awesome.
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/micros...ion-cost/2496/
i'll most definitely not be renewing for $60. amazon still has cards for $35-40 but when that dries up so will live for me.
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awesome.
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/micros...ion-cost/2496/
i'll most definitely not be renewing for $60. amazon still has cards for $35-40 but when that dries up so will live for me.
I was on the fence about this to begin with, because what once was a market I enjoyed has now become more popular than the film and music industry and as such has fallen victim to the nickel-and-dime syndrome that in a way killed the arcades.
I could go into more detail, but meh. That's what blogs are for I suppose.
My Gold runs out in a week or so. Haven't played anything online in months. This is just another incentive not to renew. Thanks for making my mind up Microsoft!
They've got me by the balls (in a bad way) as I'm too much of an online Halo player to not pay them this money that I very much don't want to.
I was fine with $50 a year.
And honestly? The price increase isn't that bad.
It's just the fact that it is any kind of price increase.
I've defended MS a lot over the shit they've done because I honestly believe the 360 to be an excellent system, but fuck you on this one MS, fuck you hard.
Microsoft does what Sony don't.
Well, not yet anyway.
Nice job breaking it Mircosoft
You think they'd try and hold prices or even drop them to keep ahead in the online network market....... But it appears not :oh_no:
They've done nothing but offer cheap Live renewals over the past few months. Not to mention companies like Dell have had offers for as low as $30 for a year of Live. You think this is going to change? I mean... did any of you actually pay retail for Live anyway? Talk about knee-jerk responses.
You know how members on a support forum typically make up that small number of people who are actually having problems with something? It's kind of the same thing, we're the small number of people who say they won't renew while at the same time for everyone of us who doesn't, there are 100 more who will. Then if you take into consideration the, 'Modern Warfare 2 PC boycott'-effect, where 10,000 or so people signed up that were later found on Steam playing it moments after it's release, and you'll see where I'm going with this.
Long story short, MS knows how to make money.
i canceled my automatic renewal.
to do so you have to go through three pages of advertisements and begging you not to cancel. what is this aol?
edit:
not 10 mins later i get an email telling me my account is going to run out (in november, its not even like its next week or something) and that i should renew and turn on automatic renewal.
really?
I quit automatic renewal to prevent shit like this...I get annual cards for $20-25 anyway.
It's been the same price for 7 years so I'm not surprised. Honestly I'm suprised they didn't raise it when the 360 launched.
I don't even bother with Live. I don't play FPS games, so there's no point.
I don't like this disturbing nickel & Diming trend of $15 for every XBL game either, M$.
They've rightfully earned the abbreviation, M$.
While I agree there are cheaper ways to get XBL, it doesn't change the equation that's been in place since the first Xbox:Quote:
Originally Posted by nruva
X dollars a year for XBL = -X dollars towards a new game
If my information is correct, this is how things work: The money coming in via the Playstation Store has a small percentage of it going towards the cost of servers. Developers (or publishers, d.o.t.s.) also have to pay a small fee for each item downloaded off the network (e.g. $0.10 per download) and the combination of the two is what makes the PSN free for us to play. While a negative for developers, I believe this is the best approach as it keeps the focus on the consumer - Microsoft disagrees.
Microsoft knew they could make a fortune off the gaming market by creating a console that uses the same architecture as a PC thus making the porting process worlds easier than before. Combine this with the fact that they don't charge devs for every download and, for obvious reasons, they flock to the 360. Step 1, attract devs - step 2, attract customers. All they needed was a hit game that people were willing to shell out a yearly subscription fee over and they'd become a huge success.
Now everyone and their mother owns Halo.
I just bought a 360 Slim last week, and have yet to "upgrade" to a gold account on Live. After reading about the price increase, not only will I not get a gold account, but I'm also strongly considering returning the 360. I really only got it for the handful of exclusives I can't get on PS3, but when I look at the big picture, there's hardly anything on 360 that I can't get on PS3. While I do think PS Plus is a fucking joke, it's still nice to get the regular PSN content I enjoy and being able to play with friends online for free. Freedom of choice.
Nope, still makes you look like an idiot for using it regardless of this news.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
At least you guys in overseas don´t have to pay 60€ for an annual membership like us Europeans have to.
I don't play online, the "deal of the week" has been useless for as far back as I can remember, and I can watch Netflix on the PS3 and Wii.
I'm having a hard time justifying renewing my Gold account.
I don't understand why you would consider returning a 360 because Live went up $10 a year. Even if we neglect that it went up less than a $1 a month, and you're telling me you're at your max for what you'll pay for an online service... Just don't buy it. You don't need it if you aren't going to be playing games online or won't be using NetFlix streaming. What's the problem? If you think you'll want it from time to time, just get cheap 1 to 3 month cards at a local retailer and go with that.
Comparing Xbox Live to PSN really isn't apples to apples. It's free, I won't complain, but it is nowhere as good as Live. I have a feeling Sony realized this as well and their new paid membership likely fixes a lot of the problems I've experienced on their service (or is at least on the path to doing so). Let's face it, building a good server back end is expensive. As much as we'd all like to get things for free, the truth is someone has to pay for it.
I understand your point, but I think it's ridiculous to buy a game on XBL and have to pay $10 a month to play online with friends, when I can do the same on PSN for free. XBL is a lot better than PSN, I'll give you that, but I play a lot of games online with friends, but when I'm already paying for that privilege, and now I have to pay even more, it's dumb to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by nruva
And yeah, it's stupid to get mad and return a 360 over it, but as I said, it's this news, in addition to realizing there isn't much on 360 that I can't play on the PS3 I already have, and I'll admit that it was pretty much an impulse buy because it's shinny and new.
Not real happy about this either. On top of it, game developers are going to want more money to potentially play their games online. All the more reason to be a classic gamer.
Maybe I'm a little biased, but I have a hard time understanding people who make XBL out to be such a colossal improvement over the PSN. What is it that makes XBL better, the voice chat? Everytime I play Halo I get stuck with a bunch of 10 year olds who wont stop talking about they, 'raped' each other. I've heard some people say the friends list? I fired up my 360 the other day and had to go through 8 tabs worth of Doritos ads before I got to see my friends list. But somehow XBL is the better experience - color me confused.
I don't use these services, but I think I see what you're saying. Correct me if I'm wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by IsamuBlue
You're saying it's like having to pay to use iTunes. Why not just download the game on your computer, then transfer it to your console, right? We all have internet connections - if you want to download a game why buy a 1-3 month card to download the games you want?
The simple fact is the overall performance of the network is better on Live than PSN. It's not that PSN is horrible, but you do see much slower downloads, much higher pings, and an overall less dense population of servers.Quote:
Originally Posted by TerryMasters
Well, not really. You can always download the games you want for free on Live. The only benefit the Gold membership gives you is being able to play these games online with others and a few network perks (some demos have early access for Gold members, discounts on games and add-ons, NetFlix streaming, and a few other minor additions). Really, though, if you're like me and hardly ever play online, there is little reason to pay for the service, and the free Silver account will be more than enough to get everything you need.Quote:
Originally Posted by ForeverSublime
It actually works out as more than that for us all the time in the UK, if you use the exchange rate.
Another lol360, they've stopped members being able to cancel auto renewal, which sucks because you have to call them.
I'm not crazy about the price hike, but considering they havent raised prices for almost 8 years, I guess you cant blame them. You can pretty much find cheap subs online if you know where to look. I ended up buying a couple a year ago when I was able to get each 12-month sub for $20.00.
I received an e-mail from XBL stating that because I'm a 'loyal customer' (whatever that means, I pay my yearly fees and DL content just like everyone else,) I can renew my subscription for $39.99, which will tack another year of gold onto my current year at $20 cheaper.
As I just renewed in May, I'll probably just do it.
As for the price hike, I don't really care. It's ten bucks. I was already going to pay $50 for a year's service. For me, the extra ten bucks is no big deal and I don't have the energy to wage a war of principles with Microsoft. It won't change anything in the end except for the fact that I'll be freezing myself out of gaming onine with pals over ten bucks. At some point, I'll be thinking 'it's worth ten bucks to fire up L4D with my nephew or play some RE 5 with Genji' or whatever. I can't put a price tag for 4-5 hours of fun, but if I could, I feel it would be worth more than the extra $10.
And really, I'm paying LESS for next year's fun by renewing now. I know Microsoft wants to secure the money now, but so what? Now or later, I'm paying it. I paid $300 for MOTW when it came out new for AES, I can't hem and haw over a $10 price hike for XBLA.
.02
Speaking of which, we need to try that again. I never did play through Desperate Escape or whatever it was called.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taiso
PM me your availability for the next few days or send me a message on XBL. I'll make the time if you're up to try it out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frederick Douglass
I'll be on later tonight and tomorrow night after 9:00 pm (Eastern).Quote:
Originally Posted by Taiso
Yeah, i'm sure microsoft has a good justification, after all, nobody needs the money more then them.
I hope this means all of the old codes will still work...I want some more NFR Crimson Skies action. :cool:
Tonight is a slim possibility.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frederick Douglass
Tomorrow is definite. So let's shoot for tomorrow.
The price increase isn't bothering me as long as they don't add any more ad channels. It was a great idea to put the MSNBC and BS channels at the end of the video menu and not give it a formal section as it originally started.
While they're at it, fix Game Room.
In the netherlands you pay €60,-
That's around $75,- so stop complaining.
LMAO. Are you still living in 2007, Nick? PSN is great now.Quote:
Originally Posted by nruva
I just got my PS3 in December of last year :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Clinton
I think that means I am still living in 2007, or mid 2008 by now... :( :(
I don't know why people compare prices this way.Quote:
Originally Posted by William H. Seward
It does not compute.
Because they don't understand cost-of-living adjustments.Quote:
Originally Posted by ForeverSublime
Agreed. The difference in quality (if it exists) is minute. I'd love to see some comparisons by hooking the same consoles up to the same internet and testing performance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Clinton
I don't own a 360, and yes $10 isn't a big increase, but it is a matter of why are they increasing? I can't see it as the change in prices over time since they have more and more subscribers. In that case might as well start to lower the price.
Still not happy with this news.
But, since there's a PSN vs XBL thing going on I'd still rather pay MS money over not paying Sony anything (PSN Plus doesn't help since it doesn't do anything) to get a better online experience (which you do indeed get.)
Not really. Are you saying you support Billy and the monopolists?Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugen Sandow
I support not using terms that make me look like I'm 12-years-old.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/pricelock/default.htm
Everyone can sign up for $40 until the change goes live.
I don't really blame them for the price increase, but my sub is about to run out and I decided not to renew it anyway since I barely use it. I'll just use psn or buy a one month card during the once or twice a year something comes out that I want to play.
Perhaps it's a placebo effect for me. I'll hook up with a WireShark trace sometime and do some actual stats if I can find a game I have on both systems that works online. High measure, I know, but I would be willing to do some tests to shut myself up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
As for 360, though, isn't there a boat-load of new services coming soon to the network? Aren't we getting ESPN for live sports and other goodies? Not to mention other live news and services. Sure, this isn't a necessity, but it is added value. Also, more goodies are coming with the Natal/Kinect packages like more advanced VoIP and etc. There is definitely new services coming. I don't know if they'll be worth the $10 increase a year, but it's not like they're just asking more for the same product.
Well in that regard shouldn't be up to the user to pay extra for services like ESPNQuote:
Originally Posted by nruva
Microsoft must be nearing some reporting deadline.Quote:
Originally Posted by W.T. Sherman
What, am I their marketing director? You want to play fake-hypothesis on things we don't know anything about? OK... maybe users don't respond well to tier package programs. Maybe Microsoft feels 84 cents a month really isn't that horrible to ask as a price hike? I don't fucking know. I also am not too bothered by it, but I'm starting to question why someone who doesn't even own a 360 is.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
psn downloads are still way slower than xbox live.