Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Xbox Live-New Price raise.

Ever since Microsoft made the announcement that they would start charging an extra $10 for a year subscription to Xbox Live, all I’ve been hearing people say is, “Well, I guess I’m done with my Xbox now,” and “I’m going to get a Playstation 3 and use the Playstation Network instead.” It annoys the crap out of me whenever I hear it. Is something that drastic really necessary just because it’s $60 for a year instead of $50? I’m not happy with it either, but I’m definitely not planning on just cutting off my Live account because of it—let alone switch over to the incredibly mediocre Playstation Network. I guess the question is, “Can paying for Xbox Live even be justified?”

I’m not sure. I’m in a position where I don’t like the change, but I’m not going to fight it; fighting meaning protesting it and not paying for any membership at all (it’s freaking Microsoft! Who do you think is going to win?). I will continue to pay for it, but I will do the same thing I’ve always done and wait for the oodles of online sales for 1-year subscriptions and pay half the price. I just don’t understand why others won’t do the same. Apparently, it’s absolutely abhorrent that Microsoft would charge the same price of a game (which I also never buy at full price) for their online service.
In some sense, I suppose it is. I mean, I still think that charging $60 for a video game is ridiculous (I think charging $40 for a handheld game is too), but I just don’t care that much about paying $30 or $40 for a year of Xbox Live (once again, thanks to online sales). People I’ve talked with have said that despite me paying less, I’m still paying and telling Microsoft that I’m okay with their “price hike.” I suppose that’s true, but when I’m not spending more on it, I don’t really give a crap.

Although, I suppose this could just become a vicious cycle where the price continues to raise and the sales prices follow, killing the deal for me, but maybe that’s just the risk I’ll have to take. It didn’t matter last-gen when companies started making special-edition sets of their games for $60 to test the waters for a next-gen price hike (and it was optional then).
Just think about you’re getting with Xbox Live. While you may be paying to play online, you’re also getting the easiest online console interface of all the consoles to use. It’s just so incredibly easy to set up a chat with a group of friends, hop in a game with them, or play something else entirely and still talk to them. Sure, you can do this with the PC too, and for free, even; but not all these console games are also on the PC, and the simplicity of everything just doesn’t feel as fluid as Xbox Live’s interface.

Granted, the price increase is being made because Microsoft is adding useless things I don’t care about like Hulu Plus and ESPN bullcrap–which could have easily been part of some kind of “Xbox Live Super Platinum” membership instead of becoming a part of “Gold.” But I think that if you use Xbox Live, then just suck it up and continue to pay like I do. It’s nice to have compared to the Wii or Playstation 3’s free online setups. It’s sort of a “you get what you pay for” scenario—though, once again, PC online gameplay is free.
There will always be places selling the subscriptions cheaper, though, so there’s no reason to fight the concept. If, on the other hand, you actually don’t use Live that much (which is hard to believe, but true) then sure, I suppose you shouldn’t be paying for the service at all anyway. This is Microsoft we’re talking about, folks. They love their money, so the chance of never having to pay for Xbox Live is pretty much nonexistent.

5 comments:

  1. thats fucking bullshit, i got 2 months left on my xbl, im not gonna pay no 60 bucks a year to listen to whiny 12 year olds bitch about me tagging them.

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  2. followed! can't belive the price raise! click for me!

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