With Competition and a Growing Casual Userbase, Microsoft Finally Adjusts XBL Pricing

Still have my 3 little packages of $29 12-month subscriptions just sitting there waiting on the shelf... hehehehehe

Yeah don't fret over this, you'll still be able to catch them on sale, especially now.. just sign up for Newegg's emails, this is a non-issue.

 

Question-

I got the email offer to renew at $40 before the price hike takes effect. If I renew now, does it tack on a year to my subscription (ending in March), or does it start it over now?

It seems obvious that it should just tack on another year since I already paid for this year, but I see nothing that indicates that.

 

Tacks on to the end of your current subscription.

 

I saw that today too.

Since it's packaged with a charger I don't have an enormous issue with the price (the stuff to cry more about is the wireless adapter and the hard drives, which both cost twice what they should).

What's stupid about that controller is the d-pad STILL looks terrible, and even if that weren't the case, what in god's name were they thinking with the monochrome buttons? I mean really... now the colors of the buttons no longer match on-screen prompts. The person who thought that part up should be fired yesterday...

 

Exactly. They charge 50 bucks and still have a larger online community than PS3. They gotta be doing something right. Well worth it imo

 

The controller buttons are just for that edition/color, I believe, not a universal change.

 

Maybe the buttons will be back-lit with their respective colors. Would be cool...

 

Not really. 360 has gone through a complete dry spell after the few initial hits, and while a few notable multiplats do run a little better on the 360, they're hardly enough to warrant any sane person to stick with Microsoft's antics

 

Again, I've asked this question before already in this thread, and I don't feel it's been answered: what's the big difference between Xbox Live & PSN? Seriously. I play Bad Company 2 on PS3 all the time (250 hours or so), and never have I really had a problem. I'm not really understanding what makes Xbox Live "better." Can one of you guys enlighten me? I feel I must be missing something here...

Definitely agree that 360 has hit a dry spell, for the past year at least. In the beginning the 360 had a solid advantage over PS3 games-wise, now the reverse is true in terms of games released in the past year.

 

It is more user friendly. It is far easier to communicate with friends via xbox Live as opposed to PSN. No one on PSN ever has a mic on, everyone has a mic on Live and it enhances the experience. Not to mention the online community for Live is far larger, more people play it, its more organized, there are far more online features, more friends play it, and it is more competitive. I have both and I almost never play PS3 games online just because it is crappy. I often times have a difficult time connecting, no one in games talk, and I don't know anyone that plays PS3 online, all my friends play xbox. It obviously has to be better if one costs 50 bucks and the other one is free, yet the one that cost money still has far more users.

 

Exclusive games are overrated, the ones that are for both systems are the ones I usually play with the exception of Gears of War and Left 4 Dead

 

Okay, so what I'm hearing is:
1. More user-friendly & organized
2. More people have mics on
3. Larger
4. More competitive
5. Less difficulty connecting
6. More features

My views:
1. Actually, I think the layout on 360 is awful and obtuse. My girlfriend could figure out how to navigate my PS3 without my showing her how to do it. 360? Notsomuch. Everything is buried in so many levels of menus it's impossible to find anything. Don't agree on this point, at all.
2. Okay, but I don't really care, and many people don't. I find most people with mics are obnoxious 12-year-olds who think saying "f***" every 8 seconds makes them "cool."
3. Sure, okay, but PSN is more than big enough to find people to play with. There's such a thing as diminishing returns. When you reach a certain critical mass of users, it doesn't really matter if you get more, since there are always enough to play with regardless.
4. Bad Company 2 is plenty competitive on PSN, so is Super Street Fighter 4, and every other game I've ever played online.
5. Never had a problem myself.
6. What are these "features?" Besides cross-game chat, which I really could care less about?

So the only points I really agree with you on are that there is a larger user-base, and there are more people with mics on. But so what? I'm supposed to pay $60 for that? On my PS3, I can put in Bad Company 2, play for as long as I want, I don't have connection issues, it's competitive, and it's free. I have everything I need. I still just don't get what the big difference is.

I counter your point of "all my friends play xbox" with "all my friends play ps3." We hook up for Bad Company 2, Demon's Souls, Uncharted 2 all the time.



Ah well, if you're happy with it, that's good. I guess you just seem to care about things like mics that I don't care about...

 

BTW - I love both, and would happily pay Sony for their online experience too.

DD

 

I'm happy as a gamer that I can play online free on PS3... but Sony's shareholders gotta be pissed. :grin:

 

The only thing I like about Live is the fact that mics come standard packaged in so many of the bundles. Everything else about the 360 interface is just awful.

I doubt you can back up everything else you said. To be honest, I don't even know why you bring up "I have no friends on PSN" as an argument. I mean, it's a justification for why you chose to experience red ring sure, not an argument for why it's better.

Sour grapes

 

Raising the price right when everyone will be on Halo Reach multiplayer? That's pretty gangster but thats capitalism for you. Im just waiting for KOTOR to come out and then that might be all the games I need until the next system comes out lol.

 

Sour grapes? What do you mean by that?

 

Why would I pay for an online experience when my computer does the same for freez?


Netflix, check.
Games, check.
Browsing, check.
Work stuff, check.
Pr0n, double check.

my own avatar to dress in virtual clothing purchased with real money that no one really sees...dang, PC slackin' unless you pay/play MMOs.

I mean I have a Live sub right now, but I've already turned off auto renew, and won't be renewing. Unless there is some game that is only on XBox and I just have to play it with friends online. It is just my personal preference, but I only like FPS's and MMO's online, and those work best on PCs for me.

Sports games, racing, adventure, etc. games on consoles I'm perfectly content playing single player.