DAILY MANIFESTO

Xbox Live Gets A Price Increase This Fall

Posted on Monday, August 30 @ 16:28:43 Eastern by Daniel Bischoff

...because the Gods know we want to pay more for things other platform holders do for free.

I have to say that I've found my use of Xbox Live a shaky affair from the outset. I never felt especially happy to pay for online gaming services, especially when the PC has enjoyed that feature for decades and never asked for a credit card. Nevertheless, I "jumped in", as did many of my friends. Of course, that means all of my friends are on Xbox Live, I've grown much more accustomed to the architecture in place on the 360, and I'm reluctant to have a console in my house that CAN'T play online.

Xbox Live Gold will be upping its fees from $50 to $60 a year, with smaller subscription increments seeing smaller increases. There's a lot of explanation provided about how Live cost the price of a game when it launched and it should cost the price of a game now, but when it comes down to it, wouldn't you rather buy a game than buy the "privilege" to play online?

What bothers me most, though, is the way the press release makes it sound as if subscribers are getting so much more Live for their dollar. This was in my e-mail today (and may be in yours right now):

Over the past seven years, Xbox LIVE has evolved from an online gaming platform to an all-in-one gaming and entertainment service. As an Xbox LIVE Gold member, you can not only play blockbuster games, such as Halo: Reach with your friends online, you can also stream movies from Netflix and music from Last.fm right to your TV. You can even connect with friends near and far on Facebook® and Twitter™. Plus, you also enjoy exclusive discounts and early access to game demos. And we aren't even close to being done.

This holiday, Xbox LIVE is adding new Gold features, including ESPN and Video Kinect, with Hulu Plus coming on Xbox LIVE in 2011. With ESPN on Xbox LIVE, you can stream and watch over 3,500 live and on-demand sporting events plus highlights. Video Kinect allows you to chat with family and friends on the big screen, right from the comfort of your living room—no headset or controller required. With Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE you will be able to enjoy a customized Hulu Plus experience that will include Kinect navigation and Xbox LIVE Parties.

First, I don't use Facebook or Twitter. Secondly, if I did, I'd gladly have Microsoft remove them from my console so I wouldn't have to pay for those services. If I did have a Facebook or use Twitter, I'd simply use my iPhone, my computer, or any of the seemingly endless devices that offer that connectivity for free.

The same can be said for ESPN, Video Kinect, and Last.fm. I've used Last.fm, maybe twice. I'm not going to be getting a $150 Kinect. I'm not going to be watching ESPN on my Xbox. Finally...

HULU PLUS HAS ITS OWN SUBSCRIPTION FEE!

I will admit to copious amounts of Netflix consumption through my Xbox Live.

I feel cheated here. "Look at all this stuff you don't use! Pay us for it!" This is bullshit.

Tags: Xbox 360, xbox, live

Comments

acdibble
Joined: Jul 2007

Posted: Aug 30th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Perhaps it's time to get a PS3.

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UglykitteN
Joined: Mar 2006

Posted: Aug 30th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
That boils down to $.88 a week. I don't think that's too much to ask for, especially when the money is getting spent on Xbox live itself. More games, more demos, party voice chat even if everyone is on different games, and easily creating parties and jumping into someone else' game. Stop complaining. It's not as bad as you think it is.

Console shitstorm below me.

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Bretimus_v2
Joined: Jan 2009

Posted: Aug 30th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Depending on how much subscriptioin you buy at a time, that's an increase of $10 for yearly, $20 for quarterly and $24 for monthly. Although not a huge deal, I can understand the frustration of the XBL users. If this increase was in tandem with a huge overhaul and unveiling of new content, I don't think anyone would mind. But instead it's more of a "look at all the wonderful things we have offered you, now don't you agree you haven't been paying enough?"

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Daddio
Joined: Nov 2008

Posted: Aug 30th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
So wait, if they are charging ME for all the extra **** like Netflix etc ec that I DON'T USE then shouldn't I be getting a ****ing DISCOUNT? FUCK THE WORLD Greedy cocksmoking POS *****es.

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warmaster670
Joined: Jun 2007

Posted: Aug 30th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
"More games, more demos"
Which i get for free as a silver member, really though rnjoy paying yo u8nlock the multiplayer of games you already bought.

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UglykitteN
Joined: Mar 2006

Posted: Aug 30th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
By "more games, more demos" I mean that more developers are getting their games onto the marketplace. It goes back to my whole point about how the money is supporting the market place. At least, I'm assuming that's what you meant by "really though rnjoy paying yo u8nlock the multiplayer of games you already bought."

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BelgianROFLs
Joined: Jun 2008

Posted: Aug 30th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
@Warmaster670, you get all that for free, because Gold members subsidise you. Have you ever played a Free2play MMO? The free members are able to use the servers, and gain access to new content because SOMEONE is paying. What I get for my Xbox live subscription fee is that the same connectivity features, friends lists, voice chat, player prefer/avoid, trueskill level, etc are GUARANTEED to be in every game that connects over Xbox Live. Whereas, you might have any number of disparate (or wholly absent) systems and featuresets on PSN.

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