DANGERMAN Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I'm sure most of you that have it are already thinking "Yes!" but this post on Kotaku got me thinking about it Linky It seems that ending the gold/silver distinction in Games for Windows Live (effectively making it free) might have had the same effect for those who game on titles that are both PC and 360. A commenter on Xbox Live forums found that Shadowrun online play was free, for example. Reader Draco, who spotted this, says it works for Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition and Universe at War: Earth Assault, too.We'll have to check back after the weekend ends. But bigger picture, could this — don't get your hopes up, but it's gotta be on everyone's mind — mean that Xbox Live may eventually convert to a free model for all multiplayer gaming too? So with the update to PSN, the Wii getting Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and (eventually) Rock Band et al, and the PC pretty much matching the 360 game for game, and all of these services being free and having dedicated servers, what are you getting for your £35? I get that there's convenience that comes from knowing other people that already have Live, but is that enough to keep paying for it? To be honest I think my resolve to not pay for Live has been strengthened, I still might crumble when Rock Band 2 comes out, or if i ever have a chunk of spare money (and something to play online) but if a couple of my mates get RB2/GH4 then I'd be tempted to go the ps3 route for them (RB exclusivity aside natch). If i get Soul Calibur 4 then that'll be on the ps3, for one I don't like Yoda, and secondly if I ever fancy a bash online i can dip in to it without any commitment. I don't know what i'd do if Live did go free though, 360 all the way maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hinn888 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I dont mind paying to play online on 360 coz im always on it Obviously people would love it if its free, and coz every other console is free online, its a downside 360 has. You can it for around £25 now, soo its not too much... But you do have a point, where does the money seem to go towards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 But you do have a point, where does the money seem to go towards... That's exactly the thing. Paying for Live seems all well and good but when you realise that free services that offer just as good (Not WFC, obviously) online play and are rapidly catching up on Live's features are seeming like a better option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin_Seffron Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Yeah this is something ive got increasingly frustrated with recently, wheni first got my 360 i didnt mind paying for live, but as time went on i realised how crap it was - For me anyway. Ive gotten into this debate before so ill just skim the surface, the point of where does the money go is a good one. Obviously it doesnt go towards Xbox Live. Before my last subscription ran out i started to have so much trouble even connecting to Live, never mind getting a game in edgeways which really frustrated me as id really gotten into CoD4 online. Even now i dont have Gold my 360 has trouble signing me in, to the point where im set to offline because i cant be bothered waiting ten minutes for it to tell me it cant connect. On another, similar note,you thisk microsoft would of realised that Halo 3 and CoD4 weregonna be the biggest online games ever to hit the service, so why wernt they prepared? Halo 3 gave the system a bad case of this hiccups but CoD4 full-on broke Xbox Live for a few days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoobie Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 When I first saw this topic I read it as 'Is life worth it?' Thought we were going to have the first MFGamers online suicide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illdog Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 When I first saw this topic I read it as 'Is life worth it?'Thought we were going to have the first MFGamers online suicide 2nd. See: Luigi.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 When I first saw this topic I read it as 'Is life worth it?'Thought we were going to have the first MFGamers online suicide 2nd. See: Luigi.... Harsh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sly Reflex Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 God knows really. Either M$ starts implementing new features that warrant the price tag, or they follow suite with Sony and make it free. If they were to put a browser and some more stuff on the dash (such as streaming videos from youtube with them pausing to buffer). If nothing like this materialises, then I say no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatular Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 really depends on how much your going to use it, just like say a gym membership. probably stating the obvious there. anyhow it's a bargain for me as i use it most days, if your only going to dable in online gaming (exactly how i thought i would at first before getting addicted to halo!) then i can see how it could be seen as a bit of a ripoff as it's free on the other consoles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Yeah I'd agree with spatular - I use it most days and my experience with free services has so far been cluttered with no unifying service (PC), severely limited with child-safe locks (WFC) or just doesn't work (I've never found a game on an online PSP game, ever). I'm happy enough paying for Live, but when PSN matches it, then it's time to start bitching. Or just jumping ship to PSN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illdog Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 really depends on how much your going to use it, just like say a gym membership Thats the perfect way of decribing it. Basically, its worth the money if you use it loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANGERMAN Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 But is it though? As a serious question, what are you paying for that you can't get elsewhere? I could use PSN everyday playing COD4 and Rock Band (imported), i'd be connecting to dedicated servers rather than peer to peer. What would Live be offering on top of that? Not that i'm bigging up PSN, I've never used it for online gaming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illdog Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 But is it though? I think so, considering you've no choice but to pay for it if you want to use it. Its my only way to play online, i think if i had a PS3 i'd maybe feel different. But Hendo's point is valid, once somewhen does the same job (and Live is very easy to use) for nowt, then we got problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sambob Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I find the demos pretty cool on Xbox live, I think thats a really neat feature, its helped me to avoid shit games and also to buy games i probably would never have bought but have really enjoyed, plus you cant beat a bit of online bomberman against captain Welsh or worms where Hendo keeps leaping into the sea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 The demos are free though. The only thing you pay for on Live is playing online, which I personally don't think is worth the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatular Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 As a serious question, what are you paying for that you can't get elsewhere? I could use PSN everyday playing COD4 and Rock Band (imported), i'd be connecting to dedicated servers rather than peer to peer. What would Live be offering on top of that? does the psn really use dedicated servers for hosting cod4 and rock band? (cod4 will probably have matchmaking servers) i tihink some games on psn do use dedicated servers though? live doesn't use dedicated servers for games, well rock band, halo or cod4 don't as far as i know anyway (although again halo/cod4 do have servers but they don't host the games). i think what you are paying for is the infrastructure (sp!) for the service? which is as you say free elsewhere. anyway even if i just count it as paying £30 to play halo for a year it's a bargain for me, you can't play halo on psn/wfc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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