Should Microsoft drop the Xbox Live Gold Subscription?

[max_cady]

I've been thinkin' a lot about this lately, I really like the Xbox 360, I play mostly single-player titles, but for some time, I felt like I've missed out on part of the experience with online multiplayer.
But you have to pay for an Xbox Live Gold subscription...

Before we get into the s***storm that is why does it exist, first one must condece that:

-Keepin' Microsoft stable service requires a lot of money to keep running;
-Gold subscribers get more stuff ahead of time and access to certain functionalities;
-A good way to remove in-game ads;

All of these are valid points, but then here's something that bothered me...

Almost every other service does not require any fee to play online, I mean online multiplayer PC titles have been free like since as far as I remember. And it's been almost 7 years, surely Microsoft can find other means to fund their servers.

What do you guys think?

[Happy Cat]

Nah. What they should do is remove online play from xbox live gold, there is no reason you should have to pay for that. I say they should keep gold because they offer a lot of premium services as part of that fee and can continue to build upon it. I have no doubts Sony is going to continue to build upon PS+ for example.

[SpeedyBlueDude]

No. It makes them money in the end. People are going to pay for it.

I know I'm going to reluctantly re-new in a month for another $60. :|

Gold makes them millions, an easy free million, Microsoft would be generous, but stupid to remove it.

[Emmett The Crab]

Often it's a waste of money for me, since I don't like playing games with strangers.

[max_cady]

@Will

Except that in Sony's case, you can play online multiplayer in both PSN and PSN+. And yeah, that's kinda what I was getting at: I feel there's no reason for Microsoft to keep online play locked up.

[Nameless 24]

I feel like the value of Gold is becoming ever more invalid in the UK simply because:

-Twitter/Facebook can be used on phones.

-LastFM, as good as it is...can be used free on the PC or even a few phones!

-AFAIK, the BBC iPlayer can't be found on the 360 because of the "BBC should be free" dispute....which I laugh at since the BBC "isn't" free for us due to the TV License Fee.

- Channel 4 On Demand and ITV are a complete joke on the system (they won't run unless you have an incredible internet connection), and yet the PS3 (less so, but it's hit and miss) and Wii (which is surprisingly useable on lower bandwidths) do this for free AND work.

- Sky....need I say more? You need a sub on Sky to actually USE the service....and yet you pay for Gold, which should AT LEAST have Sky Sports News for free.

- You no longer have to wait for deals on Silver, so gold is useless there...but then again, I would argue that it's a useless thing to do by locking OUT Silver members.

- You can download demos early on Gold...something, which again...that should NEVER happen as you locking out potential buyers of your products.

Overall...Gold is now a joke. The only redeemable thing people use it for is Cross Party Game Chat (something that isn't all that much used by me...it's a nice feature but not worth the £35 I pay for the sub) and online (which as max_cady points out, should be FREE these days as Nintendo, Sony and even Apple provide this for free).

Microsoft need to review their Gold Subs....I know they use some of it on their servers, but what about Sony who let you play online for free as well as Nintendo's own services?

[crackdude]

What about Portugal then.

The only one thing you get is Online play. At least there are no ads I guess

[Nameless 24]

What about Portugal then.

The only one thing you get is Online play. At least there are no ads I guess

That's true, I was just going on about a rant for UK customers, my bad. lol

[max_cady]

It's OK, Portugal has the bare minimal of Gold services, but there are some similarities as well: Twitter and Facebook apps? No thank you, I use those on my smartphone for free.

No Video-on-Demand service, but then again, I already subscribe to ZON Video Clube so it's pretty much worthless.

60 bucks seems an awful lot to charge consumers with. Back then, Microsoft had that advantage but nowadays...

[crackdude]

Yes, most media services in Portugal come packed in with (and are exclusive to) cable television, so the ridiculous Xbox Live price becomes even more ridiculous.

That being said, MS has the best online service and stability by far.

[Barry the Nomad]

Of course I'd love to not spend a cent on my gaming console's online services, and still reap all the benefits of the online service, but I'm cool with the price for XBOX gold. I mean, yeah the MSRP is $60, but often it is $49.99 and Best Buy or Newegg will drop it to $34.99 which is an awesome price for the service in my opinion. I online game, I download a lot of demos, I use Hulu and Netflix. So under $3 a month isn't bad.

My subscription runs out ever February, which happens to fall right in line with when Gold is typically on sale. Just today I renewed for $35 with a code from Best Buy.

[nuckles87]

Xbox Live should be significantly retooled into something similar to Playstation Plus, but as long as it continues to do well while offering less, Microsoft has no real reason to revamp it. Hopefully the next Playstation will have a kick ass online set up and force XBL to change. We'll see.

[SpeedyBlueDude]

Xbox Live should be significantly retooled into something similar to Playstation Plus, but as long as it continues to do well while offering less, Microsoft has no real reason to revamp it. Hopefully the next Playstation will have a kick ass online set up and force XBL to change. We'll see.

Don't you pay for Gold yet you only use Amazon Videos and Netflix on your Xbox?

Yeah... easy free money. You're account is 7 years. 7 years of paying $60 a year for online play. Microsoft got a free $420 from you.