Xbox Live Price Increase

[YROC]

http://kotaku.com/5625516/xbox-live-price-increase-coming-november-1


So glad I got rid of my xbox. On the other hand, you could just stock up on subscription cards before November 1st.

 

[T-6000]

Good thing I've stuck with the PC. Sure, it's only a $10 increase but I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft gradually raised the fee over time until it's $100 a year.

 

[Druckles]

Hope Steam's subscription fee doesn't go up by 20%.

 

[B_MAN]

kick in the junk
but you can still buy subscriptions for cheap on amazon and the like

 

[Krynn72]

"When originally launched in 2002, a Gold subscription cost the same as an AAA video game, $49.99. When taking into account for inflation ($50 in 2002 is roughly $60 in 2010) and the additional services available to Gold subscribers in 2010, such as ESPN, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Last.fm and Video Kinect, a $10 price increase still represents an incredible value to consumers"

Yep, things like ESPN, Twitter, and Facebook sure to necessitate a price increase! The only thing that could possibly warrant the price is Netflix streaming, which still doesnt warrant it because you already pay for netflix subscriptions and it doesn't use any extra resources on microsoft's site.

360 is the new PS3.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

good god :|

thank christ i still haven't bothered getting xbl gold when psn costs umm...£0.00 and steam costs me £0.00 aswell

yeah i think i'm sorted MS

 

[Combine Hybrid]

****........... You... MS.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Hope Steam's subscription fee doesn't go up by 20%.

It could go up 9999999999%, which is still $0

 

[Wanted Bob]

Hmm, that may have put a nail in the coffin on my decision as to whether to pick up Halo Reach for university. With this extra fee I am probably going to pass now.

 

[Yuri]

Yeah that extra $0.83 per month really gets you.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

Hmm, that may have put a nail in the coffin on my decision as to whether to pick up Halo Reach for university. With this extra fee I am probably going to pass now.

Me too; i was starting to get interested in it abit more now but as it stands i'll rent for the campaign and then just leave it i guess.

 

[Kaptain H]

It just jumped into the range of not being worth the automatic renewal, for the sake of convenience, on the off-chance that I decide to play something. Ugh.

 

[StardogChampion]

I was going to renew for FIFA 11, but I might not bother now. That's the only game I really play online.

They need to introduce new deals for people who don't want all the Netflix crap.

 

[Kaptain H]

They need to introduce new deals for people who don't want all the Netflix crap.

Yeah, I already watched all three of the good movies.

 

[Warped]

I just a year card because my subscription ended but tigerdirect/newegg/buy.com always have them at $42 w/ shipping and i'll probably buy another soon

 

[the cow says moo]

Good thing I just renewed it this summer.

 

[T-6000]

That's one thing I fear with Microsoft focusing on PC Gaming (assuming they will keep up the support in the future), if Games for Windows Live becomes popular again (slim chance of that happening, but it could happen if Microsoft goes well above and beyond to fix and improve GFWL) Microsoft could go back to gold subscriptions.

 

[Acepilotf14]

From a purely economic standpoint, their marketing team must be high or something.

Their main competitor, Sony, has no fee for online. They do, actually, but it's optional and everything that was free before is still free.

Microsoft, to combat this competition of free vs. not free, decides to raise their price, because of inflation.

????

 

[Deleted member 56031]

That's one thing I fear with Microsoft focusing on PC Gaming (assuming they will keep up the support in the future), if Games for Windows Live becomes popular again (slim chance of that happening, but it could happen if Microsoft goes well above and beyond to fix and improve GFWL) Microsoft could go back to gold subscriptions.

and then they'll lose that support all over again

the ****ers deserved it...

 

[Matorbogl]

That's one thing I fear with Microsoft focusing on PC Gaming (assuming they will keep up the support in the future), if Games for Windows Live becomes popular again (slim chance of that happening, but it could happen if Microsoft goes well above and beyond to fix and improve GFWL) Microsoft could go back to gold subscriptions.

I doubt it, GFWL has engendered so much hatred from the PC gaming community that I could easily see it not being around in a year. I'm not even sure any upcoming AAA titles will even be using it, all of them have moved to Steamworks or their own platforms.

Most notably THQ who shit canned GFWL for their upcoming game Space Marine, I guess seeing Dawn of War 2 be ruined by GFWL and their awful certification system changed some minds over at THQ and Relic.

Good riddance.

 

[Shakermaker]

"A $10 price increase still represents an incredible value to consumers."

Wait what? I've read a lot marketing bullshit, but this line really takes the cake.

 

[VirusType2]

Consoles LOL

ruined by GFWL and their awful certification system

Well, it's nice that the game is required to work on 32 and 64 bit, however, the game isn't necessarily going to be compatible with a new OS. This seems acceptable, but consider that Windows 7 came out only like 2 years after a game comes out, and the game may not be compatible. To add to that, I suspect we'll be seeing new versions of Windows a little more frequently this decade, which - to me - raises some question marks about the compatibility of games.

For example, in order to play Bioshock on Windows 7, I have to uninstall my 3D sound thingy (Open AL) or whatever, and restart my PC. If I want to use Open AL again - same thing.

 

[bam23]

$60 is a lot of money to fulfill many other gaming wants man.

Thanks PSN :thumbs:

 

[smwScott]

Wow, for only $60 MS will let me use my internet connection to play games online. What a deal.

For a mere $100 I can even by a wi-fi adapter that will only work on their console. For another $100 I can get a HDD that will only work on the 360...

Seriously, **** MS. They're the Apple of videogame consoles.

 

[Cpt Tenacious]

Finally.

 

[TwwIX]

Now i don't feel bad for modding my 360.

Unbelievable! What a ****ing rip off this service is.

 

[Bad^Hat]

You know, I've been kind of indifferent about the sub up until recently. To be honest, I only paid it because a) I had to and b) I could. All this "value for money" crap kind of washes away when you realise there are comparable services out there being offered for free. They might not have all the bells and whistles, but when you bundle those things with basic services like online capability and a ****ing friends list (which, I might add, is still limited to only 100) instead of making them an optional extra, it kind of nullifies their appeal to those who wouldn't have used them otherwise.

Actually, I'm pretty sure this price hike doesn't affect us over here, but I take more issue with how woefully under-represented our Live service is. When I compare the services offered in my NZ account to the US account I made, it's kind of depressing. The fact we're paying basically the same rate (actually, with currency conversion we're paying closer to US$55) for a lesser service is pretty much unacceptable.

But hey, at least they make it easy to cancel your renewal!!

Spoiler

Oh...

Yeah that extra $0.83 per month really gets you.

Am I the only one who's reminded of infomercials whenever they hear this kind of thing?

ONLY TWELVE EASY PAYMENTS!!!

 

[Warped]

you'd think with more people joining xbl they'd be slashing prices not upping them. the economy is bad, people are broke, and video games for some seems more and more like a luxury than anything now. i know i've cut back but its because if i lose my job i don't want to be paying off debt (i barely have any debt left as it is and plenty in the bank)

i got the email today and at first i thought it was a price reduction, boy was i wrong!

 

[bam23]

oh my god i ****ing lol'd.

And they'll raise it again after this. You can just smell it.

 

[Kaptain H]

you'd think with more people joining xbl they'd be slashing prices not upping them. the economy is bad, people are broke, and video games for some seems more and more like a luxury than anything now. i know i've cut back but its because if i lose my job i don't want to be paying off debt (i barely have any debt left as it is and plenty in the bank)

i got the email today and at first i thought it was a price reduction, boy was i wrong!

I loved how it was described in a way that made the price increase sound like it was coming with some great benefits and is therefore worth it, but all I kept thinking was "i wipe my ass w/ 10 dol3erz!1 ur poor u cant affoerd stuff".

 

[Bakurei]

Wow! 59$! Thank god its only 80$ here.

 

[Kyorisu]

I find the whole XBL thing hilarious. The only service you are paying for is account management and maybe some dedicated servers. Everything else can be done without XBL but noooo can't have that. I find it incredibly hard to justify such things so I simply ignore the platform in it's entirety. Standard Microsoft bullshit. Oh and the best part they can disable the MP for games you've bought, ha!

Live subscriptions make MS a tidy profit, now they want more profit.

That's one thing I fear with Microsoft focusing on PC Gaming (assuming they will keep up the support in the future), if Games for Windows Live becomes popular again (slim chance of that happening, but it could happen if Microsoft goes well above and beyond to fix and improve GFWL) Microsoft could go back to gold subscriptions.

Impossible. First they'd have to realise console interfaces don't work on the PC.

 

[Dynasty]

*Explodes with laughter*

Haha, you have to pay MORE now and still get a service arguably the same as the free Playstation Network?

And ontop of that, they're banning more people.

Ahahaha. Oh Microsoft, how I suddenly love thee.

 

[Bakurei]

*Explodes with laughter*

Haha, you have to pay MORE now and still get a service arguably the same as the free Playstation Network?

And ontop of that, they're banning more people.

Ahahaha. Oh Microsoft, how I suddenly love thee.

HEY! At least we have teens screaming and swearing with high pitched voices! And we pay for that! Wait what.

 

[Dynasty]

Well atleast Microsoft will get guaranteed loyalists that will happily pay the extra amount. Basically anyone with Halo.

Guarantee they thought it would be the perfect time to do it after Reach comes out. Give them a few months to become hooked like heroine and then BAM, nail them with a slight payment increase to play online and keep them hooked.

Screaming, annoying kids. Reminds me of the CS days. Good times. Good times.

 

[Reflex]

Well atleast Microsoft will get guaranteed loyalists that will happily pay the extra amount. Basically anyone with Halo.

I hate Halo, but I'll still keep paying.

 

[jimbo118]

Pfft, they need to introduce a cheaper subscription for people who dont play mw2 2 hours a day, 7 days a week. I bought a gold sub in xmas but didnt bother using my code until rdr came out afair. And that is the only game I've played online this year, too. They should let silver account holders play online and leave the other shit for gold accounts. Care/ for facebook, netflix etc.

 

[kazsymonds]

Yeah that extra $0.83 per month really gets you.

Lol'd heavily.

I like last FM and Sky Player on the Xbox, those 2 features for me are worth the £x extra they are going to charge.

I would pay for better online on the PS3. Kinda ruins it for me.

 

[bam23]

Pfft, they need to introduce a cheaper subscription for people who dont play mw2 2 hours a day, 7 days a week. I bought a gold sub in xmas but didnt bother using my code until rdr came out afair. And that is the only game I've played online this year, too. They should let silver account holders play online and leave the other shit for gold accounts. Care/ for facebook, netflix etc.

Are you crazy? YOU CAN GO ON FACEBOOK WHILE YOU GO ON FACEBOOK.

I'm totally paying for that.

 

[Yuri]

Am I the only one who's reminded of infomercials whenever they hear this kind of thing?

ONLY TWELVE EASY PAYMENTS!!!

I guess so, but I just really don't mind the idea of paying $4.17, and now $5 a month to play games on XBox Live. Steam does not host their own servers, the Wii's online system sucks cock, and I don't know what the PS3 does really. But, like, it kind of makes sense to have to pay for the system to me, and it seems I am literally the only one in this thread that thinks so.