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How long can Microsoft keep charging for Xbox Live

Guardian.UK Writes: "The news that Games for Windows Live - essentially a PC version of Xbox Live - will now be available for free makes it increasingly difficult for Microsoft to justify charging a subscription to Xbox Live.

I'm a big fan of Xbox Live. Friend lists, achievements, ease of use - Live still towers above the Playstation and Wii online services. But then it should. Live costs around 40 quid a year, Sony and Nintendo's offerings are free. Sure the service is good but how long can Microsoft get away with charging?"

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blogs.guardian.co.uk
Wildarmsjecht6507d ago

As long as people keep paying for it.

CaptainHowdy6506d ago

cease and desist. But eventually it needs to be free. and compensate the current subscribers with microsoft points

6506d ago
JBaby3436506d ago

Wildarms is right. As long as people pay for it they will charge for it simple as that.

Ace Killa 086506d ago

it be great to have it free, but why should we have it for free? we bought the console and games and now we being greedy into wanting it for free. member this free stuff are usually the bad quality so free would be great, if i get the same service, if not i would pay to keep the service i get with xbox live

FantasyStar6506d ago

I agree with you there when concerning the 'greedy consumer'. However I disagree about Microsoft charging for Live is because Online Gaming was always free. Even though it's just $5 a month, being charged to play online is wrong. That's the principle.

uie4rhig6506d ago

meh you're right, MS will only make it free ones no1 or not many people pay for it, pretty much like GFW Live

wallace10006506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

Forever, because it is a fantastic service and until another service comes along that is better in some shape or form and i can rock Halo 3 on it, i am going to pay the $50 a year. Considering lots of the other trash i have to pay good money for, xbox live is a fantastic deal.

kwicksandz6506d ago

When the competition matches LIVES features for free.

So they will probably keep charging forever =)

Silver3606506d ago

the severs that tie everything together? Market place downloads match making ignoring people yearly improvements a equal experience over all games?

solidt126506d ago

Why not just play games on the PC with a 360 controller and get LIVE for free? Mass Effect, Gears, Lost Planet ect. allhave gone on PC, and so will Gears 2

Tomdc6506d ago

xbox live is better than PSN but there aint as much in it as there used to be...

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 6506d ago
Omega46507d ago

The guy answered his own question "Live still towers above the Playstation and Wii online services" people are willing to pay for quality

Once the competition's services come close to live then MS (like the PC) will most likely make it free or at least reduce the price, not that anyone cant pay a small £40 a year

Party Boy6506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

What features does Live have over PSN that make it worth $50.00 a year? In-game messaging? A video service? Dedicated servers? Achievements? In-game music? Lag-free servers?

SL1M DADDY6506d ago

It's all a matter of opinion and the author here thinks that the Live experience is better than PSN or Nintendo. I on the other hand find that the value of the PSN is awesome and though it is free, I can still play online. As long as I can play online I am happy and the PSN does that for free. All the bells and whistles are nice but they are not what playing online is all about. Maybe MS could charge for all the extras and allow the online gaming to be free...

KRUSSIDULL6506d ago

Xbox Live is already free but you have to pay a small fee if you want to play Online and use some extra features.

TheColbertinator6506d ago

@Party Boy You are incorrect in your post right there.PSN does have dedicated servers for games like rsistance and warhawk.The "lag-free" comment was incorrect.Games like Gears,Halo 3,and Call of Duty 4 are known for having lag problems.Achievements are offline,you never had to pay for that in the first place.The video service of PSN and Live are comparable.The netflix will be a turning point but only if you have a netflix subscription.

Other than that,the Live service is just fine.

killax35636506d ago (Edited 6506d ago )

With Netflix you can only stream 10,000 movies. That may seem like a lot but Netflix has 100,000 movies in its catalog.

Thus you can only stream 10% of available movies. and the 10% aint going to change much b/c movie studio get such a meager cut.

beleive me, streaming netflix aint going to get much more than 10% of the catalog b/c movie studios control lincecing. if movie studios don't let netflix stream the other 90% of movies, aint going to happen.

TheColbertinator6506d ago

@killax I did not realize the Netflix deal was short.Bubbles for your factfinding

metalhead6506d ago

is still dont like having to pay yearly to buy downloadable content and play online. I can do that for free everywhere else and I like that. Live is good but not $50 a year good

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 6506d ago
Poor Xbots6507d ago

Poor Xbots

Poor Xbots, SONY is catching up, and there will be no reason to pay to play online for XBL, while it is free on PSN. Poor Xbots, why do you even support M$ that bribes content, exclusives, and to steal exclusives?

Poor Xbots

Arsenic136506d ago

Poor Angelitos.
Making another account to spread more of retardation?

Pain6506d ago

well since Xboxer's are Brain dead crack babies forever i guess...

Arsenic136505d ago

You kind of fanboys just reinforce the stereotype that PS3 fanboys are pathetic.
I say "Fanboy" because a normal person with PS3 wont spend all day talking sh*t about an Xbox, they just wont buy one.

Jack Bauer6507d ago

people will pay money for good service....but MS will prolly have to give more perks to gold members...and when i mean more, i dont mean taking away stuff from silver members... imo it is well worth paying 4 bucks a month for...wii online is a joke... PS3 has better servers (games like resistance and warhawk 30+ no lag), but it is not quite as easy to use, not quite as fast, and not to mention nobody uses a headset.

for me anyway, all my friends have live so that is worth it alone, none have PS3s.

ReBurn6506d ago

And that's really the heart of the matter, isn't it? You go where you have the most fun. There are more games in the 360 catalog and more people playing online, so for some people it is just worth it to be where their friends are.

The Wood6506d ago

mine are on psn and i wouldnt pay for live even if i had an xbox. So the conversion from live to psn is easier than psn to live (gold)

solidt126506d ago

Your logic is that there are more games on 360 Live so users should pay. I don't agree. Then Why is Live Free on the PC. There are way more game available on the PC vs the 360.

Hellsvacancy6506d ago

thats how Ms gets there money back from the suckers that buy a 360 - Xbox Live or soon 2 b Xbox Dead

Leathersoup6506d ago

Actually I think that's the reason that the PS3 is so expensive ;) If I don't use live I don't have to pay for it, but Sony people have to pay for it upfront whether they want to use online or not.

Mr_Potato_6506d ago

To 2.1 : actually, considering all the features PS3 has and Xbox 360 doesn't have (blueray, HDMI, standard Wifi, Bluetooth, a bigger standard HD you can replace without buying overpriced MS crap, wireless pads, and so on), you absolutely don't pay the online with the PS3. You pay less for more.

The joke is on 360 buyers, actually.

Leathersoup6506d ago

I was simply looking at the same argument from the other side.

If you're going to use every single option available on the PS3 every time you use it then yes it is the better deal. Admitted fully.

Snukadaman6506d ago

hows those MGO sessions going?

xhairs96506d ago

MGO sessions are good, are you wondering because you don't have the game?

syanara6506d ago

yes but it is deffinitly good to have those features on the ps3 right away even though you may not use them its very useful to have them for instance say you go on a trip and u bring ur playstation well the hotel has wireless internet only and the ps3 has wi-fi built in so your all good but if u don't have the wireless adapter for XBL then you need to go out and buy it and its worse if there isnt a store around that has it.

another thing that is similar too is netflix on xbl if u don't want to waatch movies that often but ever once in a while you do on xbl u need to subscribe to the service and your paying money for times u arent using it where as on PSN movie service u can pick and choose when u want to get a movie. each service has their ups and downs but bascially thats what it comes down to.

xhairs96506d ago

great post syanara!! boobies (bubbles)

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70°

Microsoft Gaming Revenue Drops 7% Year-on-Year, Content and Services Down 5%, Xbox Hardware Down 33%

Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.

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simulationdaily.com
Jin_Sakai17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.

dveio17d ago

To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.

Jingsing17d ago

The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.

Tanktopmaster9217d ago

Once they re-evaluate exclusive all will be fine….

S2Killinit17d ago

Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.

Jingsing17d ago

15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.

Tanktopmaster9217d ago

These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse

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50°

Report: Injustice 3 in Development at NetherRealm Studios

Thanks to the slip-up of an artist working on the title, we now have more evidence that a new Injustice game is in the works.

50°

Spiders Studio, Developers of GreedFall: The Dying World, Announce Liquidation of the Company

Spiders: "We're going to cut straight to the chase so you're not left wondering: After a long period without clear answers, we have received confirmation that Spiders is being liquidated.

What does it mean? This means the company as a whole no longer exists. We'll cease our functions immediately. The planned DLC will release via Nacon, and then-- well, that's it.

We're sorry that it's come to this and would like to thank each and every one of you for your support over the years.

If you have any questions or run into issues with your games, please contact Nacon directly as we'll no longer be able to reply."