On Sunday Amazon cut the price of a $50 Xbox Live Gold subscription by 40 percent to $30. The sale is part of Amazon's Hardware and Accessories sale for gamers and lasts until January 31.
The Gold subscription gives you 12 months of Xbox Live service, which includes access to online multiplayer gaming, video chat, game and video downloads, and Netflix's online streaming service (Netflix subscription required).
However, as PCWorld's Matt Peckham points out, Microsoft should stop charging for the Xbox Live service altogether. Sony Playstation 3 owners already enjoy free access to their Xbox Live equivalent, the Play Station Network, and while the PS3 bonus may not be a barrier to attracting new Xbox 360 customers it would certainly be an added incentive. Also, Microsoft has already stopped charging PC gamers for the Games for Windows Live Service so why not Xbox Live?
Gary Green said: You’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of the Ar Tonelico trilogy. The previous two games arrived so late in the PS2’s life-cycle that they simply went unnoticed. While most were tinkering with their shiny new PS3s, Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia and Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica were being ‘returned to sender’ by your local Game stores. Luckily, you won’t need to have played them to understand and appreciate this third and final chapter, Qoga (pronounced k-yoga) tells the story of a racial war between humans and Reyvateils, a breed of biologically produced female cyborgs capable of reproduction, while still having a digital mind.
Oh my god. I kinda wish this would get a remaster on PS5, it would be awesome. One of my favorite games on PS3.
That and 3D Dot Game Heroes. It's a shame that some stuff is stuck on PS3.
Ar Tonelico 3 is good I still prefer the first AT game. The music is solid in all the games and Akiko Shikata is a very talented singer bringing life to the game. Only annoying part is well I find is Saki I always choose Finnel or Tyria. KOEI so needs to HD remaster the franchise along with Ar Nosurge and Ciel Nosurge since it never came to North America. I would day one the Ar Toneliceo games and Ar Nosurge if they were remastered.
I still have the limited edition of Qoga unopened. Unfortunately it never went up in value like I had hoped all these years.
Used to own all these quirky JRPG on ps3 good times. Wish I would have kept them all
This could be fun as they make great tables. Go big or go extinct. Prime your senses for a neural handshake and step into the cockpit of a Jaeger. It is on you to cancel the apocalypse when Pacific Rim Pinball comes to Pinball FX on May 16.
Gary Green said: We have a juxtaposition of 2D and 3D visuals, flashy turn-based combat, quirky anime characters with cheeky dialogue with plenty of partial nudity; Yes, this is a Compile Heart JRPG. Whilst the engine is borrowed from Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Mugen Souls is more of a Disgaea spin-off. It’s not a strategy RPG as such, it merely sits within Disgaea’s ever-expanding universe (Multiverse? Netherverse? Your guess is as good as mine). You won’t find cameos though, since Mugen Souls is a franchise which aims to stand on its own two feet.
Look, I pay for this service for myself and my son and am glad to, it's what stops the temporary accounts and reduces the abuse, the prospect of a ban is a good thing as you'll lose money. The xbox live service is excellent and don't mind paying for it. The money also pays for the development and the in-game functionality that is already excellent.
So, stop moaning.
I'm not sure which service is better, I don't know what Live delivers that is better but I know PSN delivers good stuff for free. If you don't mind paying for something that could be free then good for you.
welll when its free then i might give it a try or else i'll stay with my ps3 cause its free
"Also, Microsoft has already stopped charging PC gamers for the Games for Windows Live Service so why not Xbox Live?"
Because they know they will continue to pay for it.
i don't mind paying live, its not some huge financial burden and the service has delivered to me since its very inception
people complain about paying for live now, what about those of us who paid on original xbox when the only features were voice chat and playing online
in my eyes the money has been put to very good use
psn is still "okay" but still not as social as xbox live, xbox live is turning into something more than just "play online" it is a evolving into a whole different animal with digital distribution and netflix and other things
a testament to this is when you watch a tv show and afterward it says "available for download on itunes and xbox live"...thats a big deal, which is also where the money goes...all of those shows, movies,videos on XBL have to be licensed...licensing fees aren't pocket change
the variety of things available on psn are vastly sony properties in which they own the rights to so they can publish and distribute to their hearts content, microsoft does not have that luxury but they still maintain a very large library of content
people act like MS is pocketing the money, the constant evolving and updating of the service is what you pay for, the liscensing, the bandwidth, the reliability
PSN wouldnt be where it is today if XBL wasn't as good as it is, each update live stays 1 step ahead of psn and this will continue for a while
although psn is "free" it is still funded by the agmes, qore subscriptions, and micro transactions within home, as well as adspace being sold in home
don't be fooled, you still pay for psn, you just don't know it
people who say the price for live is unnecessary are foolish, because without those payments the service wouldn't be where it is now, and psn wouldn't be where it is either
people need to look at things realistically and understand that companies need money to function, these things they produce don't come out of midair...they need funding on some level
every industry and service is the same, of course the ultimate goal is profit but in order to accomplish that they need to produce something people are willing to pay for
sony may have shot themselves in the foot with psn by making it free because say the next gen of consoles they want to turn to a pay service, very few people are going to be willing to pay for that because it has always been free
whereas live has been the same price forever basically, so anytime they offer up a break on price it is a big deal in the other direction
having a pay service with a lot of incoming revenue has very large advantages and freedoms with it, but a free service you get kind of boxed in and people take note when things start costing
we will have to see where that goes in a few years, personally i think sony may move toward a "gold or silver" account approach or else psn is going to be heavily reliant on adspace or micro transactions in which you will begin to feel nickel and dimed