I'm a long time PC gamer - a long time user of quality, free multiplayer with in-game music and chat support. So when I got my 360 not long after launch, I took a firm stance on not buying into M$'s 'service', especially after paying £60 for a wireless adapter. (Though it is admittedly becoming increasingly more tempting to do so). I was wondering, does anyone hold a similar grudge against Microsoft for making gamers pay for something that's always been free in the past? Am I just being ridiculously stubborn?
Does anyone else refuse to pay for Xbox multiplayer?
- Thread starter Inazuma
- Start date
Man of Honour
No, it's worth every penny
Soldato
I agree its a joke that you should pay, BUT it's a price I'd rather pay as the feature add's so much to the console
Associate
I bought the original Xbox and the 360 pretty much just for Live. Usually look out for discount codes and normally pay about £27 or so for a years sub. Well worth it in my opinion.
I never minded paying for it until the whole november/december issues. I dont like paying for P2P either. I put up with it because I have too. I am debating whether I need a full year though this time. I have a few codes waiting and a free month for my dead box.
I might just use them as and when I need to. I'm convinced they can't carry on charging for online gaming much longer to compete.
I might just use them as and when I need to. I'm convinced they can't carry on charging for online gaming much longer to compete.
Soldato
agree with most of the above really. def worth it 
for me i just like the ease of use. stick a game in, go to multiplayer, join a game. I dont have to worry about finiding a decent room so much (even though you can and will do this on live), dont have to worry about pings etc. it just works
also i have a few friends in the US i like to keep in touch with. The voice and video chats really are a lot better quality than anythin i've tried on my PC (admittedly not many, but there we go). a tthe very least better than any kind of messenger program i.e. msn, yahoo etc
for me i just like the ease of use. stick a game in, go to multiplayer, join a game. I dont have to worry about finiding a decent room so much (even though you can and will do this on live), dont have to worry about pings etc. it just works
also i have a few friends in the US i like to keep in touch with. The voice and video chats really are a lot better quality than anythin i've tried on my PC (admittedly not many, but there we go). a tthe very least better than any kind of messenger program i.e. msn, yahoo etc
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Caporegime
I don't bother now. I can count on one hand the number of times I've played a multiplayer game. I play games for the story not to scrap with unknowns. Perhaps I should take up reading instead.
Soldato
If it had dedicated servers and the price was paying for the upkeep of those servers (like WoW) I wouldn't have a problem with it.
I just don't get what your actually paying for? For me it's personally no better than PSN and you don't pay for that. Many people will say Live is better than PSN, and it may have some better features but are those features worth £40 a year?, to some I'm sure they are, just not for me personally.
I just don't get what your actually paying for? For me it's personally no better than PSN and you don't pay for that. Many people will say Live is better than PSN, and it may have some better features but are those features worth £40 a year?, to some I'm sure they are, just not for me personally.
What's £35? Probably £140 over the life on your 360. I think most people would have thought harder about getting a 360 if it was £420 instead of £280. Or think of it as 4 extra games you could have bought, and it's not like Microsoft really provide anything for the money you shell out (versus what you get on silver), it's just your money going straight into their coffers to feed their enormous profits.
Think about it.
Think about it.
Soldato
nope. i quite happily pay £40 a year for what is, 99% of the time, and excellent service. and yes, you are being ridiculously stubborn
For me it's just about worth it at the moment as it has better features/layout/demos/arcade than the PSN but undoubtly the PSN will catch up to Lives level eventually and when it does i won't be so sure it's worth it anymore, also as Dannyjo said i'm not happy paying for P2P crap, the PSN is free and the bigs(that i've played) have dedicated servers so i'm unsure as to why LIVE can't either.
Soldato
Mines ran out yesterday, not renewing just yet.
Not been playing mulitplayer much, and i will just start getting them on PS3. I'll last about a week though lol
Not been playing mulitplayer much, and i will just start getting them on PS3. I'll last about a week though lol
Caporegime
If it does everything that is available to pc gamers, then go and play PC games. The rest of us are happy to pay what is a pretty measly figure for a very good service.
Soldato
its not worth it but without it the 360 is just a ordinary console, to get the best out of it your sorta forced into it. Hopefully with PSN things will change, Sony's UK boss Ray Maguire recently mentioned that in-game communication would be introduced to the PS3 this summer for FREE, and along with HOME its going to make a pay to play service seem abit old hat