Analyst: Prepare to Pay More (A Lot More) for Xbox Live
Posted 10/19/09 at 11:15:55 AM by Paul Lilly
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Here's some potentially bad news for Xbox 360 console gamers - according to market analyst Michael Pachter, the price of an Xbox Live Gold subscription will shoot up to $100 per year, perhaps as early as 2011. What the hell?
"You can't hook into Xbox LIve Gold if he's playing on a PC," Pachter said on how Microsoft seemingly abandoned the PC as a gaming platform. "That's the other problem - you really want to hook every gamer who has a 360, you want them to buy all their games on 360, play everything multiplayer, pay you 50 bucks a year so that, in a couple of years, it's a 100 bucks a year."
While the numbers might be up for debate, Pachter seems convinced that Gold subscription prices are definitely on the rise. But is he off his rocker?
Current Gold level subs run $50 per year, or half of where Pacther predicts pricing is headed towards. In return, gamers get access to online multiplayer gaming, the ability to stream Netflix movies to your console (provided you're also a Netflix subscriber), and a few other odds and ends. Minus a few proprietary features, it's all stuff you can do on the PC for free, so it would be a tough sell to up and double the price of a sub in a 24-month time span.
Would you pay $100 for an Xbox Live Gold subscription? Sound off in the comments section below!
Paying
Submitted by Xboxgamer224 on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 8:54am
i am definatly not paying for this
Submitted by Wolfgang on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 7:18pm
If this raise in price for XBOX Live happens, I'll stick to PC gaming only. I was or rather am willing to pay for Xbox Live, at the current rate. But my roots are really in PC gaming, which is in great part why I'm building a new PC.
I certainly don't like what consoles have done to the PC in terms of gaming. But I am a realist and accepted the fact that the console gaming market almost eradicated the PC game market. One has just to walk inside a gaming store; in my area it is hard to find a single rack (one side only) with good PC game titles, everything else is console games. We are lucky, and I am personally grateful that we still have PC game developers and hardware makers that work in great part towards developing gaming software (for the PC) and hardware (two major GPU manufacturers) that support gaming and pushes further hardware development for the PC. Plus, I can't shake the feeling that PC games look better than console games, even when playing the same titles at similar or same resolutions, maybe because its totally true.
Playing on a PC is a more "personal" experience than playing on a console. Why? For me, because of many factors including, for starters, that you are actually physically 'nearer' to the display than in a normal Flat TV (typically at least 32" or bigger, mine is 42"), where you normally sit 6' or more apart. This results in a more immersive experience; if you have a 5.1 PC speaker system, the speaker setup will most likely be pretty close to you, making it more cozy. Additionally, you can customize the controls whichever way you want to (in most games) whereas in a gamepad you can switch button assigment around and reverse axis, and that's about it. All these reasons and more make it a more personal experience for me. There are lots of other reasons why I rather play in a PC besides what I just stated, that was just a couple of examples. Don't get me wrong, I like console gaming too. But besides PC online gaming being mostly free and games looking better (in my opinion), it is because I am a PC gamer at heart, its where I grew into "digital gaming". Now I am not bashing away at consoles, I own both major consoles, but I rather game on a PC if given the chance.
So like I first stated, I can maybe spend $50 per year in order to play with my friends, but I rather much play in a PC; where you can tweak and customize the experience much more than in a console. If it comes to paying $50+, I guess I will completely return to PC gaming 100%...
Submitted by GHETTO.CHiLD on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 3:00am
this is just bad reporting. anyone can give their opinion and say something is likely to happen. to report this is just stupid because it intentionally works people up. by looking at the comments i predict maximumpc.com will start chargining for access to read them. see how it easy is. let's stick to real news and hard facts and not just ONE persons opinion of how to make cash.
Onlive -Jox
Submitted by Jox on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 6:16pm
-Jox
Submitted by EarthBoundMisfit on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 1:17pm
Registered Linux User #404122 Microsoft has encountered a critical system error and must now shut down. Better get Bill Gate$ on the phone for this one.......
yet ANOTHER reason to keep my PS3. Micro$atan is up to screwing everyone lately it seems.
First they kill silverlight, and now this,
Its enough to make you a Richard Stallman convert huh?
Submitted by robotsneedhugs2 on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 9:50am
You're so witty.
Submitted by Jerjef on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 12:46pm
I live in Canada where there is no Netflix option, so all I use Gold for is online play with my buddies, so $100/yr for that? lol, not a chance, and I won't be the only Canuck to see it that way.
Submitted by huhhuh on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 12:44pm
I do not play any game on my xbox360 - it is louder then the freakin game, it has bad tendency to die too soon, lots of stuff for it is really expensive (wireless adapter, the HD, Online gaming) and it didnt even have the true 1080 for a longest time.
I use it only as MC extender.
And it's still too loud.
I tried few games that came with it but didnt play for too long (last Halo and KungFu Panda).
I play games on PS3 and watch true blue ray discs on it, and all other media (music/photos/video/movies/dvds/cable) gets to my TV through HTPC.
aahhhhhhhhhh NO
Submitted by TheTrevon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 12:10pm
I think every one else covered everything quite nicely
You don't pay anything monthly for other games unless it's a MMO
The subscription can only be used for one profie, if is was something like per console that would be nice, and if you wanted more you can get more
There isn't even enough stuff to make it worth it Netflix is nice but you have to pay extra for that...
Almost every thing on the Market Place cost tons more than it should
Not to mention 360 accesories like wireless adapter and MU memory
That all being said I use Netflix and used to play Halo all the time online. But defenitly wont be paying $100 would consider staying with the $50/yr
Submitted by thegamepro on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 11:40am
Since the 360 is practically useless without the gold subscription, I pay the gold member fee. $50 a year is a reasonable price, but I am not willing to pay twice that amount. If they doubled the price, I will end my subscription, sell all my 360 hardware and software, and use that money to transfer to the PS3. The PS3 online is not as good as xbox live but it's good enough for me and it's free. Of course I also have my pc that I can use to play games online but if I were scrictly a console gamer, that's what I would do.
Submitted by huhhuh on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 1:19pm
Pls read my comment since I dont agree about 360 being useless without gold sub.
Silver is more then enough for system updates and gold is only needed for online multiplayer games .
Submitted by igoka on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 11:31am
I got my Gold account because of Netflix . Yes I paid 50 bucks a year just to watch Netflix . I do play multiplayer but only on PC . After few months I switched to Media Center PC because XBOX360 IS TOO NOISY !!!! .
Submitted by Trooper_One on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 11:20am
.... $100/year but they can easily hike $10/3 year on top of that later on.
I remember the good old days when quality online matching like BNet (SC or WC), Rainbow Six, TF, and up to recent ones like TF2, L4D for free!
I hope Steam or Blizzard dont charge $$$ per month!
Submitted by tehninjapwns on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 11:17am
Ok, Halo 3 has definitely been out for 2+ years now, and I don't see that on PC, and did i mention, IT IS A MS GAME STUDIOS GAME!
Get used to it it's the future
Submitted by Zazubovich on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 11:09am
Especially when combined with anything to do with Microsoft is nothing but a punchline. Get used to Microsoft Books? Get used to FRED? What other Microsoft vapor initiatives are you going to "get used to" there xenogeist? What other bogus things will you settle for because "they're the future?" Another trial balloon from a company that has matured to the point that they no longer can innovate in the technological sphere and must innovate in the revenue enhancement sphere. Maybe they can sell lottery tickets too.
wow
Submitted by sartan2002 on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:43am
wow ok I'll be the first 360 user to comment on that....
100$ a year, breaks down to just innder 10$ a month, that is double the ammount that it is at now. If they expect for people to double they had better have something to show for it. I don't think that netflix(assuming people use it, I personally don't), and a few small things they have added over the years warrents the major price hike.
Another thing to look at is who the majority of thier clients are..... kids with parents, the parents who pay for the kid's xbox live account. I doubt they will like paying 2 times as much as before. just as I was writing this on of my friends even said that if the price does go up like that he wont buy gold aymore. just goes to show you how much of a bad idea this is.
P.S at the time when I wrote this I would have been the first xbox user to comment.... but then I got busy with work related stuff for like 2 hours :(
Submitted by DOOMHAMMA on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:38am
Microsoft can expect me to use my PC even more, and my PS3 even more if they did that. I am a PC gamer first. 360 player second, and a PS3 player last. But they might shake up my #2 with that. Not that I care too much anyway, I play the 360 maybe 6 hours a week, while the PC sees daily play time. PS3? Mostly untouched lol.
Long Time Subscriber
Submitted by major_tom on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:27am
I'm going on my 7th year on Xbox Live, started as a beta tester, and I'm not really sure the service has been worth the $350. If they're going to double the cost, they'd better at least double the value of the service. For me, that would mean adding a full browser (preferably Firefox, which seems unlikely, but that alone would justify $50 for a lot of gamers), a few GBs of storage online, so I can upload my game saves to the hypothetical Xbox Live Cloud, and let's say a free movie rental, or a few thousand MS Points...
I presume Project Natal is going to be the key factor in an Xbox Live price hike, so I'd expect to see a lot of video related services, maybe even YouTube. In the meantime, I'm going to wait patiently, like I always do, expecting prices for games and hardware to come down (curse you 120 GB HDD! May as well wait for the 250 GB HDD at this point) and hope that service prices don't go up.
Submitted by ltliceberg on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:24am
If microsoft raises the price I'm getting a PS3
Nobody mentioned the worst
Submitted by lunchbox73 on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:24am
Nobody mentioned the worst thing about xbox live - it's only good for one profile! When I signed up for it on our family xbox that is shared by the 4 of us I assumed everyone would have gold access for their profiles. NOPE! Only 1. Insanity.
Xbox live is a great product and the way it's set up with profiles for achievments, stats, friends, etc is great but I think gold subscriptions should be per machine, not per profile.
Submitted by raven82 on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:04am
In a time and market where everything seems to center around services and high uneumployment/under-employment, one must ask themself, "self, can I afford another monthly charge"?
Being an Xbox Live subscriber since the yesterdays of regular Xbox, I have to say that even fifty dollars is a steep price for a subscription service. To me, the worst of it all is the fact that all Microsoft does is provide that basic service while it is up to the Publishers (like EA and others) to provide the content for that service.
I know Microsoft does provide its own content, does server maintnence, and other neet things, but those "things" do not constitute a $100 yearly charge, let a lone a $50 one. Too much of the content provided on Xblox Live is DC, leaving extra charges for the subsciber. A $100 subscription would only work if all DC was free to download and Beta's were sent to all $100 subscribers.
In the end, too much of the service is hype over total use. I plan to pay my $50 a year subscription but have no plans to pay more. There is even temptation to take $100 now and just add another two years to my account if that's even possible. I know that we all have our opinions, but honestly doubt that anyone that has to pay for the things they want out of their own pocket will tolerate such a hike in subscription fees.
$50.00 is too higi now.
Submitted by RedAnt751 on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 6:08pm
I hate that i have to pay $50.00 Now, I am not Happy.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than standing
in a garage makes you a car.
Submitted by yagisencho on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 10:00am
I could see paying up to $10/month IF I were a heavy user of the multiplayer facet of the service. For example, a Halo clan team member who's playing 2-3 hours per night is probably getting his/her money's worth. But otherwise, no. I think the current $4.17/month is reasonable though for moderate use of hosted servers.
No I wouldn't, and by the
Submitted by BlazePC on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:47am
No I wouldn't, and by the way I wouldn't at 50 per year either. The value add stinks.
Submitted by BlazePC on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:47am
No I wouldn't, and by the way I wouldn't at 50 per year either. The value add stinks.
Submitted by marudd2002 on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:47am
"Would you pay $100 for an Xbox Live Gold subscription?"
NO
Submitted by The Relic on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:41am
Because I don't like playing on-line, it's pretty useless to me (and for the record, I am a Gold user; got the 1 year subscription cheap). I don't download movies on my 360 (even if I had a bigger HDD I wouldn't), and the only thing I really do with it is occasionally take advantage of the Gold deals (recent Pinball FX for 500 points being an example) and I like the ability to download a demo a week early (though I find it thouroghly retarded to use a promo used to sell a game to get you to subscribe to Gold).
Given the fact that Sony is charging zilch to use their service, MS would be shooting themselves in the foot if they chose to raise Gold any more than it's current $50, especially given the current economic climate.
With the PS3 having a more
Submitted by dj-anon on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:38am
With the PS3 having a more interesting line-up for the next year, I doubt MS will do something as silly as making Xbox Live more expensive.
Submitted by skeptik on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:18am
this would be a sad day if that happens. personally the only thing i use is the netflix and multiplayer but if i had to fork out double i'd just as soon switch to sony and use the playon media server to stream netflix to it. i already use that to get hulu on the 360 now. i'm not a huge fan of the sony stuff but i'm even less of a fan of getting raped by MS...
Submitted by MeTo on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:12am
No i will not pay a monthly fee to Microsoft period. I all ready pay a monthly fee to my ISP and netflix. If i can't do something for free on xbox360 i am not doing it period.
Dude, don't balame xbox
Submitted by Xylogeist on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:12am
Dude, don't balame xbox live.
Its successful, its fun, its moddable, its revolutionary.
But now it's expensive. Who cares if Xbox has a higher priority for games these days? They still work on "Windows Live Games" that can get you achievements for the 360 on your PC. They make sure all of their studios make copies of their games for the PC so get over it. the 360 is streamlined, fun, and it has all the essentials like friends list, party chat, in-game chat, video chat, DLC, and an ability to MAKE people pay for their games (torrents just got pwned) cept for the people that were skilled enough to mod their 360 to play burned DVD's.
Get used to it, it's the future.
Submitted by FlamingChicken9 on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:10am
The price is already too much. online is free on the PS3 and the Wii and PC. the only reason I pay the already riddiculous price for Live is for the community; all of my friends are on it. But if they make it more expensive I will have no problem cancelling. I say no way!
I would cancel if it
Submitted by big_montana on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 9:10am
I would cancel if it increased above it's current rate. I do not play much online as it is, so $50 is not worth it to me as I purchase my Gold cards off eBay for $25 (I know, I'm a cheapo). But it hits 100 I will not renew!
xbucks subscription
Submitted by pcmaximus on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 8:46am
i wouldn't pay even 50 for xbox live gold or even if it was free,
because i am a PC only gamer.
microsoft better get their act together on the pc, i ordered their windows 7.
Submitted by prince_david on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 8:44am
This is not really targetted for me since I do not play the XBOX 360 online enough. I suppose if I was heavily into it, then I would, it is certainly cheaper than paying for an MMO at 15$ / month. Still, the PS3 will play all games online for free, this is going to be a tough sell. I am sure it will do fine, they still manage to sell that wireless adapter for 100$, it is a top seller on Amazon.
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