xbox live subscription fee being raised

[Donut]

i just got an email from xbox live that says they are raising the price of xbl subscription.
this is the online version of the email
http://view.engage.xbox.com/?j=fecb15777165047a&m=feca167070610c7c&ls=fe561d757661067c7d1c&l=feb81c7877610d7a&s=fe1b17767c6c0475731276&jb=ff291576726c&ju=fe9717787663067c75&uid=23388228&tid=1845&r=0

as of november 1st this year, they are raising the cost of xbl by the following:

http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif......................................... Old Price http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif New Price http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif
1-Month Gold Subscription http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif $7.99 http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif $9.99 http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif
3-Month Gold Subscription http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif $19.99 http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif $24.99 http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif
12-Month Gold Subscription http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif $49.99 http://image.engage.xbox.com/lib/feca167070610c7c/m/1/blank.gif $59.99

apparently the increase in price is because theyre adding support for kinect and espn.

also, inb4ps3superiority
E: heres another link: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/pricelock/default.htm
i might just end up taking that deal. i go on 3 month at the moment, so thats a good deal for me i guess.

[ThePlague]

Oh yay, ESPN and Kinect. Whoopty doo :| They get to add 10 dollars for more crap services I don't use.

Also donut, http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/pricelock/default.htm

[paladin]

Meh, with all the sub-cards I got from little kids, I dont have to renew my account til 10/2013

[Dwood]

Not on the service, so it does not affect me.

[Futzy]

If anything they should be lowering the price. I'd say 75% of all the xbl users wont even uses the features they are raising the price for.

[Kornman00]

Mother fuckers :|

I'm glad people figured out how to crack their GoD crap if they're pulling shit like this. If they want to offer shit like Xbox 'Arcade'/Core then why the fuck don't they do the same shit with XBL? I'm sure they could easily jack the price up of individual subscriptions. But of course that still wouldn't add up to charging every fucking XBL user for shit that probably only 5% will use.

[paladin]

I use them all :nsmug:

[ThePlague]

Mother fuckers :|

I'm glad people figured out how to crack their GoD crap if they're pulling shit like this. If they want to offer shit like Xbox 'Arcade'/Core then why the fuck don't they do the same shit with XBL? I'm sure they could easily jack the price up of individual subscriptions. But of course that still wouldn't add up to charging every fucking XBL user for shit that probably only 5% will use.
This.

If I wanted to watch ESPN, i'd watch it on Direct TV. If I wanted to watch videos, i'd use my PC. There are better services than Hulu. They should come up with a package that if you want you can buy the services. I for one won't be getting Kinect either.

[ejburke]

I was already unhappy with paying and now I'm 20% more unhappy. After Reach runs its course with me (Halo 2 and 3 only kept me playing for a month), I will have no problem going back to Silver. Fuck 'em.

[Rook]

also, inb4ps3superiority


pcsuperiority

no really why do you game on a console.

[ICEE]

Bastards. They shouldve introduced a platinum account with the raised price and features rather than modify existing accounts.

[Ifafudafi]

It's the same thing with a few publishers bumping the price for PC games up to $60, and with Activision charging tons for the MW2 map packs. Nobody's going to stop.

Quite frankly I'm surprised they haven't done this sooner. So many people (i.e. dumb kids) are dependent on Xbox Live, and like it or not, it's been a massive influcence.. PC networks have slowly adopted similar standards and practices (take a look Steam) and PSN is already charging for extra features, if not necessarily online gaming. XBL has been the model for online gaming pretty much since it's launch, and Microsoft knows it. The price hike is a marginal enough increase that it doesn't immensely hurt anybody, and with this Kinect bullshit coming this holidy and Halo Reach just around the corner, it's the perfect time.

That doesn't stop it from being a total dickmove, of course.

[Maestro]

I support ICEE, it'd be nice if they just charged it as its own separate pack instead of forcing everyone to pay more. I think my favorite part of it all is the fine print where you still need subscriptions for those services.

[Inferno]

Hahaha. Kids paying to view advertisements and play games on a P2P connection.

I'll continue to enjoy playing for free on a dedicated server with a nice sub 100 ping.

[Kornman00]

I think it's time for a new API for games to use to get the same results as XBL or G4OhFuckitLive. You know, what Gamespy did but with better support towards developers; indie and commercial.

Ahem, Google.

They had GameSpy for PS2 back for SOCOM if my memory serves me. Plus the unofficial tunneling for Xbox1 back before XBL and Halo2 came out. So it should be possible to develop an API that works not only on PC/Macs but also on consoles. You'd get an added bonus with developers if you can make all platforms play together like G4WL tried to do.

There needs to be more competition in this clusterfuck of abysmal game-service-provider.

[Inferno]

Or just get rid of the system all together and have each game use it's own service to host the server list/matchmaking.

[Donut]

i actually really like ICEE's idea. im sure they wont do it since that would be alot less money, but its still a better idea

I use them all :nsmug:

Meh, with all the sub-cards I got from little kids, I dont have to renew my account til 10/2013
your vote doesnt count, lol.

[Needles]

I doubt it would cost even $1 per xbl user to help fund a feature most people won't use :<

But it's MS, they over charge everything.

[InnerGoat]

I was already unhappy with paying and now I'm 20% more unhappy. After Reach runs its course with me (Halo 2 and 3 only kept me playing for a month), I will have no problem going back to Silver. Fuck 'em.

how 2 go 2 silver??? my account expires in 3 days :ohdear:


e: nevermind i'll just let it expire

[Kornman00]

Or just get rid of the system all together and have each game use it's own service to host the server list/matchmaking.
Right, because game developers have time to be reinventing yet another wheel while making new games


XBL has evolved into too broad of a service. It's not just an online game outlet anymore. They'd be better off creating a plug-in based account system instead of this all-or-nothing bullshit. You have XBL great, you can still start out at silver and get any service plug-ins which want to provide you with any options at that level. Now you go gold go buying a plug-in subscription. IE, media stream (netflix, espn, etc), online game features (what XBL use to be about, it's fucking roots), etc. You pay for what you actually want and would use.

But no, that will never happen of course.

[TeeKup]

I don't give 2 shits about ESPN, If I wanted to watch that I have a television. Theres a special offer on Live right now to renew your account for 39.99 instead of 49.99...or soon to be 59.99...I think I might hit that up.

[staticchanger]

Thanks for the tip Teekup + rep, I just did, too bad it doesn't lock it in at 39.99. I've been buying 12+1 subscription cards from newegg for 38.99 since day 1. If you set it up as a subscription now, it locks in at good ol' 49.99 for the rest of your days. Honestly paying an extra 10 for ESPN is fine with me, I don't have satellite or cable, and never plan too. I think espn and kinnect is just an excuse for the price raise, ESPN uses there own servers, and what network traffic does the kinnect generate that any regular game wouldn't? Whatever the case $10 don't matter too me especially if I don't have to pay it, and I get ESPN.

[Amit]

Thanks for the tip Teekup + rep, I just did, too bad it doesn't lock it in at 39.99. I've been buying 12+1 subscription cards from newegg for 38.99 since day 1. If you set it up as a subscription now, it locks in at good ol' 49.99 for the rest of your days. Honestly paying an extra 10 for ESPN is fine with me, I don't have satellite or cable, and never plan too. I think espn and kinnect is just an excuse for the price raise, ESPN uses there own servers, and what network traffic does the kinnect generate that any regular game wouldn't? Whatever the case $10 don't matter too me especially if I don't have to pay it, and I get ESPN.

Well, as somebody said before, you must already have a subscription to ESPN. I don't know if this is true, but it sounds plausible.

[annihilation]

I just wanna play Halo. That's the only reason I have a subscription in the first place.

[Inferno]

Right, because game developers have time to be reinventing yet another wheel while making new games


XBL has evolved into too broad of a service. It's not just an online game outlet anymore. They'd be better off creating a plug-in based account system instead of this all-or-nothing bullshit. You have XBL great, you can still start out at silver and get any service plug-ins which want to provide you with any options at that level. Now you go gold go buying a plug-in subscription. IE, media stream (netflix, espn, etc), online game features (what XBL use to be about, it's fucking roots), etc. You pay for what you actually want and would use.

But no, that will never happen of course.

Since when do they have to "invent" a online system? Dedicated servers are a age old science and they still work better than any other system out there. Matchmaking is a piece of crap. If M$ actually had servers set up for people to play on it wouldn't be so bad but, you are literally paying to use your internet with your xbox. It's a crappy (and usually laggy) listen server run locally from the host xbox.

[paladin]

It's the same thing with a few publishers bumping the price for PC games up to $60, and with Activision charging tons for the MW2 map packs. Nobody's going to stop.

That doesn't stop it from being a total dickmove, of course.

Are you serious? In all reality xbl has been around for 8 years or so, it was due for a price increase jsut because of inflation. Sure it sucks, a whopping $10 hole $ more. I guarantee you it has nothing to do with the launch of a game, or is a conspiracy to charge more for less. The fact is, it has gotten more expense to maintain and like any business, they have to raise prices.

[Pooky]

I just wanna play Halo. That's the only reason I have a subscription in the first place.

Pretty much this. Halo, CoD 4, and the party system. All other XBL features can go die.

[dark navi]

Pretty much this. Halo, CoD 4, and the party system. All other XBL features can go die.

OK, you need Netflix.

[DarkHalo003]

Generally speaking, this should have been expected. It was long past due considering all of the title updates, services, and other applications that were never intended nor were part of conception original. Considering I'm in school, either I'll just purchase a few 1-month cards or buy a couple of 3-months before November.

[Timo]

It's worse when it's being raised to people that can't even access these new features. I've got 3 3 month codes left to use, doubt i'll be renewing my membership after that.

[Kornman00]

If I wanted a fucking "entertainment service" I'd buy a cable subscription and TiVo. I want to play games online, whenever I even find the time to play games. Nothing more, nothing less. Instead, they went after all users of the service which use to be just for online gaming and said "ok, we're adding this shit whether you like it or not and whether you use it or not". That's dirty. Fuck them. The XBL team can "sincerely" kiss my ass.

Wasn't it MS who knocked on the PS3 for trying to be a complete entertainment machine while MS went on about how the Xbox was just about gaming, that if people wanted an entertainment machine they could get a PC? Now what? The Xbox can stream/download tvs, movies, etc, hook into social networking sites (I'm really ignorant of the Xbox's facebook integration so I don't know how far it extends), stream video chats, etc. XBL has turned into a band which after their second album got caught up in the spotlight and forget how they got there in the first place. They won't be getting a 59.99$ subscription fee out of me. Luckily Bungie's next game will be for PC and PS3 too, just in time.

[dark navi]

I guess they could add like a diamond subscription that had Netflix and what-not, while gold is just gaming and stayed at 49.99.

[ejburke]

Microsoft has been like a bad uncle, touching his nieces and nephews inappropriately on the shoulders and brushing up against them for 8 years. Everybody in the family is really uncomfortable with the situation, but hey, he's a RICH uncle. They can put up with it until his libido dies down.

Then, one day, he decides to start putting fingers up assholes.

[staticchanger]

Honestly, they're not increasing the price because of the new features, its just plain old inflation. I don't care about some of the stuff, and they know alot of users don't. They're not making you pay extra for something you don't use, especially when it doesn't cost them more.

[Warsaw]

Sure they are. They are just using the things that aren't actually costing them more as justification to raise the price because most people don't actually realise that it isn't costing Microsoft any more than it already spends on the "service"...and if they actually are spending more on the "service" for shit most people don't care about and charging us for it, well fuck them again.

[Pooky]

OK, you need Netflix.

No.

[annihilation]

No.

This.
Besides, Netflix on the PC is far superior.

[paladin]

Sure they are. They are just using the things that aren't actually costing them more as justification to raise the price because most people don't actually realise that it isn't costing Microsoft any more than it already spends on the "service"...and if they actually are spending more on the "service" for shit most people don't care about and charging us for it, well fuck them again.

Youre right, because developing and implementing the software and systems that allow the xbox to use features happens at the click of a button. It doesnt take dozens of teams to do at no expense. Everyone, including Microsoft is out to get you. Go buy some tin foil.

[Kornman00]

:ugh:, paladin, it's "you're", not "your". I've lost count at how many times I've seen you make that mistake

* ESPN, Netflix, Hulu: If MS had any involvement with the development of the actual Xbox applications for these, then said media would have paid them in some contract. They're not losing money from adding them. Then you end up paying those media corps a subscription fee, so they're getting their money still too.
* Kinect: Already costs 150$ to buy the damn hardware. You could already buy a USB camera to work with the Xbox if you wanted to video chat. The streaming should be P2P. If they're making it run through their servers, then they're either recording it or wasting their money which is their own damn fault.
* Dash updates: Are for the actual fucking Xbox, part of the time for actual bug fixes, part of the time for irrelevant new features. How many people were screaming with their panties in a bunch to have a fucking 3d Avatar? Guess what, now they've got yet another avenue for income: avatar items. You buy a 360 with a one time cost just as you buy a Windows OS with a one time cost. They've never charged anyone for Windows updates or service packs.
* DLC: you have to pay for this shit separately, and MS are the ones who have a say in how much it will cost so they get to cover any fucking charges from all the bandwidth that gets used from users downloading in the DLC's price.

Inflation my ass. They're not burning anything to disc media. They're not packaging anything into a case. They're not printing manuals to paper. They're not shipping anything to stores around the world. They own the services. They don't have to outsource to mexico or a shipping company for any support, so there's no contract fees which an outside source would be bumping up because of "inflation". They have well over 20 million users (http://mashable.com/2009/11/24/xbox-live-lastfm-stats/) by now. At 59.99$ a year, that's damn near 1.2 billion dollars in revenue (before this change is would be at damn near $1bil for 20mil users). That's 1.2 billion to cover servers for XBL connections, user account storage, and XBL team paychecks. DLC isn't free and cost you money on top of a subscription so they get their money for hosting something developed by some other game developer.

The Xbox continues to go down in price...but XBL goes up...hmmmm. Hmmmmmm.

You may want to lean over for Uncle Soft willingly, but I don't let people put things in my butt; for free or by paying them out of my own pocket.

[paladin]

Sorry, man.

Also the $50 price was cheaper than what it was going to be. When some of the original xbox devs did a panel in a class of mine, the initial price that was floating around was $120.

[Inferno]

World of Warcraft charges less than that and they actually have to maintain massive server farms for the service to even work. Microsoft only pays for the bandwidth they use to transfer paid DLC.

[ICEE]

this might be a good time to announce that my xbox360 (pro) is for sale. (my original xbox will be for sale too, but I don't know if I have all the parts so its not going on ebay until im sure)

Used xbox 360, 3 years old with perfect track record (never RROD'd or had any performance issues)
comes with all the standard amenities, a wireless network adapter, HDMI cables, two controllers (one wired, one not wired), 6 month free subscription code to xbl (leftover from my subscription after I cancelled).

All this for 200$, which is what a used xbox 360 alone sells for, so I'm being pretty generous here. if anyone wants it, or knows someone who wants it, hit me up.

[Amit]

I was going to buy an Xbox, but not after this.

[dark navi]

You're not going to buy an Xbox 360 because their service went up 10 dollars?

[Inferno]

Why would you want a xbox in the first place? The only good game coming out that isn't cross platform is Halo Reach. I'm just going to play it split screen at my freinds house when it comes out.

[paladin]

Slipt screen is for nubs.

[Inferno]

Slipt screen is for nubs.

That's wrong in about 6 different ways.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:UcBEUhulKGknXM:http://memegenerator.net/Thumbnails/783/208x228_Kickass-Krakula-YOU-BEST-BE-TROLLIN.jpg&t=1
http://memegenerator.net/Thumbnails/783/208x228_Kickass-Krakula-YOU-BEST-BE-TROLLIN.jpg

[DarkHalo003]

I guess they could add like a diamond subscription that had Netflix and what-not, while gold is just gaming and stayed at 49.99.
This. I was pretty sure that's what Diamond was for originally, right? Why raise standard prices? Of course, if you made it Diamond only then that would skew profits because most people would just use it for gaming and not those services. Hell, if Microsoft rose the price to make XBL's servers 300x better, than I would agree with their move. Yet, considering no one who honestly wants to watch ESPN reels all day long and have shitnect features incorporated into their system, this honestly puzzles me besides timing.

[paladin]

I forgot about my diamond card. I wonder where it is.... :allears:

[Limited]

Quit your whining people, I already have to pay $24.99 for 3 months subscription. And I bet you it will go up in November.

[Futzy]

Quit your whining people, I already have to pay $24.99 for 3 months subscription. And I bet you it will go up in November.
Why do you pay that much? Twice that and you get 12 months. and save a lot of money

They are also increasing the voice quality apparently.

[Warsaw]

Youre right, because developing and implementing the software and systems that allow the xbox to use features happens at the click of a button. It doesnt take dozens of teams to do at no expense. Everyone, including Microsoft is out to get you. Go buy some tin foil.

Oh noes, the corporation is taking my money and there's nothing I can do to stop it, aaaaaah! :gonk:

No shit developing stuff doesn't happen for free, but that's not what raising the sub price is covering. The time value of the money we give them for Live is negative, so they want to keep the actual value steady; they do that by raising the price. It's a money grab to cover cost of inflation and maintain profit margin...if the costs of these new things were really so high, we'd have seen a greater increase in the Live subscription price. But because it was used for covering inflation and therefore an incremental increase, they just use the new features as justification, and most people will buy it. It's smart marketing, nothing more.

Live is basically like a car: the car costs several hundred, maybe even a few thousand to make, and then we get charged over 10x for it so they can make money. It's business, and I don't begrudge them doing business. However, I don't have to accept their business, and so I choose not to. If you want to throw your money at the service and you actually use all those niche features, that's your prerogative.

Get some perspective first and then you may tell me to get a tin foil hat.
:allears:

[Donut]

where did you hear about voice quality going up? that would be nice if it was.

as far as the price increase goes, even with inflation i dont see why its necessary to adjust the prices. what are they paying for? the bandwidth for DLC and what else?
E: ninja'd by warsaw. makes a little more sense now

[Futzy]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-08-26-xbox-headset-sound-quality-to-improve
about the voice quality

Besides the xbl price increase, a lot of stuff is getting better. The dashboard is getting revamped to the MS Metro style and better voice quality :)

[Warsaw]

There we go. Did Microsoft even do a poll on what users think of the current Live experience or what users want? I'd be very much interested to see their results.

[Kornman00]

Along with redoing the D-pad (http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/08/31/new-xbox-360-wireless-controller-featuring-a-transforming-d-pad.aspx), they've also drained the analog buttons of all their color. So I have to question any sort of polls or market research they do, if any exists outside the walls at MS.

[dark navi]

I will be at Pax this weekend, gotta try these AWESOME CONTROLLERs.

[ThePlague]

Along with redoing the D-pad (http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/08/31/new-xbox-360-wireless-controller-featuring-a-transforming-d-pad.aspx), they've also drained the analog buttons of all their color. So I have to question any sort of polls or market research they do, if any exists outside the walls at MS.
That's funny how they decide to create a new controller AFTER the new xbox 360 gets released. Way to go M$

[Timo]

Quit your whining people, I already have to pay $24.99 for 3 months subscription. And I bet you it will go up in November.

Boohoo, it's $35USD here.

[Spartan094]

They are also increasing the voice quality apparently.

Let's charge a couple extra bucks for increasing voice quality, hurrr.

That's funny how they decide to create a new controller AFTER the new xbox 360 gets released. Way to go M$

And it only comes with the play and charge kit only for $64.99!

M$. Still cheaper then Apple but w/e. I'm all good.

[Amit]

Along with redoing the D-pad (http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/08/31/new-xbox-360-wireless-controller-featuring-a-transforming-d-pad.aspx), they've also drained the analog buttons of all their color. So I have to question any sort of polls or market research they do, if any exists outside the walls at MS.

I don't understand. The controller is virtually no different. So it now has a regular directional pad. Whoopdi-fucking-do. Also, colour drain sucks balls. Let's bundle the play & charge kit to force them to pay more for it. That wouldn't be an issue if they still fricken sold the batteries seperately. Of course, that would bring in less money and not give them more useless wires.

[TeeKup]

I want my red, green, blue, yellow you assholes. Fuck silver and gray.

[Cagerrin]

The old controller is to Halo as this one is to CoD.

[Pooky]

It's nice that they're trying to make the d pad less horrible, but it seems like they don't understand what was really wrong with it. The problem with the XB360 d pad is that once you take off the cover, it's still a stick. What they really need to do is get rid of the little stick and put four actual buttons, like the PS2/3 has.

[Limited]

Boohoo, it's $35USD here.
My price isnt through MS, its through a retail card, the cheapest around, but yes us non North Americans are getting screwed, and we cant even use all the features =\.

I find it funny how they are releasing a new controller, the exact same day that they are introducing Kinect, with the whole purpose of "not needing a control". Yeah its good to be accessible to both markets, but I dont see any need in new controller, apparently it has better triggers, and yes finally a decent d-pad, but for $60, thats crazy expensive.

Also making the buttons colourless? Okay I'm not massive fan of the colours, but they are functional, games have quick time events (like Tomb Raider), and menus were designed to help users recognise buttons by colour, not just "label".

[paladin]

Between 3 xboxs, I already have too many controller. I dont see a need for another. I havent had a problem with the d pad before.

[Amit]

I havent had a problem with the d pad before.

Same.

[Inferno]

They should just add a rapid fire button to it.

:smug: