirl said:Watch this guy, he's very smart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyq5yu3_dGQ&feature=sub
I'm willing to pay for something that works. PSN= general failure.
Sorry, I do have PSN and XBL and I prefer XBL because I have VERY few problems with it.
I'm willing to pay for something that WORKS.
Please watch this video before you make judgements.
I own all consoles, I don't love a console more than the other, the 360 has weakness and the PS3 has weakness.
Now, onto the obvious "yeah, but I don't care about Fallout 3 and I choose to ignore the rest of your point!" response. Well... Thanks for paying for my enjoyment, I guess.
EDIT - also, to all the PC "gamers" doing the "Hip hip hooray" bollocks... THIS is why everyone hates you and laughs when Dedicated servers are pulled. Kindly fuck right off, you miserable trolls.
I'm not big on multiplayer anyway, so I don't bother with it.
And until more people quit, they'll keep on charging. Because of this, I, to be quite frank, wish more people would convert to using the PS3 and the PSN. It is the only way Microsoft will learn.
And until more people quit, they'll keep on charging. Because of this, I, to be quite frank, wish more people would convert to using the PS3 and the PSN. It is the only way Microsoft will learn.
The DLC which you also had to pay for? Smells like double dipping to me.Chipperz said:
They shouldn't be charging for it. Steam offers the exact same features as Live and is free. I see no reason for the extra cost other than to make more money off it. Case in point, the Live membership for PC is also free. And also has the exact same feature list as the Xbox version.
It has nothing to do with stability or quality. They shouldn't be charging for it. You already pay for your internet, the servers are not being hosted by microsoft, you're playing on listen servers that incur no extra cost to microsoft.
Its an artificial cost that exists only because they know people are willing to pay it. In short, a ripoff. And the only reason I vouched for a Wii/PC instead of a 360.
I don't need to pay extra for the privilege of using my own internet connection.
Well in the end i guess it's because people are willing to pay for it.
The it's only x dollar a month argument is pretty big. I kinda think that argument is funny, I don't mind paying to use something that i already paid for since it's cheap.
People are also willing to pay for it since there are no good alternatives. The wii doesn't even come close, and apparently psn home network isn't as good as live as well.
So since xbox has a monopoly on good online console gaming they can ask people money for using their own internet.
Pretty smart.
The it's only x dollar a month argument is pretty big. I kinda think that argument is funny, I don't mind paying to use something that i already paid for since it's cheap.
People are also willing to pay for it since there are no good alternatives. The wii doesn't even come close, and apparently psn home network isn't as good as live as well.
So since xbox has a monopoly on good online console gaming they can ask people money for using their own internet.
Pretty smart.
No, it really isn't. It might work fine for gaming (in my experience it's been atrocious, however that's not my point) but from a technological standpoint it's very, very dated and poorly implemented. It's simply another avenue where people are willing to pay and microsoft are willing to charge, P2P hosting connections are not smart, they are not new and they most certainly are not complex or costly.akmarksman said:
Hooking up new xboxs to the network actually makes microsoft significant amounts of money through advertising long before user fees are accounted for. It gives the system a greater choice of hosts and allows the matchmaking to work better. It's a brilliant bussiness model, but the tech behind it is subpar at best, the only way some in IT would think it's a good system is if they're profiting off it, it's a horrendous system for the user (which is exactly why PC gamers so readily reject it).