Gotta ask a PC centric forum about this, do you consider Live a ripoff?

I pay for Live gold and think it is worth it. I've never played with a smoother setup.

BTW what is with all the misinformation???

Patches are FREE
Demoes are FREE
Some gamer pictures and themes are FREE
Trailers are FREE

The things you have to pay for are the extra content, some themes/pictures, and arcade games. Why do you say the arcade games are overpriced? They are only around 5~8 bucks and most support online multiplayer. I don't see how offering pay-for themes and pictures can be viewed as a negative. You don't have to buy them.

I mean seriously... Have you played with PSN or the Wii online? It is no where near XBL. I've played Resistance multiplayer and it is a lagfest sometimes. Wii is a joke, friends codes...

I don't see what the big deal is. It would be nice to see some dedicated servers though, even if it cost a few more dollars.

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Originally Posted by Timman_24

BTW what is with all the misinformation???

Patches are FREE
Demoes are FREE
Some gamer pictures and themes are FREE
Trailers are FREE

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Uhm where did i say they werent? <_<

So basically, a fancy and user friendly interface is worth 50$ every year for most of you then it seems.

What'll be the excuse MS will use when Steam and PSN surpass live and for free? Only a matter of time.

The thing is that silver members get access to every damn things that most peoples claim makes live great for free, they're only cut of online gaming, which is wack since its what takes the least amount of bandwidth, compared to videos & demos.

Resistance on PSN has dedicated servers for christ' sake and its free, lag arguments is moot, i've had my share of lag fests with 360 games.

Simplicity? Thats the difference between PC being an open platform and 360 being a closed platform console, cant really justify a price for something like that.

Im actually surprised that long time PC gamers accept paying for peer 2 peer, think about it for a moment.

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Originally Posted by BuggyLoop

Uhm where did i say they werent? <_<

So basically, a fancy and user friendly interface is worth 50$ every year for most of you then it seems.

What'll be the excuse MS will use when Steam and PSN surpass live and for free? Only a matter of time.

The thing is that silver members get access to every damn things that most peoples claim makes live great for free, they're only cut of online gaming, which is wack since its what takes the least amount of bandwidth, compared to videos & demos.

Resistance on PSN has dedicated servers for christ' sake and its free, lag arguments is moot, i've had my share of lag fests with 360 games.

Simplicity? Thats the difference between PC being an open platform and 360 being a closed platform console, cant really justify a price for something like that.

Im actually surprised that long time PC gamers accept paying for peer 2 peer, think about it for a moment.

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It seems you just came on the forum to bash Live, not to get a consensus. You asked my opinion and I gave it to you. I don't care if it is p2p or dedicated as long as it is lag free. Someone has to set up the p2p games and I certainly wouldn't do it for free. BTW it depends on the game, some are p2p and some are dedicated. Not all are p2p. It is nice having a centralized hub for all games on the system and a unified service.

I can't wait for Windows Live to come out, since Xbox and Windows Live Gold are under the same subscription plan it will be even more worth the 50 dollars a year. Cut out a starbucks coffee once a month and you can pay for Live, its nooot that big of a deal!!!

If PSN or Steam pass Live (which they won't) then MS will probably do away with the price...

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-Themes = You pay for that
-DLC content = some of it were free, epic argued with MS and its now paying content for the most part, things that will be free for PC and PS3
-Patches = Should we really pay for fixes to a game we already paid in full and even 10$ more than PC equivalent?
-Demos and videos = some will say this is where its worth the price, but the catch is that silver members who pay nothing get access to 99% of this and even if they dont get it on the same day, sooner or later they do, PSN also does this for free and well, PC isnt even a question to ask.

Charging high prices for arcade games, charging for gamer themes/pictures (stuffs that really should be free for most of them), charging for DLC stuffs that developers wanted to offer freely, 50$ a year for peer 2 peer and not a single dedicated server in sight

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There you go, you said we have to pay for patches. You make it sound like you have to pay for demos and videos when the are all free (not TV shows or movies however.) Some themes and gamer pics are free, but you didn't say that either. Also, what are you talking about high prices for arcade games? PSN has old tekken games for like 15 bucks, now that is a rip off.

The chance of Sony developing something better than Microsoft involving an online service is slim to none. And it's nearly impossible anything PC oriented (except Windows Live) will ever be as good as XBL because there's no governing body controlling PC gaming, so there's no standard you have to adhere to.

I think the rereleased games on XBLA are a ripoff, but I think the actual modern arcade games on XBLA are easily worth the $10 you pay. They are among my favorite games on the platform.

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Originally Posted by MrDigital

The chance of Sony developing something better than Microsoft involving an online service is slim to none. And it's nearly impossible anything PC oriented (except Windows Live) will ever be as good as XBL because there's no governing body controlling PC gaming, so there's no standard you have to adhere to.

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Remember the MSN Gaming Zone? That worked great and they had plenty of non-MS games. In fact, I think most of the really popular games where 3rd party. I remember playing Rainbow Six and Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight on the Zone all the time. It was really a shame to see it go by the wayside. It was a great service, and free, but with the rise of the dedicated server for PC games, it kind of just dissappeared.

It's cheap and it's better than what Sony or Nintendo offer. It's worth the price to me. I tend to play a decent amount online so it's worth it to me.

i don't mind the price of live; if it were 10 bucks a month or more i'd consider it ridiculous, though.

the 'marketplace' crap is overpriced by about 500%, though, and more of it should be free with your membership.

and lastly, the real reason i don't play on live, i hate the MP software in a lot of the games. give me a damn server browser, let me filter it myself and pick where i want to play, and let me play there as long as i want.

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Originally Posted by Timman_24

There you go, you said we have to pay for patches. You make it sound like you have to pay for demos and videos when the are all free (not TV shows or movies however.) Some themes and gamer pics are free, but you didn't say that either. Also, what are you talking about high prices for arcade games? PSN has old tekken games for like 15 bucks, now that is a rip off.

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sigh, i said "should we really have to pay for patches", as in, DUH its something that should always be free, should've made it clearer, but no, i was not saying that we pay for them on live.

Btw, care to tell me what games on live have dedicated servers? Cause nobody could name a single 1 @ gaf.

Btw, i didnt come in here to bash live's quality, im paying for it and yes, its really a damn good interface, but in my mind, thats just what it is, an interface. I dont really believe there's some magic R&D that will make live ahead of everyone forever, sony's putting a shitload of ressources on PSN, home although i think its pointless, its a neat online concept for a console.

Its not just an interface,

It tracks friends across multiple games

It allows communication across multiple games....on a PC you have to run another program aka ventrillo to do what live allows you to do, and ventrillo is not free.

I think Live is a decent service but it could use more free arcade downloads and less advertising. Dedicated servers for games like Gears of War would be great too.

Want to be good at GOW? Just host the game.

I don't see how anyone could have a problem paying for live, it's not very expensive, it works with every single game, it tracks all of your gaming achievments, allows video chat, audio chat, and even instant messaging.

It's the single best online system for playing games ever, period.

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Originally Posted by BuggyLoop

sigh, i said "should we really have to pay for patches", as in, DUH its something that should always be free, should've made it clearer, but no, i was not saying that we pay for them on live.

Btw, care to tell me what games on live have dedicated servers? Cause nobody could name a single 1 @ gaf.

Btw, i didnt come in here to bash live's quality, im paying for it and yes, its really a damn good interface, but in my mind, thats just what it is, an interface. I dont really believe there's some magic R&D that will make live ahead of everyone forever, sony's putting a shitload of ressources on PSN, home although i think its pointless, its a neat online concept for a console.

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Saying "should we really have to pay for patches" implies they we do pay for patches, yet we shouldn't have to. You never listed the 360 as being free to patch, so you left it up in the air for the reader to determine.

This is from MS's official site:

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Members of Xbox LIVE® automatically receive the functionality of Games for Windows – LIVE, using the same Gamertag and friends list at no additional cost, yes… no additional cost. For a single, unified service, the pricing of the LIVE service across both Xbox and Games for Windows is identical. In addition, Games for Windows – LIVE introduces the best of Xbox LIVE functionality to please PC gamers, such as in-game voice chat, integrated achievements and dedicated servers.

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$50/yr es nada (says my south of the border amigo) for what you get. It's one of the main reasons I chose the 360 over the ps3 (well that and the ps3 suxors -haha all you ps3 owners ;) ). Seriously though, you don't have to pay for it if you don't like having to fork out the cost of a playboy magazine every month.