Having fun with that free Xbox Live Silver account? Sure, you can't play games with your buddies online, but you sure can compare high scores! And yeah, every now and then content will appear that's only initially available for Gold members, but that doesn't happen that often. What's that, Major Nelson? It's going to happen all of the time now? Crap.
Along with the new dashboard update, Silver members received a downgrade -- free content (like all of that great marketing, like demos, for instance) will be available exclusively to Gold members for one week. According to Major Nelson, "This is not done to annoy our Silver members -- limited time exclusive access to content is just one of the many benefits of having a Gold Xbox Live account."
Oh really? So being able to play games online wasn't a benefit enough? I'm not sure if Microsoft realizes it, but their competitor has been offering free online service (and much of the same content) since day one. When it came to the online space this generation, MS had it on lock with Xbox Live, but this move further widens the gap between it and Sony's service, and seems like a silly, greedy move.
Would someone other than Microsoft care to defend this?
Contest:
8:53 AM on 12.05.2007
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Don't be such a cheap ass, if you can afford 60 dollar games, then you can afford XBL.
And if you really want free, just get on PSN. Simple as that.
XBL is never going to be free. And 50 bucks a year will NOT break your bank account.
Personally, I think this is a really stupid way to justify the cost of a Gold account... I pay for Gold, have for long enough to get that free point dealie, but with the options available to other platforms for free, that offer more or better service than what Gold is for free, I'm having a harder and harder time justifying the cost.
I should note that Live as a whole is infinitely superior to any other unified platform out there, but the part of it that you PAY for is looking dumber and dumber over time.
1) Microsoft tested XBL as a free service for a month
2) Let these color levels be set aside
3) Watch the results
Even moreso, what are we really paying for $7.99 monthly? Aside from the animosity of random gameset matches, and enjoying good times with friends from afar.
They're already covering alot of ground with online content. But it just gets to be too much sometimes. Regarding the fact of how much we pay already as is.
(above note: seriously, you're thinking like a juvenile, think outside of the box)
My question is what does Microsoft plan to gain by delaying demo's n whatnot one week for silver accounts? gamers aren't THAT impatient.
Well your strong dollar isn't really MS fault. And Video Market Place isn't that good anyway, just use youtube. And 70 dollars still is not that much for a year, really it isn't.
@Danpowered
Ok, I wont then. Thanks for the advice. Awesome avatar.
What would happen if XBL went free, it would be overran by idiots and children even more than it is now. I've been a member of XBL ever since Mech Assault came out, and thats pretty much the start of it, I don't mind paying that much, and MS has no reason to make it free because it's revenue for them, there a buisness. Its kinda like, well if you don't like Wendys then go eat McDonalds.
And you have to thank MS for one thing, not ONCE have they ever raised how much it is to pay for the service, NOT ONCE FOR FIVE YEARS, now considering how damn poupular its gotten I'm pretty damn thankful for that becuase, if only say 1000 people played WoW do you think they'd charge the same for it as they do now? HELL NO!
- Small additions or fixes to games they already paid for.
- Demos, which are a promotional tool to sell games, in case someone forgot.
- Pretty useless Dashboard skins and the like.
I just hope nobody is idiotic enough to upgrade to Gold because of this.
Bullshit.
Many don't seem to care all that much, but it's another brick in the wall. While Microsoft has every right to do so, it also gives us a clear example of why monopolies are bad: Because they can get away with whatever the hell they want. This dick move looks like main branch MS behavior, not typical of their xbox division. I wonder what's going on, over there...
Er... wow... that's way too much fucking money.
However, I would say this is a backhanded move to the 360 audience. No one can possibly benefit from a potentially large crowd not being given the chance to have access to content the at the same time as everyone else.
While I know it's simply demos (at least as far as we can tell) what if begins to be more? "Want that extra level pack? Sorry, not for another handful of weeks for YOU, cheap ass!"
I think if MS wanted to "add benefit" to a Gold account they should provide every Gold member with some sort of discount on XBLA titles/other pay-for content or a monthly stipend of something like 100/150 MS points per month just for being members. The system could work like GameFly where you sign up, then after 3 months you reach a "level" where you get $5 or something off a used game purchase. Then after 6 months you get a 5% discount on used game purchases, then after a year you get 10% off used game sales (or something similar, haven't been to the site in a while). Either way it would TRULY reward people for paying for the service AND not piss off those that can't afford it.
What do you all think?
Taking away features from silver members should go hand in hand with giving more to those who already pay for this service. If anything, they should give more to those who pay for XBL: Free Arcade Games, videos, exclusive demos, etc...
Or, realistically, it won't have any impact on us Gold members at all. Seems like a pointless move: nobody's going to upgrade because of this, and no Gold members are going to be throwing parties over it. Why do it?
At least now it should help open up the network a little bit when I try to download something that just got released because those silver accounts cant get it right away.
That's the smartest thing I've heard all day man!
Is it just me or is D-Toid on a streak of bashing post? Oh wait, thats what half of this site is anyway!
Destructoid would be a much better site if it wasn't full of propaganda bullshit.
@mike maloney
Thats IT! There arent that many silver members, you cant even play on live with silver, so pretty much noone has it.
Regardless of how much the gold service costs I'd sooner not spend money on a service I wouldn't use, I just don't play online 360 games. I buy their console, their games and their merchandise and I don't appreciate this slap in the face. As mentioned many times, their competitors can afford to run a free gaming network and provide bandwidth to support downloadable content, why can't Microsoft? I mean this is Microsoft we're talking about, hardly on a shoe string budget are they?
It's not even an inconvenience but I do see it as an annoyance to silver members. Free DLC is for people who have already laid money down on a game, don't they deserve it off the bat? Demos are essentially advertising and if someone has a positive experience they will put cold hard cash down on the product, where's the sense in restricting access for a week? All in all I just don't see the point and it's hardly going to entice people to gold memberships.
Most of all, I think Major Nelson has a f*cking cheek suggesting this is common knowledge. It's been saying that very message about some 'free' Lumines content that has been up for many weeks now and there is no indication that it will ever be available to silver members. I bought the game and put up with the ridiculous micro-transactions and you'd think I'd be liable for a free thank you.
Yeah well if you don't play online, then what are you trying to say? You say you buy there games, console, and merchandise? What about peopel that pay for live and do all the same things you do, does that mean they should be entiteld to just the same as you because you dont play online? No, it doesn't.
and I'll tell ya something, people hate MS just to hate them, jsut because there MS. The big buisness that blah blah blah is so greedy.....fine go ahead and hate them, but everyone can see that this is a fuckin band wagon argument for the people that are against MS. I don't have anything against PSN, but i think people that belive PSN will stay free forever might be surprised what happens in the future....
Anti-MS propaganda? Is it me, or do people complain about the exact same thing about anti-Sony propaganda? Get a grip, both companies have their fair share of bullshit to try to feed people with, and both usually deserve the flak.
(Nintendo doesn't count, that's like making fun of retarded people)
You might still be able to get free demos through PSN but the service overall is awful. You get what you pay for. I guarantee there'll be cases where demos will have already reached availability for Silver users before they are even available at all on PSN.
In reality though @qo_op, 360 has much more online titles than ps3, if you were wanting to make a comparison....
The numbers speak for themselfs, if people didn't like XBL, they wouldn't be on it. But a lot of people do like XBL, and are paid subscribers.
Are you out of your mind re: the propaganda? We regularly "bash" Sony and Nintendo when the news calls for it, so calling us out for being biased is completely unwarranted.
And you're right, $50 won't be a huge hit to the wallets of most (when compared to the hundreds of dollars they've already spent on the console, internet connection, home theater system). But that's not the point. I love Xbox Live, and I think it is still one of the best services available for content distribution and online play.
However, trying to defend this move by saying "Stop being cheap" or "A lot of people already pay for Xbox Live and love it," is silly, and doesn't really address the issue. Quite frankly, I've had no issue paying the money for the service, and I still don't. But you can't ignore that there are other services that offer similar (if not identical) features to Xbox Live, and they don't cost a cent.
I'm not going to argue that Microsoft aren't doing extremely well with Live, or that they're not making money. But as a consumer, you look at multiple products and you have to compare their value and features. A little over one year ago, there was no service that could touch Xbox Live in terms of features and value; ignoring the fact that that is changing is foolish.
This is true. Some demos and content were timed "exclusive" for Gold members. But now, ALL of the content will not be available right away.