Why should Xbox LIVE be free?
I’ve come across the argument that Xbox LIVE should be free quite often. I can’t remember these arguments when Xbox LIVE first launched. It’s likely due to the fact that there was no competition when it launched or rather no real alternative to gaming online with your console. However, now that Xbox LIVE is the dominant arena for online console gaming, the arguments for “FREE LIVE” have begun. Pay no attention to the ability to voice message/chat, the universal friend’s list, online features and whatever you do totally forget about the free system updates that happen.
I hope people understand why PlayStation Online is free. It has to be free because if it weren’t, no one would pay for it. If they presented anything other than “free” to compete against Xbox LIVE, they’d be toast. The funny thing is that it’s still not comparable to Xbox LIVE even while offering it for free. If it was the great alternative to Xbox LIVE that a few suggest, I’d imagine we’d hear a little bit more about it but we don’t.
Games for Windows - LIVE was just recently announced as being free and the uproar grew even louder. Well, that’s PC online gaming. It has always been free so there’s no reason why it shouldn’t have been to begin with. But why were there rumblings soon after that Xbox LIVE has no justification to charge simply because GFW LIVE is now free? It’s PC online! When has it not been free in the PC realm?
I’m very interested. I’m very curious about your reasons why Xbox LIVE should be free. Convince me. Help me understand this madness. I’m all for getting things free don’t get me wrong but as far as I can tell, no one has a good reason that makes sense. I feel that if Xbox LIVE were free, we’d hear a bunch of “if only Xbox LIVE had this or that then I would pay for LIVE if it had this”. (which would be things it already has)
Some of the arguments that I will ignore are listed below.
- Because PC online is free
- Because PlayStation Online is free
- Because there are no dedicated servers
- Because Steam does (insert thing) for PC users
Xbox LIVE and PC online are two separate animals and shouldn’t be compared. I understand what Steam does for PC but what does Steam do for console gaming? Nothing. That’s why that argument will be ignored. Talk about the PlayStation Network if you must but I’d wager, based on several friends who don’t bother playing online with it, that it’s not what Xbox LIVE is in comparison.
So let’s hear it then. I’d love to save my $4.17 a month too.
If there was a way to send you mine over the 360 then I would. I have a save at each disc of my perfect file
June 18th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
It doesn’t matter regardless… Microsoft will keep it’s $50/year (or $8/month) subscription fee because they’ve had it since, why change it when they know people will pay that much for the service. Nor will they offer a three tier solution because pretty much 80-90% of the XBL community would drop to Silver from Gold. I think the only way XBL will be free and/or have a price reduction is if the PS3 and PSN get their shit together, fix the issues with it, drop price, and convince developers to make good games. At the current rate, granted I don’t know or really care to know the specific hardware sales of the three consoles, Sony is losing ground (maybe not in hardware, since the more people that own the 360 the less that can buy it) in a lot of its games and exclusives.. To prove my point, name 10 exclusive PS3 games that are awesome…now name 10 exclusive Xbox360 games that are awesome. I bet you fill up the Xbox 360 list faster than the PS3 list, and with more quality titles. Which is a shame, the PS3 has amazing graphics and potential..but developers are aiming at the NA market where every gamer has a Xbox360 and every family has a Nintendo Wii.
September 1st, 2009 at 10:53 pm
I don’t know how Microsoft managed to pull off charging for something that they had no business charging for AND THEN getting all of its customers to DEFEND paying for it, but WOW that is one successful marketing department.
The core of the problem is this: there are some people who want all those millions of features, free demos, blah blah and they are willing to pay for those services, and then there are those people who just want to PLAY GAMES ONLINE. If I play Call of Duty online on a PC, or a PS3 it costs me nothing, but if I want to play it on an XBox360, I have to pay $50 a year – THATS RIDICULOUS.
GREAT that they have all these ‘excellent’ features like Netflix and Facebook, and lots of people love them, but what if I did not care for any of those features and just want to play online? Apparently DeaconBlade’s is suggesting the solution is go fork out even more money to buy a PS3…
The real solution is a true tiered system, where if you JUST want to play online, that should be free, and if you want all the other bells and whistles, then you pay $50 a year. Since so many of you guys love free demos (haha I love that the privilege of downloading demos is something you are willing to pay for) and the like, I’m sure you would stick with the $50 since you are getting more than you are paying for and all that bs.
Hey all I can say is you guys are doing a great job supporting that economy…unless that is you borrowed money on your house to pay for your Xbox Live subscription.
October 7th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
You miss the point in your own comment lochmonster, the point is if your paying a monthly or yearly fee then it’s not free. You are paying for the so called free stuff….I hate the fact that I paid an arm and a leg for my 360, I pay an arm and a leg for the games, I pay another fee for my internet connection and MicroSoft want us to pay yet again to enjoy all that money we’ve spent. It’s a rip off however you look at it, it’s MicroSoft all over…there only thought is about Bill’s bank account…..Something for nothing no chance, I heard a rumour that they are at the moment trying to sus how they can charge you for the electricity you use on their equipment….
November 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Let’s not be naive. Microsoft has an amazing online gaming community. Since the demand is so high and people are willing to pay for it, why not charge? I want free Live as much as the next guy, but understand that if they can charge for it, why not do so and help the company further improve? The good will come back to the consumer anyway. It helps fund Windows and other things Microsoft, making them better as well.
Basically, Microsoft would make it free if they could. They don’t just want money for the hell of it. They use that money to make people like us happy in the end. Think about it like taxes: If you are going to get all the benefits of being in the community, you won’t get it for doing nothing. Xbox has its service that connects you in a way that Playstation does not. Ultimately, Live is worth the money. I’d love it to be free too, but at least I know that there’s a reason it costs money.
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
i still don’t under stand why people hate the fact you have to pay for live. if you want to play online just get a 300 dollar ps3 with blu- ray and free internet. I’m not saying its bad but that 300 dollars makes up for not paying for the online. but the x box is 199 and that’s cheap but paying for online is like returning the favor to Microsoft for letting the x box be cheap i mean live is just a stand alone good online feture. paying them back that other 100 dollars ever 2 years is like the least you can do so they can still support x box and all the games and features it gives to us.
January 10th, 2010 at 4:28 am
xbox live should be free, its soo stupid to pay for something that you clearly dont have to, where im from 12 months is $90 and 1 month $10, it is soo stupid to pay when other consoles let you have free internet, i still find xbox better than ps3 dont judge its my opinion not yours, but anyway if you see on microsoft, microsoft also known as ms or m$ only has only got the consoles pc xbox, and xbox 360 not sony or nintendo
January 10th, 2010 at 9:39 am
xbox live should not be free if it keeps on being a better option than whatever sony or nintendo offer. xbox live is hand’s down the best online platform available on consoles. there is no comparison. just ask all the people unhappy with the playstation network. it will never be a comparison to xbox live. and when sony starts charging for it what will you say then?
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:42 am
Do I have to go back to my car analogy?
I already paid $300 for the console, plus $60 for each game that I own. Now they’re telling me I can only access half of my purchased game unless I pay a fee? That’s like buying a car, then the dealership blocking you from using your a/c unless you pay a monthly fee. Different prices, same concept.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 am
that’s a bad analogy because xbox live wasn’t a part of your $300 console. it’s an added feature like rims on a car. a/c isn’t an additional feature. it comes standard on all cars. and that $60 purchase is the entire game depending on the type of game you get. if you buy an online only game it’s your fault. but all other games are complete. playing them online offers nothing for the story or to complete them. playing them online is just for competition. you don’t need to compete to make a game whole.
so no, your car analogy isn’t the same concept.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
I have had enough of this debate of free online and I can say I agree with the rip off people. I have a wii and my cousens have a ps3 and my little brother has a 360. I recently saw the ps3 network for myself and to tell you the truth it lokked and played exactly the same as xbox live. I did not see any diffrence. Why pay an ISP 24.99 a month then pay microsoft to play online for 50.00 a year the month to month is a rip off totaling to $96 a year and the 3 month is no better the company is forcing you to pay $50.00 a year. An for that comment that PC and xbox are Diffent they are not! I would rather have a PC that does more for free than a rip off 360. Now I do admit xbox is fun i have no problem with that but I think xbox should be free because netflix is coming to nintendo too and what I have seen only rich people can afford to pay an extra 50 a year to use a 24.99 ISP on top of that. Now I agree that may be some were behinde the scenes microsoft may be improving somthing but i dont see it. Put a ps3 and a 360 side by side and play online and they look exactly the same and work the same. (I have seen it) Now if xbox live was cheeper like 3 bucks a month than that would be ok in my book. I can tell were the money does not go there customer sevice department! Take it from me the only system you need is a Wii or a ps3 what ever tickes your peach and a pc becuse a PC can be upgraded and most games on counsels graphics are a rip off! I have seen both HD sides ps3 and 360 compared to a nice pc I can tell! Can you play ATI-infinaty on a ps3 or 360? MWF2 on ps3 and xbox does not look close to good as mwf2 on a PC playing 1080P. The only diffrence is how sharp the words on the screen are and how colorfull the backrounds are. Ok listen what ever gaming sytem you have I am not dising them at all. Now i can tell you this you can buy a computer graphics card online for $50 bucks and be able to play blu-ray and play mwf2 so its $50 Vs $300 for the same viewing pleasue. Now you might be thinking why have a wii then well to put it simply have you ever seen a nintendo product for a pc other than a wifi adaptor or som other thing. NO! I cant play super smash bros brawl on a PC (unless your a hacker with tons of time and is willing to get sued)but I can play most games that are on ps3 and 360 for PC. I have assassins creed,prototype,section 8,gears of war,mwf2,and i recently preordered assaasin creed 2. All for PC so chuck you xbox out the window and upgrade to a computer so you dont have to pay for internet multiplayer because the way I see it no matter what counsle you have you get board with online and you eventualy stop playing so why waste money paying for somthing you can get free for a wii or ps3 or PC. If i had to choose betwwen buying a PC and a xbox 360 to play games the PC wins hands down! IF I wanted a 360 experice then I would buy a xbox 360 PC controller. Its like having you cake and eating it too with out havinbg to pay cash every time you take a bite. In terms of these who is better PC, Wii, Ps3, or xbox 360 I am not here to debate that fact. If you want free online go buy a ps3, wii, or a PC. Just for kicks you can buy an ati-4350 (which i have)for at least $50 on new egg and play mwf2. To conclude Xbox live is a rip off no compare a PC and a 360 whaich one can to more and offer it for free! Yes that right a PC!I have games for winodows live and that free so whay make one pay if the consept of game to oline is the same? If you compare it like this
PC,360 are both counsles
microsoft offers free onine play for one but not the other seems fishy? What I mean is recently microsoft briged games for winows live and xbox live servers so that PC people can talk and chat and pay with xbox 360 people. Seams like discrmination PC”I can play with you for free and talk to you for free but you have to pay to to what I do” That seems wrong Why can I do the exact same stuff for free and people with a 360 cannot? In the debate on free internet its a rip go buy a computer it will save you fustration. Once agin I am not debateing on who has better online or wich is a better gameing system jsut tryng to save people money. ^^