Microsoft explains Xbox Live Gold price increase

Matthew DeCarlo

Posts: 5,271   +104

Microsoft revealed plans in August to increase Xbox Live Gold's price from $50 to $60 a year. It goes without saying that many loyal subscribers were disappointed in that announcement, especially because Microsoft wasn't particularly forthcoming about its reasoning. With the price change now in effect, the company has shared its rationale in an interview with Gamasutra. In a nutshell, Microsoft raised Gold pricing to account for the extra services and exclusive content added since the Xbox 360's launch -- not to mention the substantial growth in users.


"In 2002 it was strictly multiplayer gaming. Now we get those Call of Duty map packs before anybody else does. We've got Gears and Halo, of course, as exclusives. We continue to get exclusives on the service as well. And we've gone from 400,000 members in our first year to 25 million," said Xbox Live marketing senior director Craig Davison. Davison said that Microsoft plans to continue adding services to Xbox Live, but that doesn't come cheap. "We also want to continue to innovate on all dimensions, whether it's social, entertainment, or gaming," he noted.

Permalink to story.

 
I don't understand why anyone would pay $60 a year to use services that are free on the PS3...not to mention a decent blu-ray player. That seriously was a large reason why I went with a PS3 over a 360 when I was ready to purchase a console.
 
Well, (at least at $50), Xbox Live is a way better service than PS3's free service. And you don't normally buy a gaming console for a blu-ray player.. you buy it to game.. but I guess that's just me
 
TomSEA said:
I see this and laugh at the people who say PC gaming is more expensive.

This. It isn't. If in 2006 you had to buy a PC, it would be cheaper than a console just to buy/build a gaming pc. the extra $10 for games and $50 a year adds up to the $400 console
 
PC gaming it is most expensive, remember when they pay 60 for a MemberShip, we pay 100$+ for better parts ( but seriusly with this console to pc porting fever spreading away, there will be no needs for upgrade until new consoles comes out)... but that´s my though.
 
You're never going to convince me that console gaming is cheaper than PC gaming. You can build an above average gaming rig that will last 4-5 years for $500. With a PC you don't have to buy all the funky controllers, fake guitars/drums/dance mats, you don't have to pay an extra $10-$15 for the games, you don't have to pay the "service fees" like this article talks about, you get insane game discounts on Steam, D2D and other digital distributors that you never get on console games (not to mention all the player built content you don't get on consoles), you don't have to replace your XBox every time the red circle of death shows up (I have a buddy who is on his FOURTH XBox because of that)...it goes on and on.

You put everything into consideration, and console gaming is without a doubt more expensive.
 
If X-Box Live was free, then I would have purchased an X-Box 360 elite instead of a PS3.

Having a sizable annual fee to play your games online is as though you never truly own the games you paid $50 for each. It's like paying a disproportionately high property tax. Like the Internet, playing your games online should be free after paying hundreds for the necessary hardware and software.
 
TomSEA said:
You're never going to convince me that console gaming is cheaper than PC gaming. You can build an above average gaming rig that will last 4-5 years for $500. With a PC you don't have to buy all the funky controllers, fake guitars/drums/dance mats, you don't have to pay an extra $10-$15 for the games, you don't have to pay the "service fees" like this article talks about, you get insane game discounts on Steam, D2D and other digital distributors that you never get on console games (not to mention all the player built content you don't get on consoles), you don't have to replace your XBox every time the red circle of death shows up (I have a buddy who is on his FOURTH XBox because of that)...it goes on and on.

You put everything into consideration, and console gaming is without a doubt more expensive.

you are joking right?

$500 for an average gaming rig that will last 4-5 years ????

moke like $1500 - $2000 for an above average gaming rig that last for maybe 1 -2 years.

and you still cant play the high end games on full quaility
 
Dude, I just want to play online. I honestly don't give a @#$% about the other services Microsoft offers. I use the 360 to game, not to do random ****. That's what my PC is for.
 
There are far too many variables to declare flat out that console or PC gaming is cheaper. You have to create a set of criteria that is relevant to the potential buyer (computer competency is part of it as well!) but I guarantee you that there will be cases where a PC makes more sense than a console, and vice versa. It's entirely situational, and a product of chance.

With that said, I wish there could be a core Live package, that included access to just multiplayer gaming and marketplace. If people want extras, let them choose to buy them. I recognize that this may not be feasible for Microsoft to do, but it is an option I would appreciate.
 
Crappy as a price rise is it will not keep many from still using it. The need to teabag 12 year olds at Call of Duty is too much fun.
 
Assuming you already have an old case, keyboard, mouse and monitor:

GTX460 - $170
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition - $160
GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H - $85
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB - $75

There ya go - a gaming PC that will last you 4 years for $500 bucks and run any game out today at the highest settings or close to it. Not to mention upgradeable at any point. Something you can't do with a console.
 
It should be "because we can & we're greedy", that is the ONLY reason. In the interview they point out ESPN as a great addition which it would be if everyone could access it. Unfortunately you have to pay for ESPN3 via your ISP or Cable Internet bundle and that is if you're lucky enough to have a service provider that carries it. Gold is starting to look more like cable TV with no a la carte and everyone paying for everything no matter the use.

@edison5do/JudaZ Matt is right, there are to many variables. However PC gaming is cheaper in the long run for many, it's more versatile & has more to offer. It's just that the initial investment seems so daunting to many and gives the illusion that PC gaming is so expensive.
 
JudaZ said:

You are joking right?

$500 for an average gaming rig that will last 4-5 years ????

moke like $1500 - $2000 for an above average gaming rig that last for maybe 1 -2 years.

and you still cant play the high end games on full quaility

$1500 - $2000 ?? you're definately a newby in Techspot, I can say that because if your gonna spend 1500 bucks on a PC, then you have never taken a look at TECHSPOT PC BUYING GUIDE... Go have a look and then we can keep argueing...
 
Cueto_99 said:
JudaZ said:

You are joking right?

$500 for an average gaming rig that will last 4-5 years ????

moke like $1500 - $2000 for an above average gaming rig that last for maybe 1 -2 years.

and you still cant play the high end games on full quaility

$1500 - $2000 ?? you're definately a newby in Techspot, I can say that because if your gonna spend 1500 bucks on a PC, then you have never taken a look at TECHSPOT PC BUYING GUIDE... Go have a look and then we can keep argueing...

Speaking of noobies your at 99 posts. Congrats on reaching the 100 milestone(next post)
 
Console is cheaper to start, while PC is more expensive initially, but over time PC ends up being cheaper.
 
i dont mind paying the extra money because i love the live service and halo will never get old. although the should have given greater warning. making sure the customer knows of upcomig changes is key. but in order to say some money just buy a couple 13 month cards right now. its the year+1 cards. and then theres no need to worry about the price increase at all.
 
AnonymousSurfer said:
Just wait until the make the price $100 a year... Then I'll have the last laugh when they said that the PS3 is ****...

No you wont... The PS3 online is and always has been less reliable and has less features than Live. Go ahead and try and justify your purchase. Plus most games looks better and have better framerates on the 360.
 
I don't mind the price hike if I used all the services... I can care less about ESPN online... or paying for it for that matter. They need to introduce a teired service or they are falling into the same pit hole as the Cable companies and benefiting on not having to pay for out internet service which costs most of us anywhere from 45 to100 bucks USD. I hate to have to pay for stuff I'm not using and subsidising other XBox live users. I only pay so that should I really want to play online... it is there for me... and just maybe the Netflix thing which I now don't have to pay for with PSN. But that is really it. I rather just get a set top box that doesn't charge me after I pay for the hardware. Hello Boxee or Google TV... or Atom/ARM based mini HTPC!
 
I nearly roffled so hard seeing that 2000 or even 1500 for a pc. I'm in Australia and I helped a mate build a new system running an i5 760 and a GTX460 for less than 1200 USD everything included like monitor. Plus parts in Australia are more expensive too comparatively. I can only imagine how much cheaper you can get this build in the states.

Did I mention it came with a cooler master cm690 II advanced chassis and 4gb of 1600 rip jaws...? I rest my case.
 
I think I'll jump in here on both issues, the original intention for this thread and then the pc vs. console.

I don't see why the 50-60 usd is a huge issue. Isnt this for an entire year? I remember playing rainbow 6 on my xbox with live back in o4'. I think the price was 4 bucks a month?

Now.

The argument for pc vs console could have been easily put in favor of the pc years ago(3-4) when the console was 500-700 usd with a few extra goodies to go along with it but as of late with the prices of consoles dropping I still only see one large advantage over pc. No matter what size lcd/led monitor you use there are no sudden decrease in fps. You can go ahead and argue "but my pc version of fallout looks better than your console version of fallout," but with that said you're still talking about playing on a monitor with "average" enthusiast resolutions(23" or small in size," and we still have other problems that can happen with the pc. Try playing fallout with a 460 on a large lcd and what the power point flash show begin with highest settings. Oh god, crysis, not even gonna go there.

I could also argue the other side but I don't solely use my pc for just gaming so that's kind of a drawn out conclusion.
 
Back