Xbox Live: No Longer the Gold Standard

Xbox Live Gold is an antiquated dinosaur that no longer fits within this industry. It's an exploitive service that takes advantage of people's innate desire to connect with others, charging significant money ($59.99/year, or $9.99/month) for features given away for free on competing platforms. As the next generation approaches, it's time for Microsoft to shelve this nickel-and-diming venture once and for all.

[NYC_Gamer]

I agree,that's way my Xbl account is on free status.I refuse to pay for online features that Steam and PSN offer for free of charge.

[Welshy]

All fanboyism etc aside.

When you look at the facts between XBL, PSN and Steam, it seems more than a little ridiculous that XBL still gets away with charging for online features.

The simplest way to break it down in the XBL vs PSN debate in my book is: If everything on XBL was made free excluding cross game chat which was still $60/£40, would you still pay for it knowing that you were only paying for features literally EVERY other platform does for free?

Apart from the obvious (not being able to play online at all) without paying, i think it's got to such a stage where long term XBL users have just been so accustomed to paying that they feel that:

A) If they are paying, then by default it MUST be better or worth it somehow.

or B) Admitting it's a rip-off now and saying it's not worth it after shelling out hundreds, if not 1000's, of £/$ over the years would be like admitting defeat and confessing to being fooled all those years and not wanting to look silly.

Regardless of platform, title or company, online features should ALWAYS be free, especially if they want to go down the Online Pass route we have been travelling. Can anyone honestly say it's fair to have to buy a £400 console, buy a £40 game, pay up to £10 per month for your internet, pay £40 MS to allow you access to your own internet and if the game is preowned or rented, having to shell out £8 AGAIN just to play the full product on the disc?

It's all getting a bit out of hand and, especially MS, if they just swallowed their pride and admitted noone has the money to go through that process for 5 more years next gen, and ditched the XBL fee, they'd be on to an absolute winner not just in the eyes of Xbox gamers, but the industry in general.

[SolidSystem]

For me, its something that when I first got into the platform and grew accustom to it. Its the same way with something like WOW. I go into it knowing I'll be paying yearly for MP.

I dislike it, but at the same time its where the games I like are. So I have to.

It will be interesting to see what MS does.

[Akuma-]

paying for xbl is silly but i guess we all are individuals and free to do whatever as long as its not hurting anyone.

ive got an xbox or several but i realise that i shouldn't be paying extra to play online because i can play most of its games on ps3 and way more. also the few extra xbox exclusives i dont need to experience online for xbox because i dont need to experience every game online or play. i love gears of war but ill just have to go without playing them all because i refuse to pay for xbl.

ill get the next xbox but dont plan on ever getting xbl for it.

[Eazy-Eman]

Yo, faceless...that was a really good comment. I bubbled you up. Couldn't have said it better myself. I have had both a ps3 and an xbox and I can tell you that aside from playing halo and gears online it's really not worth it playing 60 dollars a year just to play those few games online. I also felt like when I had a gold membership I would feel like I was wasting it by just playing single player games.

[Diver]

the ps3 was attacked relentlessly for its launch price. for those that bought a launch 360 an live 7 years later the get it cheap now didn't pay off.. ps3 cost more at launch but was the better investment

[omi25p]

im happy paying for Xbox live because i think the service is better but also the main reason is party chat.

If ps3 had party chat for free i may reconsider.

Also microsoft is the only Publisher/Developer not doing Online Passes.

[DigitalRaptor]

The truth is strong in this one. Well said!

Being forced to pay for P2P online gameplay is outrageous. By all means, charge for the advanced features like party chat but I can guarantee that there are millions upon millions of willing Xbox customers in waiting (like myself) who would snap up a next generation Xbox, minus the ransom to play half of its games online that you paid full dollar for.

Microsoft have been investing in first party studios and this is an absolutely positive move for next gen, but I just wish they would go a step further, swallow their pride and stop charging for basic connectivity where it's neither necessary nor pro-consumer.

@ omi25p

PS3 hasn't and won't ever get party functionality. PS Vita has it for free, as should PS4.

[thebudgetgamer]

@omi: Xbox live is an online pass.

[riverstars86]

I don't think that Xbox Live Gold is worth the money that I spend for it, however, I pay for it because I value the social features such as cross game chat and party chat. These features are great and I wish the PS3 had them, but because they aren't on the PS3, it is hard for me to have the same experience when I play PS3 online.

I know there are a lot of people on this site who will argue that it isn't a big deal, but I got so accustomed to using cross game and party chat on Xbox 360 that I find myself hard pressed to play PS3 online because of the lack of these features.

Honestly, that is all it comes down to for me sadly. I don't care much about the apps of either service, but PS+ is a great service for that easily puts Xbox Live Gold to shame. I'm not a fan boy of either.

However, I'm so excited about next generation because I know that the PS4 will implement these features and if I find myself not having to pay a yearly fee to use them on PSN, then Microsoft has lost me as a customer, because I know Microsoft will still charge for Xbox Live. Now will Microsoft and Sony please quit stalling and bring on the next generation!!

[MasterCornholio]

Well said faceless well said.

And i completely agree with you that it doesn´t make any sense to pay for multiplayer on XBOXlive if every one else is offering for free. Its free for the PS3, Vita, Wii U, Wii, 3DS, PC and many other platforms so what reason does Microsoft have for charging for it? None at all in my opinion and the only reason why they can get away with this is because XBOX gamers (since the first XBOX) are used to paying for multiplayer which is why they continue to pay for it.

I used to own a 360 and i used to have a subscription to gold so i know what it was like to pay for online multiplayer. But the problem that i had with the service is that it didn't provide me with anything that i couldn't get on the PC. So i made a decision to sell my 360 and buy a PS3. I had a regular PSN account for a short while but then i saw Plus offered for 40€ and in September i joined PlayStation plus. Ever since i joined plus i manage to download a ton of games that i haven't played before. Which got me thinking why gold subscribers are not demanding a similar service with XBOXlive gold? I seriously cant believe that XBOX owners don't want something like plus because it provides a lot more content than XBOXive and in my opinion its a service worth paying for.

Thanks for your comment as it was a very thoughtful, logical and very pleasurable one to read. However you might receive some degree of backlash from the fans who refuse to accept the truth about XboxLive.

[cannon8800]

The only reason I personally didn't buy the xbox 360 was because I would have to pay just to play my own games online etc. I swear I would have bought it if xbox live was just free.

[carlocgc]

@ TheFaceless

excellent comment very well put and my sentiment exactly however MS will charge while people will pay for it and i cannot see them turning away easy money.

I would rather that all the people willing to pay for Xbox live ON Xbox live and away from me as i no longer use Xbox for gaming though i do still use LIVE on windows for FREE from time to time but only if i have to.

[aquamala]

cloud saves are not free on PSN. yesterday Best Buy had a sale of 3-month XBL cards plus 800 ms points for $12.99 , so really 2.99 for 3 months, I bought 2 years worth of cards.

[Welshy]

So paying slightly less for something that should be free, and IS free everywhere else makes it OK?

Bottom line: you are still needlessly forced into paying for something you already pay your ISP for.

Edit: @SolidSystem PSN, Steam, Wii U, 3DS, Vita etc all let you use your ISP without a 3rd party surcharge for basic online play.

My point being that what MS provide is no different from the other platforms, so all they are essentially doing is standing in your way demanding more $ for the privelage of using their service which offers nothing different.

Refer to my comment #1.1 for a full explanation of what i'm trying to say so i don't have to retype my whole point here.

[SolidSystem]

Faceless, you have that wrong. I pay my ISP for a connection. Not the other services available on the internet.

I agree gaming online should be free, with maybe some promotions (like PSN+ does.... which I am a member of) to bring in additional money.

Though the argument about ISP is silly.

[StoneyYoshi]

Still paying to play the games you purchased to their full usefulness. discounted or not.

[aquamala]

@TheFaceless

like I said, cloud saves are not free on PS, to get it on PS you need to pay $50 a year for PS+. so no the "free" PSN does not have the same features as XBL gold.

[DigitalRaptor]

@ TheFaceless

It's frustrating when people completely miss the point you're trying to make, isn't it? Happens all time in specific regard to this topic.

People think you're hating on a service. No!!! Xbox Live is excellent service. What is under scrutiny (and rightly so) is Microsoft's decision to charge their customers for something that is free in ecosystems outside Xbox. Basic online play or P2P. Look it up people. That shouldn't be a ransom/selling point for Xbox Live. That should be a guarantee for the $60 you pay for each of your games. Have MS charge $60 a year for advanced features only - I have absolutely no issues with that.

And discount arguments shouldn't even apply here since it's about the principle, not about how much you can save on things you shouldn't have to consider paying for to begin with.

[Hozi]

you bought two years? did you check the expiration date(not sure if there is one) I just don't want that to happen to you before you finish your first 3 months.

[grifter024]

It's funny that people that don't know where to look cry about paying for XBL.

If you actually were a person that played on the 360 and paid for XBL you would already find deals everywhere.

The dashboard when you become a silver member has $1 for 1 month deals...and guess what you can cancel the auto renewal so when the month ends you just do it over again. Not to mention everyone that was gold last week got 1 whole free month for free because cloud was down.

I've paid 12$ for 1 whole year doing that...oh but wait I'm still paying boohoo.

If you don't want to pay and don't have a 360 I don't know why you are in here crying about it.

[mochachino]

My Gold account expired December 2012, haven't renewed it and don't plan too. Not having a gold account makes my 360 seem worthless now though, like a car missing an integral part that isn't worth fixing.

I may even sell my 360 as I'm starting to really appreciate my PS3 lately. Looks like all my future multiplats will be on PS3 for the foreseeable future, which is OK cause all my friends switched over to PS3-only a while ago for the free online anyways.

$60 per year to play online is about $30 too much for me. The apps and other stuff certainly isn't worth the high surcharge.

It seems the US is the only place where 360 does well now, PS3 dominates every other market. I live in Canada and don't know anyone that has a 360 anymore. They all switched to PS3 after their consoles broke or just sold it for PS3s free online.

[Rivitur]

Cheap ass gamer had a post a while back that I used to get 2$ for two months

http://www.cheapassgamer.co...

[MasterCratosKong66]

not disagreeing w your main point, but ps3 does not dominate every other market

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

If ps4 and 720 release at the same price 720 will be $60 more.. $120 for multi-player and a game on 720 or a $60 for a ps4 launch game + gaikai features? hmmm

Buy a MS car(xbox) and they will charge you extra for the steering wheel(multiplayer).

[delboy]

And when did you realize that?! Lol
Why did you buy a xbox in the first place?
Lol for everyone that bought a xbox in the first place,knowing about gold subscription and no online without payment.

[Mr_Writer85]

@ omi25p

im happy paying for Xbox live because i think the service is better but also the main reason is party chat.

If ps3 had party chat for free i may reconsider.

Also microsoft is the only Publisher/Developer not doing Online Passes.

Sooooooo..... You pay £40 a year for party chat? Hahahahahahahahahahah mug.

And MS wont do online passes because they charge you for online already :/

[Kran]

I don't disagree with you. I do agree.

But the problem is so many people pay for XBL, which means Microsoft will think: "Wow. We're actually making money from this. Stuff those people who disagree with us. XBL WILL ALWAYS BE A PAID SERVICE!!!"

Stupid I know.

[Nes_Daze]

Another thing people bring up is lag on PSN, which is ridiculous. There's lag on both sides, when I was on Live I got kicked about every 15 minutes from a party chat, or randomly disconnected. And now with PSN Plus, I just can't justify paying $50 for cross game chat and a prettier display.

[otherZinc]

No, its ridiculously naive for a so-called super site like Gamespot doesnt realise the importance & fluidity of XBOX Live. PSN is a POS & all of you know this.

PSN doesnt work until a few patches have been released. It isn't integrated.

Most of All:
If you guys think SONY is going to do this for free next gen...You're Stupid!

M$ worked on LIVE for 3 years before it released: Oh, and you nuts think people work for free? Do you work for free? Yet, a service like Live that isn't duplicated, you want for free? You're Stupid!

Its funny, these articles release every month. I know its for traction, but, it just tells me how Stupid a Site can actually be.

Keep up with the day 1 patches & complaining about SONY online games that dont work day 1, also, the massive load times.

Keep up the Stupid, People.
You get what you pay for.
If LIVE were overrated it wouldnt be killing PSN right now!

[Cam977]

It never was.

[NeverEnding1989]

I just renewed my annual gold subscription for $30. I wasn't too happy about it, but it's the best way to play multiplayer. Forget about most PS3 owners not having a mic, PSN is a gimped service compared to Xbox Live. Chat, Invites, UI, etc.

PS+ will force M$ to do better next gen. But until that time multiplayer gamers don't have a choice.

[DA_SHREDDER]

Gimped? I can play free games online for free like DCU, PShome, MAG, and Dust 514. Where's this gimp you speak of?

[SolidSystem]

DA_Shredder, he outlined the features he considered gimped. if you agree or not... thats a different matter.

I agree with him though. The invites, and missing chat support (cross game specifically) are a big deal to me.

[StoneyYoshi]

Since when do invites not exist on PSN? LOL

[ThanatosDMC]

That just means he's criticizing a console he's never touched.

[ipe]

yes they do.

bunch of garbage right there. Huge amount of people on live dont use mic at all, most of them use it in halo or cod, but it not some "standard".

bunch of people on psn and steam use mics.
I wont speak for everyone, but when i use mics i get distracted from game, i use it for casual games with friends, thats it.

It doesnt matter anymore is it 60 or 40 bux, i refuse to pay for p2p and things i dont use.

At this point psn, steam>>>> live, i received about 500 + euros worth of content with ps+ which was 45 euros. Many games i wouldnt have tried.
And steam is also different world dor live. PERIOD

[tee_bag242]

@ NeverEnding - "Multiplayer gamers dont have a choice" Heard of Steam or PS3?

If your happy paying for online play...thats fine, maybe I should make some extra money off you too and buy some MS shares.
Try and respect and educate yourself to the fact people have been gaming online for free, years before the xbox existed.

[Riderz1337]

Lol the reason why I don't even bother with Multiplayer games is because of the mic. Just a bunch of pre puberty kids screaming every time they die or yelling "I'm the best" when they get a kill. I just use Skype if I wanna communicate with friends online. It's free too.

[Alderney]

I'm assuming he's referring to cross game invites and the amount of time it takes to bring up the XMB while in game.

I agree tho. PSN+ is awesome, but my primary method of online gaming is going to continue to be Xbox live because of the features you listed.

[Max-Zorin]

This gen isn't the gold standard.
1. Gamers showing nothing but hatred toward each other. No unity whatsoever.
2. Companies purposely locking away game content and calling it DLC claiming technical difficulties.
3. Flame bait articles left and right.
Etc.

[BanBrother]

The funny thing about your comment is that, I bet half of the people who 'agreed' with you fit right into your first point, but are in denial.

I also agree with you, but this will never change. This gen we saw a massive influx of this generations teens (the bratty, over-spoiled douche-bags) and so it is more apparent.

[mochachino]

You realize that you just demonstrated that you too are in denial by showing your hatred making your comment not only hypocritical but an indictment of yourself as well.

[AD705]

Toooooooooooooooooooooooooooo true sir

high five!

[wumster]

I stopped paying this past November. It was hard to give up 7 years, but I have to agree that I don't think it is worth the price anymore. In the beginning, I was amazed that the online experience was so cohesive with the OS. Now, we have Steam, SEN and even Miiverse and they are free.

I know people are going to say it is not 60 dollars and you are right, you can find it for cheaper. However, when there are free services that offer the same thing and in some cases more, I had to eliminate my LiVE account.

[Godmars290]

Have to say as someone with a PS3 who never used XBL, the only people who seemed to think it was only had a 360. Worked for pro-360 sites.

[taylork37]

I have both and can tell you that PSN is where it is today because of XBL. I actually prefer my PS3 over my 360 for multiplats, but besides the fee (which is still not a big deal), XBL was the model that Sony followed to better PSN. Its really as simple as that.

PSN would look very different if XBL did not come first and I really don't think anyone can argue.

With that said, XBL never stopped being the "gold standard." XBL doesn't stop being the gold standard because a bunch of people who don't like anything about the 360 or MS don't like the fact that it isn't free and other people don't mind paying the insignificant fee.

You can pretend to downplay the popularity and success of XBL but that doesn't make it disappear.
Nest gen, when PSN is still free and has some of the obvious features that it lacked this gen then XBL will no longer be the gold standard. It will happen, it just hasn't happened yet.

[AD705]

I'm not a fan of xbl but I agree with your comment. PSN did pretty much follow XBL when it came to online. I remember when I first got my ps3 and how I refused to play on PSN in it's current state due to how terrible it was. But as it start to take after XBL it got better.

[P_Bomb]

Absolute credit to XBL for forcing Sony to improve their service to the point that MS now has reason to do the same.

The 10 million hardware lead is gone, so it's time for the pay model to reflect that and evolve. Apps like Youtube, IE, Netflix, Twitter and even the discontinued Facebook shoulda been open to Silver users. Period. Competition is great though cuz it forces these guys to look at what they offer, bang for buck. Remember no in-game messaging on PSN, no in-game XMB, the awful Konami log-ins for MGO, no scrolling game tickers on friend profiles, no premium avatars, no trophies, no blocking, no custom soundtracks period, no Plus, no Home? I do.

We've come a long way. From the "haz no gaemz" memes to this. Both systems became better because they had to and subsequently leapfrogged eachother at different points, while the Wii just kinda went on in its own lil' SD bubble.

[josephayal]

We all hate paying for Xbox live every year

[ItsTrue]

Don't we all? If it was free, then the world would be a happier place (except of Microsoft of course).

[B1663r]

The worst thing that could happen to the PS3 is for Microsoft to make XBL free. Xbox 360 sales in Europe in particular would asplode, and the xbox would start to pull away from the PS3 again, because as of right now, the XBL fee does in fact make the xbox 360 quite a bit more expensive than the PS3.

I mean if you look at the costs of the consoles over three years, the xbox is like a $600 dollar console, and the PS3 only costs 1/3 of the xbox and it only manages to sell a tiny bit more.

PS3 fanboys are taking EXACTLY the wrong tact here... Should the xbox 360 get free XBL at CES this month for example, it would add 5 years to the life of the xbox, and the Xbox 360 would end the generations by far and away the number one console of the generation.

The crushing effect that this would have on the ego PS3 fanboys could be life threatening.

[Fishy Fingers]

I love steam because I prefer my PC. But if you forgot about the subscription fee for just a moment, XBL is (in my opinion) a much better, connected experience compared to Sonys (and Nintendo) service. But MS are a software and OS company. It comes as no surprise, to me anyway.

The PSN is great, does everything you need it to and more, but it's not as easy or enjoyable to use (again, IMO).

Prefer the games though.

[ILive]

Are you speaking of strictly playing games online, or are you speaking of using the psn store? I just don't understand what you mean when you say " it's not as easy or enjoyable to use." What does that mean? When you say "prefer the games," are you talking about multiplats or exclusives?

[Belking]

I have no problems paying for live. Iv'e never paid full price. I don't see MS doing away with fee. It makes them money so it will most likely stay. I do see them adding even more stuff to it next gen. There are some misconceptions out there about the service though. Some think that you have to pay for xbox live which isn't true. It's the gold service that you pay for. It's more about choices. Some chose to pay for it and others won't. That's the beauty of it. If you decide yes, you can just pay for a limited time and you don't have to pay the full 60 bucks. There are always deals out there. I would rather pay for a year of live than sign a contract for cell phone or cable TV which we all know is a sure rip off.

[SamPao]

Well I actually did not want to read your comment as I knew where it was going... though
I did

but I stopped here

"It's more about choices."

that was funny pal ^^

oh btw THAT does not make any sense at all

[GenericNameHere]

You're funny. Choices? Hahahahahaha

If you just bought the, lets say, new COD for example, without Xbox Live Gold, you basically payed twice as much, and you're getting half of the feature you were promised with. Sure, there's the campaign (gold not needed), and you can still play Zombies and mutiplayer, but you can only play them by yourself, or with splitscreen. You HAVE to pay for Gold to access the other half of a game (if it has multiplayer multiplayer). That's a RIP-OFF. With the Wii U, PSN, and Steam, you can access ALL of the features of a game, without having to pay for another service just to access the online features for it. Sure, there's a bajillion Xbox Live Gold offers every day, but really, when 3/4 of the gaming hardwares are offering FREE ONLINE, then you're sticking out like a sore thumb. And what do you mean "limited time"? You're still paying for it, despite the offers doing it for free. Even a lot of the Xbox 360 console's features are locked out. You want to watch Netflix? Oops too bad. In addition to paying $9.99 (or however much it costs) for the Netflix subscription, you have to buy Xbox Live Gold subscription!! The PC, Wii U, and PS3 all have access to Netflix for free! Just put in your account, and you're good to go! I don't know why you compared Live with a cell phone or cable TV subscription, when they are "rip-offs".

I once a read a comment that said "Gaming is a very expensive luxury", and I somewhat agree to that. However, I hate to repeat this, but when 3 of the 4 major gaming hardwares offer free online, Xbox Live Gold sticks out like a sore thumb.

*note: A working Internet connection must be required to access said online features too. However, if you can read this, you probably have an Internet connection anyways... Unless you're reading this from work, a friend/family's house, school library, etc.

[AtomicGerbil]

If you don't pay for the gold service then you are locked out of the full experience of games containing online elements. If you want that full experience then that choice to pay for gold or not is taken away.

So in essence your choices are (minus features) pay Microsoft for full access to your games (games which Microsoft already take a substantial cut from) or don't and have access blocked to portions of your games.

Ok, the cost isn't great when you break it down over time, but it's still an extra cost that no other platform demands.

[jetlian]

not true 100 percent. live has had free weekends every month. 48 hour trials with games my halo 4 has 14 day trial. only thing free psn offers is online play all the time.

psn+ is same as live gold with different options. Psn still doesnt have voice message, party chat, custom music. Psn as a whole doesnt have nearly as much content, slower dl speeds, longer installs, takes longer to get patches and has worst 3rd party games support

[P_Bomb]

@Jetlian
The right to open apps and the browser has always been free as well. There's certainly no free-to-play Gold equivalent to the DC Universe Online or Dust514 MMOAGs. Preference I guess is subjective, but your list of negatives is mostly relegated to system memory rather than service value. Plus and Gold are actually very different.

Party chat for example is a hardware issue. Memory. Hence why the Vita has no cross game blabbing issues. Hell, it does cross *play*. Not really applicable here. 360 hardware lacks its own features that a Gold sub' can't resolve, like the lack of DTS/DTS HD/Dolby HD/7.1 lcpm audio or BluRay's elimination of disc swapping. Cloud is another issue. PS Plus Cloud backups circumvent all DRM. Gold's doesn't. I can back up ME3 to PSN cloud but not Gold cloud.

You mention installs, but again that's got nothing to do with Plus and Gold as services either. Nor does what I presume you define 3rd party support to be. Fact is, paying for Plus gets you full regional 3rd party downloads like SSF4, Borderlands, Tomb Raider Underworld, FC2, JC2, SR2, BioShock2, Ratchet&Clank:All4One (Insomniac is 3rd party), Arkham City, Vanquish and various Arcade games from Trine2 to JetSetRadio. I even got $5 off my Walking Dead season pass. Paying for Gold got me none of those perks. Yeah I got Walking Dead Ep1 for free over XMas with Gold, but that's a month after I'd already platinumed it on PSN, and more months still after Ep1 AND Ep2 were up for "free" on Plus.

True perks like the early RE6 demo on Gold aren't as prevalent these days. I need to see more if I'm to renew next year. I bought Prey last year and enjoyed it, but have exactly zero online achievements cuz the community is dead anyways, Gold for naught. Paying for access to dead online games is lame. At least open up old games to Silver then.

[jetlian]

wow lol. Walking dead was 10 dollars last week for the whole thing(5 eps) on LIVE!!! which is 15 dollars in savings so keep your 5 dollars

Every game you mentioned in plus is 2-3 years old. That one of the problems with it. And for 3rd party support I was talking about how the games run and when you get patches later.

PSN downloads then installs which 360 does not do. once the DL is done you can play also the DL are faster. Happy wars is free for gold members

True perks like RE6 demo? wheres fez, minecraft, trials,mark of the ninja, deadlight,dust, kung fu strike,dungeon fighter, and thats not all the xbla games released this year that arent on psn.

Did psn get torchlight, bastion, guardian heroes from 2011. took 2 years to get braid and castle crashers, limbo year later.

Live got me 5 dollars off trials, 7.50 off deadlight, 7.50 off deus ex dlc. Got 5 back for spending 50 bucks in feb and 5 dollars last year in oct 2011 and more. thats 25 dollars I save right there could have been more if I waited for some sales in 2012.

Also to note bing gets me 10 dollars a month worth of MS points wheres sony way?! the whole achievement gets you points already got me 50 cents just buying stuff(15 dollars) I was getting anyway.

Dust and DC weren't well received Now sony get blade and soul count me in. disk swapping isnt an issue for me nor is sound quality since I use standard tv speakers

[P_Bomb]

Well, why wouldn't I keep my $5.00? I had platinumed the entire Walking Dead season (with an extra 500gs btw) on PSN a month before the XBLA sale even hit. You talk about old games on PS Plus in the negative, yet praise a sale on XBLA 8 months after the PS Plus one?

Every Plus game I listed isn't "2-3 years old" either. Trine2 went free in May 2012, just 6 months after release, with a platinum. Not 2-3 years later. JetSetRadio just came out in September 2012. Ratchet & Clank All4One went free after 8 months. DCUO went free-to-play without Plus. IGN loved Dust http://ca.ign.com/articles/... . Gold can do better than Happy Wars imo.

Off topic there about 3rd party game performance. Gold didn't make Hitman Absolution or ME1 run better on the 360 according to Digital Foundry. Article's about the paid Gold service vs free Silver, not hardware performance.

You mention patches as well, still off topic. But you do realise that Konami patched the Silent Hill HD Collection for the PS3 but aren't for the 360, opting to leave it broken http://www.eurogamer.net/ar... right? Patches aren't always a bad thing, Gold or not.

Off topic again bringing up console exclusives like Fez, Mark of the Ninja, Minecraft which you don't need a Gold Membership to buy. We were talking about the monetary value of Gold subscriptions. Trials Evolution isn't a Gold perk. I bought it with a Silver. For the early RE6/Forza Horizons demos...I needed Gold. That's what I mean by perks. Game swag you can't get with a Silver sub' OR on the other consoles. I'd like to see more of that to justify Gold's price, like the 1 week early exclusive Dead Space 3 demo coming up.

PSN getting Braid after XBL is off topic again. XBLA has had to wait for odds'sods too like Joe Danger, Kung Fu Live/Impact. And again, they're available just the same to free Silver members.

[jetlian]

MS uses gold to get exclusives and after time silvers can get demos too.

SSF4, Borderlands, Tomb Raider Underworld, FC2, JC2, SR2, BioShock2, Ratchet&Clank:All4One (Insomniac is 3rd party), Arkham City, Vanquish and various Arcade games from Trine2 to JetSetRadio."

jet set is a dreamcast game its over 2-3 years. trines is the only game not 2 years old

[AngelicIceDiamond]

I was waiting for an article like this (Sarcasm).

Anyway, I do believe standard MP should be a given right out of the box.

"Xbox Live: No Longer The Golden Standard." Never was in the first place? Its just a great service for customized tailored gaming and a streamlined experience, a constantly changing and evolving service and allot of people prefer it. MS does do dirty cheap discounts and even give away a (few) games for free also. P2P should be a welcome to Xbox users

Listen, these articles are old and over done. At this point its Over Kill. Yes, come next gen I would want MS to open up the console, Standard MP right out of the box. And overall bring more to the table as far as subscriptions.

XBL is far from perfect but it must be doing something right for people to up keep there subscriptions and consumers to buy into it.

[TongkatAli]

This well said.

[ASTAROTH]

Paying for LIVE is the only way you can enjoy the multiplayer part of 360 games. So most people are obligated to buy the service just to play COD or HALO. Its business for MS, and a good one as long as people dont have other choice. Dont blame MS, blame yourself for support a service that no matter how good or bad it is, others have it for FREE.

[taylork37]

Why don't you blame Sony for not being able to deliver a service equivalent to what other people are willing to pay money for.

And intead of blaming Sony, you blame the people who recognize the difference in quality and MS just because they aren't Sony.

[GenericNameHere]

@taylork37
Blame Sony for what? Making a great online service that is almost, or even on par with Xbox Live, even though it's free, and also offers more features without locking them out?
Also, I can ask you the same thing. Why is it that Steam, a FREE service, is MILES (exaggeration) ahead of Xbox Live, a paid service? They have more deals, more games, better security, mods available, etc. What does Xbox Live, despite a few exclusives and decent deals, have?

Instead of blaming Sony, why don't you look at Microsoft, and ask yourself, "Why is my precious Xbox Live Gold just slightly better than PSN, and why is it not better than STEAM?".

[tordavis]

I own an Xbox 360, gaming PC with Steam and PS3. I gladly pay my XBL Gold fees every year. I don't like that I have to pay it, but I pay it. PSN is not on par with XBL. PS+ is great! However, the PSN download speeds are slow as turtles. It's not a very robust network. I like it, but not as much as XBL Gold. I think it's stupid that you need a gold account for Netflix and stuff like that. Hopefully MS will change that or they won't get my Gold fees next gen. Please oh please don't say that PSN is on par with XBL. It's just not. I get 500mb of cloud storage, cross game chat, a slick party system, etc. I don't get any of that with my free, slow, PSN. Steam blows them both away. It's free, has free games, it's fast, has cloud storage and great community features. MS and Sony need to be more like Steam next gen.

[Belking]

"XBL is far from perfect but it must be doing something right for people to up keep there subscriptions and consumers to buy into it."

Can't argue with that. People are still paying for the service and as long as that happens they will keep it. But i do agree that a free service would be great but at what cost to it's functionality. If they are putting funds toward making the service better (which is most likely what they do) then its ok with me.

[god_mode]

I never paid full price for Live either and compared to the UI PSN has I would rather stick to Live. PS+ does have great deals that I see on this site all the time but most are for games I already owned or finished long ago.

Not really appealing in my opinion.

But in all fairness both Nintendo and Sony have stepped up their online game and have made Xbox Live not the true king it once was. This is why for the next Box MS definitely needs to offer more (or anything) to justify the price for new comers. Which is probably the reason why we are seeing them buying up major companies that will make them the living room center piece.

[iistuii]

Here we go again. There are alternatives, PS3, Wii, WiiU, nobodys holds a gun to anyones head, but people continue to pay, because they choose to. If everyone moved across to the alternatives then they may stop charging, but millions of people continue to pay, so I can't see them not charging even next gen. If your not an Xbox owner, it's not your problem, so stop crying over it, If you are & no longer want to pay, buy an alternative, simple really.

[Godofgames]

It's just psn has got up to live

[taylork37]

No it hasn't. If it is up to the same standard then why aren't people switching.

[ChrisBoogie17]

Maybe because they already paid up for the year or just fanboys who refuse to buy a ps3.

[xursz]

I know a few people who stopped paying for Live when they bought a ps3.

[taylork37]

LULZ.....Both services have been out how long?

Give me a break.

And you wanna talk about fanboys...its pretty obvious that the people most pissed about XBL charging (**most** not all) don't have an xbox, never had an xbox, and will never get an xbox.

[RGB]

Sounds like taylork37 hasn't played a PS3 or signed in to PSN.

"why aren't people switching" wonder why PS3 equalled 360's worldwide sales as of October 2012... reducing the 360's 7 million (over the years) lead at a way higher price point. :/

Judging by his other comments, the dude hasn't used Steam either. Xbox Live hasn't been the "Gold Standard" (terrible pun in the title) for years, Steam has had that title since 2009 at least.

[Riderz1337]

How do you know people aren't switching? Do you have a way of proving to me that the subscriber base for Xbox Live is increasing whilst the fan base of PSN is decreasing? Please don't talk out of your ass.

[JamieL]

@ Riderz1337
Do you have a way to prove they have been switching? Don't go out of your way to point out ass talking when just as much, if not more, is flowing out of your own ass.

[insomnium2]

Ummm..jamie. Riderz wasn't saying people have been switching in the first place so your comment comes off as extremely retarded fanboy BS.

taylor

People don't want to switch unless their friends switch too. Young boys (15-24 yo) need to hang out with their friends a lot in real life. Their real life friends you know. If they all bought a x360 first it's impossible to get a teenager to switch unless he gets his friends to switch with him. Human nature.

Most who are pissed off never even had a x360? I have no idea but to see MS getting away with charging p2p gaming it might bring some bright ideas to other manufacturers. How about Wii U and PS4 going the same route?

You see anyone and I do mean ANYONE with common sense would be afraid of that happening so that's why the way MS does it and gets away with it is threatening to pollute the entire industry. It has nothing to do with being a fanboy. That's just you trying to throw anything and everything at advesary and hoping something would stick. Pathetic really.

@ baconbits below

I honestly feel sorry for you. An 8yo kid decides these kinds of stuff in your house?

[JamieL]

@ insomnium2
look man I agree with you sometimes, but please don't call anyone else a fanboy. Every since insomnium 1 you've been one of the biggest this site has to offer, so nice calling the kettle black, pot. I also think you completely misunderstood my point. I was just pointing out how stupid he was making himself look for calling out everyone for providing not evidence to back up their claim's, when he himself offered nothing to support his own side of the debate. You can't point your finger and scream "You have no proof", when you have none yourself. That was a real nice try to swoop in to save one of your fellow Sonyite, but Please, Please, Please don't be such a blatant HYPOCRIATE.

[BaconBits]

As my son get older and wants to play too, it is frustrating that I need a second gold account for him or else his progress does not get saved. Can't they make it possible for a buddy to play MP as long as it is played on the same xbox as my gold AND I am in the game too?
Also, if I am going to pay $69/year, why do I have to sit through ads! If it wasn't for the fact that most of the games I like are on xbox, I would stick to my PS3.

[Gazondaily]

There's a family account you can buy. I'm not sure on the price though.

But yeah you're right, it can be annoying in your scenario.

[masterBLUME]

family plan is $99 a year for four accounts

[BaconBits]

I actually got the family account but still $99 dollars for 4 accounts when I only need 2? My son is 8 so maybe when my other son is older (4 now) it might be ok. The family account is a good deal if you have teenagers but when it is just me and my son and we only play together...? I "rented" out one account for $30 a year so that helped but it is the principle.
I know I should just boycott it but when your kid gets so much enjoyment of playing with his dad online it is hard to say no to a couple of bucks.

[Sci0n]

what is cool about PS3 is you can also gameshare with your son. Like say yall have 2 PS3's and you buy games, content or whatever from the PS store. You can share all of that with your son meaning you wouldn't have to pay twice for anything.

[mikemadden]

Online gaming on xbox should be free, but if you want to play Halo online, you got to pay. Though i would never pay $60, $50, or $40 for one year. Microsoft can get out with that crap. Just buy the $2 for two months plans like i do and game online.

[mwjw696]

* putts on flame proof pants
* putts on Fanboy repellant shirt
* putts on shit storm resistant waders boots
* putts on magic future seeing hat

Well here goes. (I'm sorry ahead of time if you disagree with my OPINION)

The fact is MS is making bank off of Gold right? They say this money is used to increase the services offered and improve everything. And honestly I can not think of to many problems with Live, minus the ads. Sony on the other hand does not gain money Like MS, they are just now adding in the PS+ service. It has slowly went from a abysmal service to right behind Live. I am proud and happy that it has been improving since its launch. The problem is it took to long, with out a constant revenue like Gold members Sony was scrapping the barrel to get funds for improvements.

With the cost of R&D, and Sony (as a company) losing money every single year I can not see PSN staying free. I want Live and PSN to be free sure, but life is not fair and things will change. PS+ is a great service but to Sony its only a constant source of money just like Live is to MS. Sony will need more money for the next gen as will MS. Anyone that thinks Sony can bleed money for what is it 5 years strait now and survive is insane. They need that money and fast! Making PS+ mandatory for online play is a good way to do it.

Every one criticizes MS for what they have done but the service has matured and improved very fast because of the money Live made for them.

For those that do not want to pay for online services next Gen I would suggest a PC. Good luck upgrading your hardware every year, bet it will cost you more than $60

*Removes clothes and sits back in chair naked. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[tordavis]

Who upgrades their PC every year? That's just dumb.

[BaconBits]

Maybe not every year but I get his point. It probably works out to more that $69 per year. I bought a gaming pc for BF3 after years of console only and yes it is pretty good but I still fall back to consoles for a quick gaming fix. So for me I have gotten more for my money in console games if you don't count the xbox live price.

[ChrisBoogie17]

ms will continue to charge for xbl until we as gamers stop paying for it. Don't complain just refuse to pay and see how fast ms restructes xbl.

[Angerfist]

As long as Sony does not offer a better Service for free then MS will be charging for live, simple as that.

[IQUITN4G]

This antiquated dinosaur makes MS a load of money not to be worried I think

[ALLWRONG]

Yes it is, that's why these damage control articles come out every week. These things are just people begging to ditch the Live for PSN. You can keep trying, it's not working, but you can keep trying. Live subscription number keep growing not falling.

[Riderz1337]

Do you work at Microsoft? Show me the rising number of subscribers for Xbox Live Gold. I'm willing to bet that it's actually slowly decreasing because people are fed up with paying for something that can be attained for free. Not only this, but the fact that you can actually use that money you are wasting on Xbox Live for PS Plus to get 36 games a year also makes me to further believe Xbox Live numbers are slowly decreasing. Pay 50$ to use your internet or get 36 games for 50$? To me, the answer is simple.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Riderz you've been a pain lately when MS posted the sales numbers for Xbox sold during black. And MS also noted.

"Another important data point Microsoft sent along is that Xbox Live Gold Subscription card sales increased more than 50 percent compared to last year's Black Friday week."

http://n4g.com/news/clickou... When people buy Xbox I'm pretty sure at least half of them buy Live subscribtions.

Btw you flex your fanboyism pretty strong. Everything you post in conjunction with Xbox is always negative. So I tend to completely ignore your comments half the time.

[JamieL]

Here you go again. Why don’t YOU show us the numbers Rider? You keep coming with that "prove it" shit, but have not backed up any of your claims with evidence. I couldn't care 1 little drop less about this shit, yes it's a little entertaining to read through these comments, it’s a guilty pleasure I won't lie, but I don't put too much stock into it. When I see comments like yours though, I sometimes feel compelled to add my 2 cents, but please, please, don't be such a hypocrite. I can see you jumping up and down, waving your arms, about to kill over with pure hatred of anything Xbox or not Sony, screaming that what ALLWRONG said is bullshit, and he can't prove it, when you yourself hasn't even attempted to prove them wrong yourself. You are pointing your finger at them while not noticing you are just pointing at yourself. Can you not see you are doing the EXACT same thing? It's really kind of funny, carry on.

[BitbyDeath]

MS should make Live free nextgen.

PS3 has around 40million more online gamers than the 360 cause it is free.

Some may argue that MS is raking in the cash but at the same time are restricting the amount of gamers you can verse while also roadblocking others who are interested in buying the system.

Wouldn't it be better for MS to fall in line with the others and benefit the community and developers instead of only themselves?

[Captain Tuttle]

more accounts, not more gamers

[BitbyDeath]

I was going by systems owned.

Both have sold approx 70 million consoles. Approx 20 million PS3 consoles will likely have no internet access whatsoever. (Give or Take)

MS had 10 million Gold members as of last year.

50 million PS3 consoles - 10 million Gold Members = 40 million more PS3 console members.

[ALLWRONG]

BitbyDeath

no

[tordavis]

XBL Silver members can still use online services. Every Xbox comes with free Silver.

[Captain Tuttle]

I'm a long time subscriber to Live and I agree that MS has to step it up next gen, they need to set themselves apart from Sony if they want to continue to charge. If Sony charges then nothing will change.

Edit: Nintendo isn't even in the picture

[Munky]

I have a feeling MS is going to change the Live model for the next console. They can't continue charging ppl when their competitors are not. Hopefully they use all the cash the banked with from Live towards making Live 2.0 free.

[JozzyV1]

I have owned all three consoles since day one, and also work for a major retailer that sells these consoles for very long time, directly in the gaming department. I also managed a Gamestop for years beforehand. I am a staple in the gaming community in my area and constantly converse with gamers, hundreds of them a year if not more. Using my experience as a sample and based on the industry as a whole, I guarantee you that PlayStation plus will become a mandatory paid service before Xbox live becomes a free service. The Xbox $100 offer that Microsoft has been running is a test, expect the next generation of consoles come with a required paid online subscription to subsidize the manufacturing cost. The only reason Nintendo didn't do it with the WiiU is because their online infrastructure is nothing anyone would pay for (yet) and because they're selling 5 year old hardware. They make money on every WiiU sold after one game purchase because the hardware is old and is cheaper to produce than it was when it first came out. They can get by without the trickle down profit.

[InTheLab]

It's mind boggling how many people defend Live. Now take that number of defenders and ask then about Microsofts "servers" and how awesome they are. Then ask them how EA can shut down online portions of their games for maintenance even though they're on MS' "servers". Or how some games lose online all together even though MS runs the "servers" you pay for.

Ask them about security and how there's never any hacked games and lobbies, and how said non-existent games and lobbies have been hypothetically hacked for the last 6 years.

Ask them about Cross game chat which is usually what they'll say is worth all of that money.

Better yet, just let them blow their money on a feature that should be free and enjoy your equivalent experience free and clear as online gaming has always been and how it was meant to be.

Edit: I was online with my Sega Genesis playing Comix Zone like 20 years ago...long before Live or the Dreamcast.

[Ravenor]

EA runs the dedicated servers for their own games, they do that so they can rationalize making you register for their service. It's also how EA games can be taken down.

MS doesn't actually run servers more or less, it's purely Peer2Peer. This is why you can still access online features in Perfect Dark Zero or CoD2.

[InTheLab]

I know all of this. It's why I keep typing "servers". I know full well how online gaming works.

Apparently, sarcasm only works on this site when you type /sarcasm

[Mithan]

Another bullshit sensationalist article.

Will not read or click on the gameshit link.

[wishingW3L]

no. XD

[stage88]

Here we go again...

Yes, xbox live is not the gold standard. Paying to access part of a game you've already paid for is absolutely ridiculous.

Reasons xbox fanboys stick up for it:

1. They've invested so much into it that they just can't make the switch, at least, not until next gen.

2. Denial

Next article please.

[Ravenor]

Or your friends and family largely use the service? I use my PS3 to play shit online too, but I do that with a considerably gimped pool of friends.

I get it, paying for Xbox live is ridiculous. I've been PC gaming online since the mid-ish 90's now for free(sans MMO) and the PS2 offered online for free. But if my parents, sister and friends are all actively using their Xbox more than what`s my alternative?

[Trekster_Gamer]

I am a diehard XBOX 360 fan and I totally agree. I really only use online gaming and if it is free still on the next PS and I am still having to shell out 60 a year for this when I might have to rethink my purchases

[optimus]

I've been a Live subscriber for the last few years (although i've gotten deals on it)... Even with the price increase last year (2011) people STILL payed...microsoft would be stupid now to make it free...even sony implemented some sort of payed service, granted it offers more but still, people DO pay...in terms of what people prefer is subjective, my friend has both but prefers xboxlive cause it's a better overall online experience according to him...

I'm more of a casual gamer and play mostly single player games so i don't HAVE to have xboxlive but if i do want to play online then i don't mind spending 8 bucks for the month i think i'll be playing a lot... Next gen will undoubtedly offer more for the money... On both sides.

[Trekster_Gamer]

The gold service should NOT INCLUDE Multiplayer gaming as this is FREE FREE FREE on every other system made!

You should read the article a bit more closely as he clearly stated this.

You should pay a small fee for whatever you want and Multiplayer should be FREE! If they would do this then I would move to the next XBOX without a second thought.

[optimus]

...and you should read my comment more closely because i did say people STILL pay... Even if certain things like multiplayer is free everywhere else people STILL pay and because they do, microsoft will STILL charge for it...like i said, i have friends that own a ps3, and a pc and STILL pay for xboxlive...and by the looks of it, they're not the only ones.

[hennessey86]

I will bet my car that Sony will introduce a similar paid service next gen, they can't afford to keep throwing money at the play station brand.

[DarthJay]

You would win a new car.

[P_Bomb]

If they couldn't afford the Playstation brand they wouldn't have bought Gaikai's cloud gaming service for $380 mil' to compliment it. Playstation's still one of their cornerstones, along with Sony Pictures which was #1 for marketshare in 2012 http://www.superherohype.co... . It's the TVs and cameras etc that are the real thorns. Their TV business has lost money for eight straight years.

[Captain Tuttle]

Or buying Gaikai was a poor business decision, companies make those you know. That being said it's a good time for Sony to but things if they think they can handle the debt: the strong Yen that hurts them as an exporter helps them when purchasing assets from countries with weaker currencies.

[turnerdc]

Well...

http://www.gamespot.com/new...

http://www.computerandvideo...

They did also have to borrow money to acquire Gaikai which they are selling bonds now to repay...

http://www.bloomberg.com/ne...

"The sale, the first convertible bond from Sony since 2003, comes after the share price plunged as Sony suffers losses at its main television business. Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai is cutting 10,000 jobs and selling assets as he focuses on mobile devices, games and digital imaging to turn around Sony, whose stock dipped to the lowest since 1980 this month.

Sony, worth more than $120 billion in 2000, is now valued at about $11 billion. Apple Inc. (AAPL) is valued at $511 billion and Samsung Electronics Co. is at $184 billion.

The transaction will be the first convertible sale since 2003, according to Mami Imada, a spokeswoman for Sony.

The maker of PlayStation game consoles will use 60 billion yen of the proceeds to invest in CMOS image sensors, 50 billion yen to repay short-term debts for acquiring shares of Olympus Corp. (7733), 10 billion yen to repay borrowings for acquiring Gaikai Inc. and 30 billion yen to repay bonds maturing next year, according to the statement."

[Silly gameAr]

It never was the gold standard for me. I just knew I had to pay to Play Gears online so I really had no choice. It's a good service, but it's a bit overrated.

[cedaridge]

The only thing missin from the ps3 is "cross game chat" but other than that Microsoft shouldn't be charging. Netflix, U tube, etc is FREE on the PSN. I could definitely understand why Sony players do not want to pay to play. I'm tired of paying I'm down to paying for 3 mth live cards now!

[TheRealHeisenberg]

I got rid of Live Gold about five years ago. Since then I have played completely online with my PS3 because I feel playing online should be free; no ifs, ands or buts.

With that said, I feel Live Gold ran better. I was never disconnected from it, while I have lost count of the number of times I have been disconnected from PSN to this day. The updates are also a pain on PSN.

Since becoming a PS+ member midway last year, I could not be happier with the amount of content I get access to for subscribing to the service. I know some will say it is not free. To that I ask, what does MS give to Gold members, access to features that should be free like Netflix? I'll wait.

Bottom line for me:
Xbox 360 and Live Gold = Better Service for multiplayer on consoles.
PS3 and PS+ = Best overall value in consoles.

Don't get it twisted. I completely support both my MS and Sony gaming products but I can clearly see that both have their positives and negatives.

[ShinraE5]

Stop it, you are making sense and being calm. There is no place for that on a gaming portal!

[RuleofOne343]

Blah, Blah, Blah , blah enough with the BS articles about XBL if you folks like free stuff then fine enjoy but stop trying to sale people on PS+. you folks sound like a broken record - it's free , but it free. Enough people will buy what they like, stop trying to pedal that PS+. again if that floats your boat & curls your toes then by all means enjoy. but cut the crap out already.

[hazardman]

you mean PSN. PS+ is a paid service just like xbl. not disagreeing tho!

[RuleofOne343]

My mistake it's that articles like this one just piss me off.

Thank you for the heads up

[ThatsGaming]

I think every three months someone simply copies and pastes this article from somewhere...

This is an old argument and a waste of time...

No one forces people to buy an Xbox or Live Gold... They choose to...

And to this date my account has never been compromised on Live whereas on PSN Plus my credit card info was stolen and used costing me a lot of money and grief. I can pay for 56 years of Live with the money I lost in that mess. I will never replace the time I spent on fixing it and the time I had to work to pay the bills racked up on my card.

Microsoft wins in my world. There is nothing to convince me otherwise.

[sdplisken]

only idiots pay to use their own internet connection imo

PS Plus >>>>>> add filled ripoff live anyday

[Legion]

So you are saying you have free internet? Let me guess... you leach of your neighbors internet?

[rapidturtle]

He's saying your already paying for internet, so why is Microsoft charging you to play online? Gaming is done on a p2p basis, so it is your internet connection doing the work, which you already pay for.
Netflix, facebook etc. are available apps that you are not charged for on any other system, br player, or smart t.v.'s.
It's amazing that Microsoft has been able to scam the public into paying for nothing for this long. I have to actually give them kudo's. It shows just how dumb we all are. (yes me 2, I pay for it)

[Legion]

@turtle

Is that what he is saying? That isn't what he typed.

And MS isn't charging you to play online. They are charging you to connect with other players online using their system.

And trust me... I know about peer-to-peer systems and how they operate. (and no not all games are P2P) And I also know the cost of linking these systems in a secure way so that nobody can hack the systems being linked.

As for being dumb? Well I have ran and operated many military systems that link multiple networks and computers together. And you might not understand the number of people that are employed to keep said systems secure and functional.

You get what yo pay for... if you pay for nothing then don't expect anything.

[ShinraE5]

I can understand this article's points to a degree...

But do we need the same one every month? It is getting pretty old...

[clonerz]

Passst I have it from a good source that next gen Xbox will come with a coin slot the reason for it is unknown but I dare to speculate its there to charge you 50 cents a pop if you should need to pause your game

[olLANDSHARKlo]

I have never paid the $59.99 a year, after 3 years you get a 33% discount on live and can find deals every where. I refuse to pay $30 to my phone provider a month for internet access ($360 a year). But I'm sure the same guys complaining about live are.

[AlucardFury]

This crap again??

[A7XEric]

I still think it's the gold standard in terms of the quality and quantity of content. It's just the price that isn't the gold standard anymore.

People are just used to paying for Xbox Live at this point. They've been doing it since day 1, which is why we are "letting" microsoft get away with it. I think come next generation they are going to have to offer some serious premium content for gold members or adjust their pricing structure.

[Legion]

Doubt it... next console you will see more business leaning towards pay as you play.

People call STEAM a free network service. Well it is NOT. It is a game sales service that offers Network so that people will buy it's products and play on their service.

It is all virtual thus saving all expenses to advertising and network thumb print.

[hazardman]

If you dont want to pay for XBL then buy a PS3/WII U/PC. Problem solved.

[WetN00dle69]

EXACTLY!!! No one is forcing anyone to pay for XBL. I for one am quite happy with XBL.

[isyourhouseonfire]

I've tried all the online environment options... Nothing comes close to XBOX LIVE. I'd love to not pay a membership fee to play online but like I said, nothing touches XBOX LIVE. It is what it is, folks.

[faraany33k]

I think non XBL users should stop voicing against this stupid MS ripoff.

If there customers are brain-dead and are slaves of whatever MS force down there throats, it should be fine with us.

Its there money and apparently they are not smart enough to spend it wisely. Who cares.

STEAM FTW

[isyourhouseonfire]

I'm not surprised that the person who can't spell is also the person against Microsoft.

[SITH]

Cost does not bother me. I can afford the annual payment. If you can not, that is your problem.

[AO1JMM]

I will pay for something that I find value in. Simple as that.

PSN is far from the GOLD Standard as well. Steam wins that title hands down....

[RevXM]

Its really unfair by microsoft to charge for live gold on xbox, the irony of it all is that live on windows gives you pretty much all the same stuff / features for free.

Steam and Psn is way ahead and I happily pay for ps+ knowing I really get my moneys worth with games I get and can play for free whenever as long as my subscription is paid for and steam also have awesome deals and discounts pretty much all the time as well.

[Legion]

The large point that many don't understand is the amount of money Microsoft puts into making their network secure and closed.

The cost to us is a secure theater to play in.

Some say it is no longer the Gold Standard. And yet it is still the BEST network system for gaming. Nobody has stepped up to challenge the issue other then those that claim similar experience is available through other services for less or no cost.

But these are not similar enough to make them better then XBL. You pay for the best. When another service makes a BETTER system and THEN offers it for FREE only THEN can they claim an issue of XBL not being the Gold Standard in gaming Networking.

Everyone else is still comparing their currency (networks) against XBL... so it IS the Gold Standard until others choose another network system to compare as the STANDARD.

[faraany33k]

How is it better? Or you are just assuming things.

[clonerz]

Secure ya right you kidn I know two people who had live accounts jacked they both had to wait over a week to get them back. That is two out of my 7 friends who have live gold and you are here talkn bout it being secure whatever man stop drinkn the koolaid

[Legion]

Likely your friends fell for the internet scam of putting in their password and e-mail address to get free MS points. Because they are stupid don't blame it on MS.

And if it was something else then explain and we can go over why it had nothing to do with said network.

@fara
Because the market has made it the Gold Standard. Until other such systems prove to be the Gold Standard then it is. If you don't think so then go someplace else. Nobody is stopping you. But we are all STILL talking about it as the Gold Standard and comparing all systems to it. Thus it is the Gold standard.

[TABSF]

Steam and a web browser of your choice go beyond anything on Consoles

[r1sh12]

This article/rant - does make perfect sense, I used to pay for XBL without even thinking, because I needed to play online.
I doubt MS will ever give out the statistic of XBL gold accounts that are used less than 1 hour a week, but there must be soo many.
They should make XBL silver, have the same functionality as the PSN free, and the extra features like party chat etc.. should be in Gold.
MS will find a drop in XBL membership sometime soon, but they can easily combat that by releasing the xbox 720.

I know I will be buying the 720 as soon as its available, not because Im a fanboy, because I love games, I know Ill be held to ransom when I have to pay the insane price for XBL gold, but its the only way to play multiplayer on that particular platform.

I do hope MS change their pricing for XBL gold, but its a money maker. If sony could make people pay for something that should be free, they would do it too

[pompombrum]

Much respect for gamespot for having the balls to do an article like this. I have to 100% agree with them.. I've been subbed to XBL since I got my xbox 360 over six years ago, I'm so used to paying for it that it's just another bill I don't think twice about. However looking at XBL gold from a pure PC Gamers perspective, they must think gold subscribers are mentally insane for paying for such a basic service.

[Droid Control]

I consider Steam the Gold standard. Allt he features of XBL but without the ugly green, adverts, and price.

[PirateThom]

Considering how many games are online enabled, Microsoft truly have their users in a tight spot. Either pay what they say, or lose access to half your game, even if you buy it new.

Great business model. One I do not wish to be a part of.

[OllieBoy]

Good. More people are finally opening their eyes.

XBL is a joke.

[gnothe1]

not this shit again..it must be a slow news moment....everbody knows that N$G people DONT like XBL...so what?..this type of crap article ALWAYS makes it to the top an this is nothing but an opinion piece...i feel like this..IF YOU DONT LIKE XBL DONT USE IT...the PS3 is out there...but America has chosen an we chose XBOX 360 with the subscription cost an all...so please just get over it..

[rapidturtle]

Sony just needs to price their next console accordingly, and keep the PSN play online free, and then advertise the hell out of the value of their console vs Xbox, and that alone could for Microsoft to offer us Live for free.

[kariyanine]

In the end I think we're going to set screwed from both sides. I'd wager to guess that come next gen, we will see Sony's PSN take a similar approach to XBL, while Microsoft's XBL takes a similar approach to PS+ but we'll all be paying for services and features that should have or had been free the previous gen.

[tigertron]

The online subscription fees should go on maintaining servers and providing players with dedicated servers. It baffles me why a game like Halo 4 still uses ancient P2P.

The PSN is better since you only pay for optional things i.e. exclusive content and you don't get bombarded with adverts in the XMB like you do with Metro.

I'm not saying Live is a bad service, it's great, but just has some way to go before matching the PSN. I can't understand how people say the PSN is inferior to Live. Without cross chat, what makes Live better?

[KontryBoy706]

I think they are a few years late or so with this article. It's BEEN not the gold standard. Steam is still number 1. Steam had cloud saves, digital downloads, account access on any computer you sign in with, GREAT sales, chat system for online chat in all games, instant game patching... FOR A LONG TIME. PSN and XBL still aren't up to the level as Steam is and you have to pay for XBL and PS+ while Steam is still free. Steam does what PS+ and XBL does... for free. So if you bought games under a Steam sale... you OWN them for life. There's no "if you don't pay a fee you lose the games you bought at a discount or downloaded free" like PS+. There's also no "well if you don't pay a fee you can't play the game online" like XBL does. To me PSN and XBL are closer to each other now more than ever but one is free and one is paid. However, Steam is still the gold standard by far.

[memots]

I haven't paid for it for over 3 years now and will never pay.

MS doesn't realized that they are losing sales over this.
I buy everything on ps3 and pc instead since i do not have to pay for online. I literally haven't turned it on since reach.

I would be using it of i had some incentive to buy games on it but i don't.

[devilhunterx]

M$ should charge $500 for XBL. I am sure the XDF would happily pay it.

[bozebo]

No shit. It's literally a scam. I just ignore MS consoles and pretend that they, and their games (some of which are amazing, shame the art form is ruined by business) don't exist.

[Mikeyy]

I still have not been convinced how XBOX LIVE is any better then PSN, considering the Price difference?

Say we are both going to play Black Ops 2. How is our experiences any different? Ok, so the Xbox player creates a party via LIVE so they can chat. Then they have to again, create a party via Black Ops Menu to play together.

The Playstation player simply created a party via the Black Ops Menu.

both console players have chat now, Neither one is any different, we can both talk to our "party"

So now we both queue up for some Team death match, both systems use Peer 2 Peer hosting (there is no dedicated servers in COD except for PC)

both games are exactly the same. I fail to see where the LIVE player got his $60 value from? He seems to have gotten ripped off?

Cross game chat? What is the point in talking to somebody not in your game? that would break your concentration on the match, Rubbish feature.

Voice messages??? The only use this could possibly have is for harrassment purposes, ask any pro player that gets called a hacker by 12 year old kids sending profanity laced voice messages, again, Rubbish feature.

What the FUCK are you paying for exactly?

[T3MPL3TON]

I knew people where stupid when they didn't flock away when M$ raised the price of XBL. XBL will be a paid service until people grow a brain it's just that simple.

[wynams]

There are so many things that are overpriced these days. Honestly, suggesting that xbox live gold being one of the top offenders of over$ is just preposterous.

[Zephyrus34]

@ Gaming_Guru I don't need to make friends I don't know, thats my option buddy. I have enough friends in the real world (that play 360 Live). I choose to game with them, since I also see them everyday, and that's totally my choice. And making friends on PS3 is not the problem, dude. Ha.

[DonFreezer]

Xbox 360 fanboys should accept that paying for Xbox Live is stupid.Microsoft not only stopped providing quality games to their customers but continue to charge them for something that should be absolutely free.The only reasoning behind charging for Xbox Live is giving you for the same amount of money Netflix and other features and it would still be not that much worthy.It's funny how the ps3 fanboys have came here to talk about Xbox Live when in most European countries PSN drops the fps like hell and has extremely poor ping values.

[mmj]

Xbox Live has been about extorting as much money as possible since day one, the trouble is people are addicted to the service and they aren't going to change a successful business.

[gnothe1]

If baffles me how this little group of people here on N4G get so worked up over what people chose to do with THEIR money..listen people..both console sit there side by side..people have the same chance to buy a PS3 as they do a xbox...but they still chose XBOX...so maybe those EXCLUSIVES an free PSN just don't appeal to real world people like they the small hand full of people on N4G....but I guess if you dont chose sony your stupid..as far as one being paid an one being free..what sony brings to online gaming..THEY COULDN'T CHARGE FOR IT..that's why they had to come up with something with a BONUS...yes PSN is free...but so is trash out back in the dumpster behind the restaurant. ..I rather pay alittle for good food then get free nasty food..but that's just me...lol

[Karum]

The only reason I pay for XBL Gold is so I can access Sky Player using my parent's Sky account details since they don't register any devices for Sky Go which means I don't need to shell out money for Sky Sports :)

If this was not possible I simply would not pay for Gold.

None of this is because I can't afford either service, I quite easily can but I simply would not pay for the sole ability to play online. The Sky stuff is just kind of why pay when I don't really have to lol.

[profgerbik]

What is more amusing to me instead of getting rid of the service they actually had the balls to up the price of it by $10 dollars.

I remember when it was only $49.99, I actually saw the new prices because I recently sold a very old Gold Subscription and they kept telling me they didn't cost that much.. I checked and was like damn they were right.. Either way he got a cheap Gold Sub.

Still blew my mind they had such nerve to actually increase the price as if it was ever needed in the first place, only big companies like that can get away with blatantly robbing their costumers.

[Morgue]

New year same articles. Is there anything left of this horse that's been beaten and picked apart by vultures?

In the end this debate is beyond pointless because we all shell out $60 a month for some bill for a service we use and XboxLIVE is a once a year payment.