Xbox live is the most over rated gaming service!

[QUOTE="Floppy_Jim"]Something isn't right when a free service has more dedicated servers than a paid service. It doesn't make any sense to me at all. But you're right, as long as they're making money and millions of people still use Gold, why should MS care?killerfist

Well, with all the hours and hours I've played Halo 3 online, I can't be too mad. But then I could just play Killzone 2 on a free service with twice as many people and virtually no lag, for example. It's a bummer but it's not exactly breaking the bank so I guess I'll keep paying for it.Floppy_Jim

Or you could play both lol.

More options = better in this case.

[QUOTE="def_mode"][QUOTE="XxSTILL_BORNxX"]For me, Its worth it because im only playing with people from my country so yeah....im not experiencing any lag at all:) and with netflix,DLC's .... its totally worth it.XxSTILL_BORNxX

really be honest its just not worth 50$.

I mean if they made dedicaed servers for every game and gave a brilliant lag free service

it still wouldn't justify the price. 360 is an awesome console but xbox live is poor.

and no I'm no PS3,PC or Wii fanboy. you don't need a bias view to notice that xbox live isn't fair.

but thats me, what do you think?

check these links out.

http://store.steampowered.com/about/

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/goldBenefits.htm

*edits*

1)added links for comparison.

Great_Ragnarok

co sign

A chatroom, cross games invites, a slow ass friend list, and a shopping entice dashboard is not worth fifty bucks a year

The $80 I pay for my yearly subscription is entirely worth it for the early demos and the guarantee of joining a low ping server.
For less than half the price of a game I get to add more than half onto nearly every game I buymlisen

Where's the option most of us would choose, I just pay the price once a year and then forget about it. I don't know why people complain about it so much it's not like you have to constantly pay 10$ a month or something, it's a one off payment that you do and then just do it again the next year. Just do what I did and start off the subscription around your birthday or Christmas, that way you should always have that 50$ ready.bobbetybob

[QUOTE="XxSTILL_BORNxX"][QUOTE="def_mode"] pay $50 to play with the people in ur country? that sounds...brutaldef_mode

[QUOTE="treedoor"][QUOTE="Great_Ragnarok"] erm there are demos for PC's as well you know. whats more you can browse etc watch youtube etc. but you are not required to pay 50$ on top of the internet charges. I mean what are you paying for? when others get it free?Great_Ragnarok

So what? I've got a gaming PC that I'm on right now. Do PC's play Halo 3? Sadly no. There's enough 360 games that PC's don't have to warrant paying PENNIES a day for online.

and I agree with you skrat_01.

Xbox Live is not an internet service. It is a gaming service. It uses the internet, which you pay your internet provider for, but it does not actually provide you with internet service.

Should it be free? Perhaps. It's debatable, hence this thread. I don't actually pay $50 for it though. This last time I paid $40 because of a sale I saw on Amazon.com. It's pretty easy to pay a lot less than $50 if you're smart and can do some research looking for good deals. Best Buy and Sears recently ran a sale on the 13 month cards for $30. This is, of course, for those living in the US. I don't know if the equivalent happens in other countries.

XBL is a much better service than PSN. Yes, it should be free. No, I don't like paying for it, but it is a top notch service, and I will begrudgingly pay the $50 a year until its free as a result.SpruceCaboose

[QUOTE="SpruceCaboose"]XBL is a much better service than PSN. Yes, it should be free. No, I don't like paying for it, but it is a top notch service, and I will begrudgingly pay the $50 a year until its free as a result.dthach614

[QUOTE="dotWithShoes"][QUOTE="Great_Ragnarok"] erm a dedicated server with massive bandwidth can host games better than a personal internet connection just adequate for one person.imprezawrx500

Interesting that dark messiah still has a number of servers dispite it's terriable reviews and it being an old game

[QUOTE="SpruceCaboose"]XBL is a much better service than PSN. Yes, it should be free. No, I don't like paying for it, but it is a top notch service, and I will begrudgingly pay the $50 a year until its free as a result.dthach614

Can't believe people actually think something that should be free in the first place is worth paying. :?glenn2709

MS ripps us off in alot of ways...lol...one big one is microsoft points...20$ for 1600? u can get like 2 things wit that...idk it just seems unfair. 10$ to change your gamertag? 10$ for new maps or add ons? come onCrazyGamer02149

Can't believe people actually think something that should be free in the first place is worth paying. :?glenn2709

It is highly overpriced, and it should be free for the service it offers. The only thing Gold really gets you is online play, is it not? Honestly, if you're paying for Gold you should get discounts in the store for $50 a year, or at least something other then online play.darkslider99

Yes, it gets you online play. Now you have to ask yourself... what does "online play" entail? Obviously, it gives you the ability to play in online multiplayer. Lots of people can't seem to think past that.

Then there are things like:

• Cross-game chat
• Cross-game invites
• Highly visible and approachable community staff. There are people like Major Nelson, E, Trixie, StepTo and a bunch of others that give out their gamertags and emails to help the community. Example: the individual that was suspended for putting her sexual preference in her profile. This came to light from an article from The Consumerist who did not mention her name or gamertag. Steven Toullouse, director of policy, has extended an open invitation to this person to email him personally. They work with several groups such as parents and GLAD to form that policy. (listen to the latest Major Nelson podcast).
• Global Policy staff that actively police online sessions for bad behavior.
• Amabassador and Community Developer programs.
• A steady stream of community events. Some of them on a regularly scheduled basis, others to coincide with game releases, yet others just for fun.

I'm probably missing a few, but those are some things I know about. So yeah, online play is not just being in a session fragging people. There are some things going on in the background that, honestly, you shouldn't have to think about anyway.... kinda like the way a real service-based business is supposed to work.

[QUOTE="glenn2709"]Can't believe people actually think something that should be free in the first place is worth paying. :?killerfist

So you're saying I should pay another extra to play online with my friends on PC/PSN ? Okay.glenn2709

No, I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying the pros outweigh the cons.

Note: this is just my situation.

Something isn't right when a free service has more dedicated servers than a paid service. It doesn't make any sense to me at all. But you're right, as long as they're making money and millions of people still use Gold, why should MS care?Floppy_Jim

Within a couple months PSN will be equal to xlive with the video chat update and it's free. Sony has worked on making it have every function and will soon be there. MS started making theres back with the origional Xbox and they charged right from the start. Sony never has and never will.patriots7672

Why MS doesn't have dedicated servers for all their games is beyond me. If they added dedicated servers it should be alright. But then again PSN is basically the exact same thing and it's free.

Within a couple months PSN will be equal to xlive with the video chat update and it's free. Sony has worked on making it have every function and will soon be there. MS started making theres back with the origional Xbox and they charged right from the start. Sony never has and never will.patriots7672

Within a couple months PSN will be equal to xlive with the video chat update and it's free. Sony has worked on making it have every function and will soon be there. MS started making theres back with the origional Xbox and they charged right from the start. Sony never has and never will.patriots7672

Maybe its a rip off and maybe it should be free but in the big picture its about the least offensive rip-off i face on a day to day basis.

Everyone else has their hands in my pocket and i get way less fun out of those rip-offs.

Taxes, mortgage, food, clothing, fees, i mean come on everyone of us pays for freaking water to be pumped into our homes and many pay a sewage bill which means you basically have to pay to excrete waste. Are you seriously going to give that tired old i don't pay for free stuff line when we all pay tons of money for things that are free.

I don't know if you noticed or anything but electricity is free in nature, metals and ores are free, water is free, why do we all pay for these things, because they are refined into something that makes it easier to use.

Anyway, ok, i'm getting ripped off, boo hoo welcome to the world folks.

[QUOTE="patriots7672"]Within a couple months PSN will be equal to xlive with the video chat update and it's free. Sony has worked on making it have every function and will soon be there. MS started making theres back with the origional Xbox and they charged right from the start. Sony never has and never will.yoyo462001

[QUOTE="darkslider99"]It is highly overpriced, and it should be free for the service it offers. The only thing Gold really gets you is online play, is it not? Honestly, if you're paying for Gold you should get discounts in the store for $50 a year, or at least something other then online play.VoodooHak

Yes, it gets you online play. Now you have to ask yourself... what does "online play" entail? Obviously, it gives you the ability to play in online multiplayer. Lots of people can't seem to think past that.

Then there are things like:

• Cross-game chat
• Cross-game invites
• Highly visible and approachable community staff. There are people like Major Nelson, E, Trixie, StepTo and a bunch of others that give out their gamertags and emails to help the community. Example: the individual that was suspended for putting her sexual preference in her profile. This came to light from an article from The Consumerist who did not mention her name or gamertag. Steven Toullouse, director of policy, has extended an open invitation to this person to email him personally. They work with several groups such as parents and GLAD to form that policy. (listen to the latest Major Nelson podcast).
• Global Policy staff that actively police online sessions for bad behavior.
• Amabassador and Community Developer programs.
• A steady stream of community events. Some of them on a regularly scheduled basis, others to coincide with game releases, yet others just for fun.

I'm probably missing a few, but those are some things I know about. So yeah, online play is not just being in a session fragging people. There are some things going on in the background that, honestly, you shouldn't have to think about anyway.... kinda like the way a real service-based business is supposed to work.

LMAO @ the bolded.

They do not always reply to emails and messages. and who give a craps about them anyway. they just make a bunch of videos.

They do not actively police online behavior. There's a lot racism on xbl. The rep system is trash, everybody have 5 stars. You will still get matched up with players you avoided.

You got to pay for XNA games and arcades. Your gold subscription does not cover that. LOL

Players actually participate in community events? lol

Xbox Live is not overrated. It's overpriced. Would I like this to change? Yes, but M$ is a business not a charity. If you were in M$ shoes and was raking in extra millions with this service, would you make it free out of the kindness of your heart? No I think not.InfinityMugen

[QUOTE="patriots7672"]Within a couple months PSN will be equal to xlive with the video chat update and it's free. Sony has worked on making it have every function and will soon be there. MS started making theres back with the origional Xbox and they charged right from the start. Sony never has and never will.yoyo462001

It should be free, if you ask me. When you pay 60.00 for a game, you should not have to pay more just to play it online. I already have to pay for internet service to begin with. Furthermore, you should not have to be a paying member in order to get demos when they are first released either. Sorry, but that is just a joke. I only pay for a month of LIVE at a time whenever there may be a 360 game I want to play online.

That is why I personally prefer PSN. I can play as often or as little as I like without having to worry about paying in order to do it. When a demo is released, I can also get it the day it is released without being a 'paying member.' Having a PS3 is all that is required to be a member of PSN, and for my online gaming purposes, it is all I need. Any way you slice it or dice it, free will always be better than paying. Even it it is only 50.00 a year for the service.

Maybe its a rip off and maybe it should be free but in the big picture its about the least offensive rip-off i face on a day to day basis.

Everyone else has their hands in my pocket and i get way less fun out of those rip-offs.

Taxes, mortgage, food, clothing, fees, i mean come on everyone of us pays for freaking water to be pumped into our homes and many pay a sewage bill which means you basically have to pay to excrete waste. Are you seriously going to give that tired old i don't pay for free stuff line when we all pay tons of money for things that are free.

I don't know if you noticed or anything but electricity is free in nature, metals and ores are free, water is free, why do we all pay for these things, because they are refined into something that makes it easier to use.

Anyway, ok, i'm getting ripped off, boo hoo welcome to the world folks.

Riverwolf007

really be honest its just not worth 50$.

I mean if they made dedicaed servers for every game and gave a brilliant lag free service

it still wouldn't justify the price. 360 is an awesome console but xbox live is poor.

and no I'm no PS3,PC or Wii fanboy. you don't need a bias view to notice that xbox live isn't fair.

but thats me, what do you think?

or and the way you take action is by exercising your consumer power. next time your xbox live account

expires don't buy more. this is the best way to send the message to MS.

check these links out.

http://store.steampowered.com/about/

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/goldBenefits.htm

*edits*

1)added links for comparison.

Great_Ragnarok

[QUOTE="Great_Ragnarok"]

really be honest its just not worth 50$.

I mean if they made dedicaed servers for every game and gave a brilliant lag free service

it still wouldn't justify the price. 360 is an awesome console but xbox live is poor.

and no I'm no PS3,PC or Wii fanboy. you don't need a bias view to notice that xbox live isn't fair.

but thats me, what do you think?

or and the way you take action is by exercising your consumer power. next time your xbox live account

expires don't buy more. this is the best way to send the message to MS.

check these links out.

http://store.steampowered.com/about/

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/goldBenefits.htm

*edits*

1)added links for comparison.

ChartTopper93

[QUOTE="VoodooHak"]

[QUOTE="darkslider99"]It is highly overpriced, and it should be free for the service it offers. The only thing Gold really gets you is online play, is it not? Honestly, if you're paying for Gold you should get discounts in the store for $50 a year, or at least something other then online play.dthach614

Yes, it gets you online play. Now you have to ask yourself... what does "online play" entail? Obviously, it gives you the ability to play in online multiplayer. Lots of people can't seem to think past that.

Then there are things like:

• Cross-game chat
• Cross-game invites
• Highly visible and approachable community staff. There are people like Major Nelson, E, Trixie, StepTo and a bunch of others that give out their gamertags and emails to help the community. Example: the individual that was suspended for putting her sexual preference in her profile. This came to light from an article from The Consumerist who did not mention her name or gamertag. Steven Toullouse, director of policy, has extended an open invitation to this person to email him personally. They work with several groups such as parents and GLAD to form that policy. (listen to the latest Major Nelson podcast).
• Global Policy staff that actively police online sessions for bad behavior.
• Amabassador and Community Developer programs.
• A steady stream of community events. Some of them on a regularly scheduled basis, others to coincide with game releases, yet others just for fun.

I'm probably missing a few, but those are some things I know about. So yeah, online play is not just being in a session fragging people. There are some things going on in the background that, honestly, you shouldn't have to think about anyway.... kinda like the way a real service-based business is supposed to work.

LMAO @ the bolded.

They do not always reply to emails and messages. and who give a craps about them anyway. they just make a bunch of videos.

They do not actively police online behavior. There's a lot racism on xbl. The rep system is trash, everybody have 5 stars. You will still get matched up with players you avoided.

You got to pay for XNA games and arcades. Your gold subscription does not cover that. LOL

Players actually participate in community events? lol

They've said repeatedly, that they read all the messages, but don't have time to reply to them all. And no, they don't just make a bunch of videos. They organize community events at trade shows and game launches as well as online events. They react to community concerns as I pointed out.

Alot of racism on XBL? Welcome to the internet. Do you think they have a person in every single game session ever in progress? They're out there, or you wouldn't hear about the suspensions and bans that people regularly report. And I have yet to get matched up with anyone I've avoided, so I'm not quite sure what you're doing.

Of course you have to pay for XNA games and arcade games...just like PSN users have to pay for PSN downloads and Wii owners have to pay for Wii downloads.

And yes, tons of people participate in the community events. Ladies Night, Family Game Night, Game With Fame, Community Play Dates... they're all pretty popular.

If you don't take advantage of these things, then what you're saying is that XBL isn't right for YOU.

If you don't like it, then you have other options. I'll keep enjoying XBL.