XBOXLIVE prices increasing on November 1st 2010

And just when I was considering purchasing one of the new X360's... this happens.

$60 for a year ultimately isn't THAT bad. You do have to admit that $5 a month is pretty paltry. Ultimately though, PSN is free as stated which makes their whole "Best value in the industry" shpiel look like the pile of steaming hot turds that it is. Then add in that the features they're adding are either free on a computer (and the fact that 99.9999% of people with internet access have a computer), or come at an additional cost to you ON TOP of Xbox Live... it continues to grow unattractive.

Then consider the true evil genius under it all. When you pay more for a service... you tend to use it more don't you? Also consider that the price increase is coming only a few months after they just released the refreshed X360 (The shelves may fly off with the new consoles). Then! Consider this may not be the last price increase we'll see in the coming years.

Seeing as how all I was really going to do was play Halo and Forza... the value heavily weighs in favor of me not spending money on something that could be even more unreliable (hopefully not) than it's predecessor and sticking to my PS3, Gran Turismo, saving up for a new car and riding my bicycle.

Suggested Solutions:

1. Offer a program that is essentially Silver + Online gaming for a good value.

2. Stir up a protest with mass-nationwide non-renewals and show Microsoft that they don't quite have their customers by the balls like they think they do (DO IT, IT'S POSSIBLE)
 
Nero9
Another reason for me NOT to buy an Xbox. 👍
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XBL has it good points like Community Play dates ( I don't know if PSN has it) Where you can play with game producers, celebs, etc etc. But I would like Silver just to let you play online. I don't mind not having those features.
 
Good thing I prefer single player gaming. I haven't had gold for like a year, and I really can't say that I miss it all that much. I'll just go hang out with a few friends for multiplayer gaming...it's more fun that way anyhow.

And Joey, to answer your question all DLC is still available to silver members, as well as game updates, the only thing that is different is that there is a longer wait to play the newly released demos.

And what a surprise danielwhite came here to talk trash on the xbox and forza. If I'm trolling forums just to express my hate for a video game system/game at his age, somebody please shoot me.
 
Max Powers
Good thing I prefer single player gaming. I haven't had gold for like a year, and I really can't say that I miss it all that much.
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Me too, but if I'm busy I hop in for a quick game of Call of Duty or something to relax. I'm probably getting the worst value out of Live. There were times when I had it and didn't play at all for a couple months in a row. Hopefully I can still find the 12(13) month cards online for ~ $35.
 
I honestly don't know why so many of you are complaining (and it isn't only on this website).

Microsoft have been charging the same amount for almost 10 years. A tiny increase in select regions is by no means a selfish money grab.

Since XBL first went up the amount of features available has increased by atleast 5 times and the servers that everyone connects too are not free to run.
 
FyreandIce
I honestly don't know why so many of you are complaining (and it isn't only on this website).

Microsoft have been charging the same amount for almost 10 years. A tiny increase in select regions is by no means a selfish money grab.

Since XBL first went up the amount of features available has increased by at least 5 times and the servers that everyone connects too are not free to run.
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While that is true is does ignore three facts.

The first being that server's hardware has become both cheaper to buy and run that at just about any time in the past. I work in for a company that supplies IT solutions to the motor industry and the cost of server's and disc space used to be a major issue. Now its an incidental cost. MS's overheads in this area have almost certainly reduced not increased.

The second is that this is now a well established business model, given that if they have not managed to already cover the set-up costs for Live then they are working to a fundamentally flawed model. One object of any business model of this type will be to reduce costs over time. If its was designed to operate in any sane manner it would also have been engineered to reduce overheads as users increased (the company I work for has managed to do this for our on-line training provision within 18 months - at first every user cost us £10 per year, now each one makes us £15 per year after we reduced the end-user fee by 10%).

The final factor is that the other two players in the market both offer on-line gaming for free. Now its easy to dismiss Nintendo as the service is basic beyond belief (however it will still not be free for them to provide). However PSN offers an almost exact match in terms of service and features for zero cost to the end user. From my own point of view the (very) slightly reduced download speeds for patches and cross-game chat do not warranty the cost. Neither is any more stable than the other and as far as game latency and stability go they are pretty much a draw, Zune vs PSN movies is pretty much equal and in my opinion Vidzone tops last.fm. All the twitter and facebook functionality can be run through the web-browser and the BBC iPlayer in the UK is a better choice than having to pay for Sky.


At a time when MS should be in a position to reduce the end-users fee both from a financial point of view and a market position point of view, putting it up seems a rather strange move to make.

It causes an un-necessary backlash against them and actually helps strengthen one of its main competitors selling points.

Had they offered new functionality at the same time as doing this them may well of off-set some of this damage, but given that fact that they have done this a short while after axing 100-1, means that for a good number of people they will see it as paying more for less.

Now keep in mind that I own a 360 and have Gold membership, that doesn't however change the fact that I do not believe this to be a smart move by MS in any way.



Scaff
 
Scaff
While that is true is does ignore three facts.
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Have to admit, when I first read this sentence my immediate thought was "grab some popcorn." :)

The only thing I might add is that MS has been pretty proactive in adding features to their service. So while this has little, if any, real cost impact on their hardware infrastructure it very well "might" have significant cost impacts on their contracts/licensing agreements.

IE Netflix. I have no idea who pays more for this service, NF or MS, but I can't imagine adding that much additional bandwidth usage to Live can be anything but more expensive. Even if NF is providing the content at no additional cost to MS, could be a huge assumption mind you, having thousands of users (if not 10's/100's of thousands) constantly streaming movies through Live has got to be factor that has a real $ value attached to it.

Your points do beg the question though, assuming they have a sane business plan and Live is already a net positive cash flow generator then why increase the subscription charge to your current and future users?

1 - they are in fact grubbing for more money in the form of greater profits (IE because we can & we like moar $$).

2 - they anticipate some near future market/business condition that will make Live MORE expensive to MS.

3 - they feel that there is some increased psychological advantage in charging more for their service (IE Live must be better because it costs the same as a new game).

4 - maybe there is a business/investor marketing advantage from a total revenues generated perspective. So although Live may be no more profitable than PSN (or not that much more), they could justifiably claim a significant revenue advantage in comparison simply because they get to add subscription monies to the bottom line.

5 - other ;).
 
FyreandIce
I honestly don't know why so many of you are complaining (and it isn't only on this website).

Microsoft have been charging the same amount for almost 10 years. A tiny increase in select regions is by no means a selfish money grab.

Since XBL first went up the amount of features available has increased by atleast 5 times and the servers that everyone connects too are not free to run.
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I'll ignore everything I've already said previously, and what's been said after your post and be the arsehole of the bunch, because, quite frankly I'm a bit annoyed of people pulling this flaw defense logic from between their legs; if it isn't such a big deal...how about you pay to renew my service when it expires in November? There's no way in hell I'm paying $60 a year for the equivalent of nothing. What is Live offering me that I can't get from my PC or the PS3?

Why am I paying for multiplayer when it's free everywhere else? Have you seen the multiplayer population for PC games? Yes, a select few do charge for multiplayer (and even players spoke against it) but there are more PC games that give you 100% free multiplayer with all of the so-called "premium" features that Live is touting with absolutely no additional cost. So, why don't you PM me your credit card information and I'll be glad to charge your account for a $59.99 (again, which is the exact same price as a brand new game) online service that has little to absolutely no benefit over any other online service - whether it be PS3, PC, or the Wii.
 
Max Powers
And Joey, to answer your question all DLC is still available to silver members, as well as game updates, the only thing that is different is that there is a longer wait to play the newly released demos.
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Good to know, thanks! I'm really ok with ditching my Gold account now.
 
Terronium-12
I There's no way in hell I'm paying $60 a year for the equivalent of nothing. What is Live offering me that I can't get from my PC or the PS3?

Why am I paying for multiplayer when it's free everywhere else?
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That is the reason I do my online gaming on PS3. I don't online game all the time, just sometimes. Live is a poor value for me, someone else it may be perfect for.

Oh yeah it offers you the "best value online service" according to Major Nelson. I'm awaiting the update that reveals the value he speaks of.
 
Considering the Gaming Division is one of the few divisions Microsoft actually makes money in, and they blew up to a billion dollars on a failed product called the Kin. It doesn't surprise me at all that they are increasing the price of services in the gaming division.
 
icelt
IE Netflix. I have no idea who pays more for this service, NF or MS, but I can't imagine adding that much additional bandwidth usage to Live can be anything but more expensive. Even if NF is providing the content at no additional cost to MS, could be a huge assumption mind you, having thousands of users (if not 10's/100's of thousands) constantly streaming movies through Live has got to be factor that has a real $ value attached to it.
.
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Netflix actually doesn't stream from Live, it merely serves as a portal of sorts to Netflix's servers. Microsoft just pays a fee(as do Nintendo and Sony as both support Netflix streaming) to make their devices "official" streaming devices.
 
All that needs to be said, is thats Micro$oft for ya. Don't know any of my workmates who use Live, they're all on PSN playing online for free...
 
I don't really care about the increase. I always get my extension key on ebay. Just did so yesterday. Got 12+1 for 39,99€. Normal price vor 12 months in Germany is 59,99€. So yeah, I can't complain at all.
 
I pay £31.89 per year for Xbox Live which is £2.65 per month. I never buy any points memberships direct from Microsoft as they can normally be purchased cheaper through Amazon or Play. I purchase my Xbox Live membership from this seller on EBay.

I'd pay £2.65 a month just to be able to access the demos.
 
Just wondering where everyone is getting their deals from now that it is $60.00 per year? I think mine renews very soon so I need to find a deal asap.
 

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