Are Xbox 360 Owners Paying Too Much for Online Service?
January 14th, 2009 | Written by Josh Schwartzman | Topic: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360As an Xbox 360 owner since launch, I have thoroughly enjoyed the many features the console has brought me. A solid online component, the best third-party games on the market, and arguably the best downloadable games across any of the systems, the Xbox 360 is perhaps the all-around winner for complete and enjoyable family entertainment. While this may be the thought process of many gamers, Sony, on the other hand, responded dutifully in a post with the Seattle Tech Report that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console is nothing but a slew of add-ons that will add burden to any gamers’ wallet.
This is a comparison chart sent out by Sony:
While I may agree with this ill-fated remark, one must take into account the affordability of a console at the time of purchase. It is much easier to choose a system that is $200 cheaper and pay a yearly online charge than to purchase, say, the PS3 at once. Many gamers are strapped for cash, and with the current economic crisis and games that are still priced at $60 and sometimes more, the idea of a $399 console is not all that ideal for a lot of people. Choosing the $199 Xbox Arcade model might not get you much in terms of power, but paying an extra $50 a year will still amount to about two years of unlimited online play, assuming you chock up the extra cash for a hard drive as well.
I must point out as well that $50 a year is not a whole lot of money. I asked my friend who owns a PS3 what he thought of me paying $50 a year for Xbox Live and minus the profanity-laced reply he basically stated, “Why should you pay $50 a year for online support when Sony does it for free?” You know, I have often asked myself that question as well, and I really could not come up with a complete answer. Of course, my friend is a Sony fanboy, completely driven to buy anything and everything that Sony makes or dreams up, so his opinion might be heavily biased, but it still got me thinking.
Xbox Live currently broke the 17 million subscriber mark, a feat still not even reached by Sony (Sony has actually reached 17 million registered accounts on PlayStation Network – ed.). Xbox Live’s online marketplace is hands-down more fluid, organized, and smoother than the PS3’s Playstation Network. The $50 a year is also spent for Microsoft to issue updates, fix patches, and pay developers to create some of the most unique and entertaining games on the Xbox Marketplace as well.
One quote by Sony really got me annoyed, not for what was said, but because Sony seemed to forget its own basic ideas as well. “The PS3 is the perfect example of a product featuring superior technology and a sophisticated design creating an ideal all-in-one entertainment product. The Xbox 360 requires additional money, multiple upgrades and additional external devices, putting a burden on the wallet and adds clutter to the entertainment center. And the Wii’s lack of enhanced features comes at the expense of a comprehensive entertainment solution.”
This is all true if gamers purchase the Arcade model, but gamers who pony up the cash and buy the Pro and Elite models gain access to the same features the PS3 has, minus Blu-Ray. Sony has no right to talk about all of the PS3’s supposed features, considering they have seemingly given up on the system’s marketing campaign outside of its Blu-Ray player. The PS3 has no more backwards compatibility, half the people who buy one don’t even know it has Wi-Fi capabilities, and its Home online service seems to be in permanent limbo. For the lack of a better word, Sony has a lot of brass to be comparing the PS3 in a marketing standpoint against the Xbox 360 when it has shown to show no interest in any of its enhanced features outside of the Blu-Ray player.
Let’s face it; it is always easier for gamers to purchase something over time. That is why banks created credit, so it’s easier for people to buy something and pay it back. Think of the Xbox 360 as a means of credit, you are simply paying for the online service over time. I bet if Microsoft asked for a $300 upfront charge for Xbox Live, the number of users would be diminished by over half, guaranteed. The old saying goes, “you get what you pay for”, and while this might be true for the PS3 in terms of power over the 360, it is also true for Xbox Live, which reigns supreme over the PSN any day of the week.
Related posts:
- Microsoft: “This Generation Will Be Longer”
- Tired of Paying $60 for New Games? Prices May Come Down, Says Report
- Microsoft Enjoys Best Xbox Christmas Sales Ever, then Cuts Thousands of Jobs
- The Modded Controller Underground: Cheating is the Cancer of Online Gaming
- Destination Arcade Only Available During Summer of Arcade
Comment by Adam on the January 15th, 2009 at 3:59 am
First of all I'm the "Sony Fanboy" he wrote about. Nevermind that I'm a Nintendo Fanboy if anything, I never owned a PS1 and only had a PS2 for the last year if it's existance while owning every Nintendo System ever.
Second XBox live is a fucking waste of money. Why on Earth would a person pay Microsoft, to use their own internet service that they already are paying for, in order to have access to purchasing more games from them. It's ass backwards retarded. There is nothing about XBox live that makes it worth paying for when compared to PSN which is adequate and free. Moreover there are other online systems superior to both that are free like Battle.net. Charging to play games online that aren't MMORPGs is the biggest scam and anyone who subscribes to it is in contention with Forest Gump and Simple Jack for biggest fucking retard of all time.
Comment by AJMarra on the January 15th, 2009 at 4:06 am
Good article Josh. I often wondered why it was necessary to pay $50 per person per year for online support, and you know, it probably isn't necessary. The only reason as to why I think MS continues to keep Live subscription based is because $50 from 17 million people a year is like having 17 million people buy at least one Xbox 360 game a year, and 50 x 17,000,000 is a lot of money to be raking in.
I don't think Microsoft is ready to give up on that kind of profit just yet, especially right now seeing as how a near non-existent amount of people complain about it.
Comment by TonyP on the January 15th, 2009 at 4:24 am
A bit strong to call anyone with Xbox Live "f'n retard." I have Xbox Live, as does everyone on staff who has a 360. One perk on XBL is that all downloadable games have free demos available.
Netflix is also a wonderful service if you already use it like I do.
Also, some things such as partying up are nice if you want to hang out over Live with your friends.
Comment by fdinolfo on the January 15th, 2009 at 4:25 am
People pay 15$ a month to play WoW, and that's just one game. Over 12 months that adds up to 180$. I don't think 50$ a year to be able to play any game you want is too much to ask.
Comment by TonyP on the January 15th, 2009 at 4:25 am
A bit strong to call anyone with Xbox Live "f'n retard." I have Xbox Live, as does everyone on staff who has a 360. One perk on XBL is that all downloadable games have free demos available.
Netflix is also a wonderful service if you already use it like I do.
Also, some things such as partying up are nice if you want to hang out over Live with your friends.
It's not terribly expensive at $50/yr. That's rough $4 per month. If you don't have an extra $4 per month, then you might want to look around for a new job.
Comment by fdinolfo on the January 15th, 2009 at 4:29 am
People pay 15$ a month to play WoW, and that's just one game. Over 12 months that adds up to 180$. I don't think 50$ a year to be able to play any game you want is too much to ask. I honestly don't have a problem with paying that price, because to me I get my money's worth.
Comment by Adam on the January 15th, 2009 at 4:39 am
WoW is very very different then XBox Live as are most MMORPGs. You're paying developers etc… for content and whatnot each month, you're not paying them to play someone elses software.
Comment by fdinolfo on the January 15th, 2009 at 4:47 am
The point is: do you feel that the price you're paying is worth it? Are you getting value for your money? It's not a matter of who you're paying, or where the money is going.
Comment by Adam on the January 15th, 2009 at 5:00 am
That's not the point at all, I'd pay 6 dollars for gasoline if I had to, dosn't mean it isn't gouging simply because the peddler CAN. You're being charged for them providing essentially nothing, you buy the games and the add ons and pay for the internet service and they provide what exactly?
Comment by fdinolfo on the January 15th, 2009 at 5:15 am
Servers, Routers, Bandwidth, Matchmaking, Rankings, and a lot of other behind the scenes things. What they provide isn't insignificant. Both Sony and Nintendo prvide the same thing for free. But as the old saying goes "You get what you pay for." and that's really true on the Wii, online is a total nightmare. The PS3 has a better experience with a Single Username across all games but with a lot of key features like cross game invites being missing. The only thing that comes close to what Xbox Live offers and is also free is Steam. It has pretty much the same sort of features. Even that's not free, since you do have to buy the games from Steam and the cut that Valve takes on the games pays for the service.
So basically the way that I see things, one way or another, if you want really good online service, you have to pay something.
Comment by TonyP on the January 15th, 2009 at 5:25 am
But Microsoft is running the servers you are playing off of. Part of the WoW fee is to pay for the servers, so you should have to pay for the servers that Microsoft is running. MS runs the XBL servers so game publishers don't have to and to ensure a stable play experience.
Comment by JacobS on the January 15th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
The 360 model probably works better for the larger populace. Only a small corner of the market is going to pay for all of that, and Microsoft should charge the people who are willing to pay if it means that the people who are not willing to pay can come on board. It's bad for business alienating so many people without a just cause.
Comment by i2bsolucky on the January 15th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
I think xbox live is worth every penny. I believe it is hands down better of PS3.
Comment by Adam on the January 15th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Haha that's ridiculous, plenty of online services do all of that with larger userbases for free and do it better. Again I'll point to Battle.net. Moreover they have other revenue streams that cover their operating costs for the things you listed, the $50 a year is just an extra squeeze to get extra out of you. This all makes Sony's point completely valid too, if the lifespan of the 360 is five years you just added $250 to the cost of your 360, coupled iwth the fact that you don't have a blu ray player or many of the other hardware features of the PS3, yes you spend a hell of a lot more on the 360 then the PS3. That's just hard numbers fact.