Xbox live Plus. You pay an extra 40 quid each year for throwaway free themes that you always switch back from in a day or two....

What's that header image from?

@TXYeti
yep, businesses try to make money...but did you also know that people try to SAVE money? Novel concepf to be sure.

funny given the fact that i've never paid more than 25$ for yearly Gold subscription - actually i've been paying 10$ for it since there was a promotion on subscription cards and i've bought a few. if you're a sucker Jim and don't know about the fact that all stores sell subscription vouchers for under 30-40$ then it's your problem.
i'd rather pay for Live subscription than use PSN for online - i have ps3 for a few months now and i'm sorry, but it still sucks donkey balls compared to XBL.

"Just another way to wheedle cash out of people with more money than sense."

Considering they are dealing with people who are willing to pay $60 a year for a service everyone else gets for free, that shouldn't be too hard...

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to run for my life.

*runs away*

In other news, business attempts to entice customers to spend money -- civilization outraged.

Jim wth bud? i didnt think u were a fangirl? Its jus rumors MC wouldnt pull a stupid move like that. THEY hit the sweet spot with how Liv is right now PEACE

Oh dear

Blow it out your ass, Microsoft. You're all old, with no new IP to talk about. And the IP you do have, like Crackdown, Lost Odyssey, Alan Wake, etc., you've all but wasted, because you won't get your head out of your ass and push these franchises like Sony would. And I'm no Sony fanboy, it's just that Microsoft doesn't try. Oh great, another Forza. Oh great, another Halo. Oh great, another Gears of War. Oh great, another Fable. It's all old hat now. Fuck MS.

The console makers in general and Microsoft in specific are pushing me towards not purchasing any consoles at all come next-gen.

I'm thinking SFF PC hooked-up to my TV and just be done with it.

Slow news day, Jim Sterling horfs down a dozen donuts and spits some kind of nonsense outrage about businesses doing what they were designed to do. Just another day at Dtoid, folks. >_>

@ Sæglópur

Oh great, another Killzone. Oh great, another God of War. Oh great, another Resistance. Oh great, another LittleBigPlanet.

See what I did there? ^^

Seriously dude, 2012 is THE year on XBLA with titles such as Dust: an Elysian Tale, Bloodforge, Deadlight, Mark of the Ninja, FEZ and Trials Evolution.

I guess its a way for them to balance out giving away MS Points from their "Rewards Center" if you sign up for it. But to earn them you need to spend them. Ballocks

@Chris Lage - Yeah, go figure, you have to spend money in order to get things. What a travesty. Why aren't we all in a hippy commune yet, right?

After thinking about it, I would pay $10 to change my user interface in whatever way I chose. I don't care for the current Kinect and Advertsing oriented UI.

@ Saeglopur

bud think ur forgetting indi stuff like Fez, Limbo, new alan wake not to mention all the content were getting for games like MW3 and Skyrim. So def worth payin extra jus for quality service and advanced content. NEXT time check ur facts befor postin

...

They can offer me more things to buy - many more things.

Then I will decide whether to buy them or not.

I have to admit, if I didn't have more people I talk with regularly using Live or didn't play games online I wouldn't renew.

But then again 360 has the Left 4 Dead games and Gears Of War. Kinda worth it.

"more money than sense"

I've used those very words for these very reasons for a very long time. Thank you, Jim, for lending your voice to the cause of "sense".

Any one of you that bought avatar crap, or paid idiotic amounts of money for miniscule DLC, you boneheads brought this on yourselves.

Good fucking grief.

I can't really get to excited (one way or the other) without more details.

He could be referring to any number of things, like the free to play* /micro-transaction which has been reportedly been in the works for XBL for quite some time.

It could even be something MMO related, or even a more tiered subscription service.

It's not much longer until E3, I'm sure they'll announce a slew of new content and features coming to XBL. I'll wait until then to either do my happy dance or grab a pitchfork.


*XBOX LIVE Gold subscription required

:)

M$ piece of shit! :]

@PossibleCabbage
That's the best idea but I think most people would move to that and they'd lose more money than they'd gain.
I just grab a 3 month card on the rare occasion that there's a multiplayer game I want to play.

@Sæglópur,
lol? you DO get the fact that in 2011 and 2012 MS is introducing more original IPs than Sony did across all of their current platforms(PSP, PS3) during this ENTIRE generation, right?

sofik88- wrong

@Gamescook

It's from Pink Floyd's The Wall.

I would've gotten rid of my gold by now, but all my friends play on Live and there always seems to be a game that comes out around renewing time. Last year it was Gears(which I regretted renewing for) this year it's Borderlands. I think it's ridiculous I can't change payment settings online and have to call the customer support. To their credit though, the customer support was very nice and accommodating both times I had to call.

I hate you MS, you greedy assholes.

I don't give two fucks what M$ does. If you feel like something is a ripoff, don't buy it. Its funny seeing all these comments of ppl planning to go to PSN. When PSN got hacked, ppl did nothing but whine about how much it sucked. I don't agree with a lot of M$ strategies, but Xbox Live has more positives than negatives.

I hope they charge more for xbl, they deserve it! what a handsome service.

Fantastic. Another reason for me to stop playing my Xbox and get me unhooked from achievements. As for all of you saying that paying for FUCKING NETFLIX AND FREE SERVICES is ok... you're beyond retarded.

This just in, huge corporations are in the gaming business to make money.

Come back tomorrow and we'll example this digital medium called "games" and explore the machines used to play them.

@ Hurricane

This might just have to do with the currency used for buying stuff online. Maybe we'll get to pay with real money instead of MS Points...

While I don't laud MS for taking this approach with their customers, it's in a very real way what gaming has become. I'd like to say gamings 'innocence' stage is over, and with that comes the what business likes to call value creation in predatory capitalism. They're going to take every angle they can to make as much money off of games, and in the process make them less fun. I believe even a person once employed at Zygna was once quoted as being told it's more important for them to find ways to make money, than it is to make a game enjoyable. Since gaming works off the same principles of slot machine gambling in the concept of providing instant gratification, they can use this to their purposes to keep people in the game, and thus making money off them.

Now, the real question I ask is when are people going to say enough is enough and give gaming companies the finger and go back to playing games that are made by people who love gaming first, and like making money second if only to further their primary love. The big time game companies really could care less about gamers, their first priority is their stockholders, and as a result you see more and more of these vultures capitalizing off our own reluctance to do anything about it.

Oh my God. You're telling me that companies like Microsoft exist to MAKE MONEY!?!?!?!? How DARE they! I'd better not FREELY PURCHASE from them any more than I have to...and everyone else BETTER do the same. In fact, if I catch anyone buying something that I personally haven't approved, I'm going to have to start breaking some kneecaps.

I don' t understand why people keep saying that it's just a business trying to make money as if that should negate the need for customers to stay informed protect themselves from getting ripped off.
Also, this is exactly why I let my Xbox live gold run out last month. All those great features Microsoft charges foe are available on my laptop.

Sorry bout all the typos. :(

@ redsun

u can play gears 3 mp on ur laptop? cool

@Kyousuke Nanbu
Your comment was worth reading through all the rest for.

Oh well Wii U all the way

Hmmm...avatar marketplace stuff I'm ok with as I'm not really into that aspect of Live. Anything else and I will be sure to pay attention. We shall see.

I wondered what header pic Dtoid would use for this story. I have to say, that's about as appropriate as anything.

Glad I picked the best choice..

GOSH, how weird for a business to be thinking about making money! EVERY business 'sees its consumers as things to be "monetized."'

jim, sometime's you're a real retard.

I officially stopped paying for Live this year. When I was down at Sebring for the races last month, I grabbed 12 free month cards and told MS to suck it. I can't stand their policies and their lack of features.

I buy XBL cards off Amazon for $40 not $60, but I admit it's ridiculous that I pay for something that you get for free on Steam, especially with all the ads I'm subjected to.

And no, I won't be buying whatever dumb shit you try and "monetize" out of me... but I'm sure my peers will. Which is pretty pathetic, but I can't entirely blame Microsoft for trying if people are actually that fucking dumb. Which they are.

@jimboxxx
is gow 3 mp worth $60 a year? maybe for some people but not me. Of course xbox has exclusives but I can play online with my laptop just fine, thank you.

Should read "The industry plans to further monetize players" Cause thats whats going to happen; it won't be limited to just XBL even if Microsoft is the first to go full steam ahead with it.

I really don't know what to say about everyone who didn't see this coming.

@redsun: God of War 3 doesn't have multiplayer and is amazing because of that.. GEARS of WAR on the otherhand is not worth 60 a year..

Remember folks.. Gears = Gears of War, GoW = God of War. I understand how many could get that wrong seeing as they have the same beginning letters. Tho God of War did come out first and had the GoW title before Gears... thanks.. that's your daily lesson.