People still spout this shit. -_-
I just built 2 computers in the past month, I'm pretty aware of the cost of parts atm. There are some decent/good builds you could do now for around $800 (monitor included), but let's not do that whole game of its super cheap! (also I don't want to derail this thread).I'll edit the price though...
You are paying to get GOT. You paid the fee and you got the content.
Xbox Live and PSN subscriptions are payments to get access to things we already paid for. We are paying for the privaledge to utilize our internet service provider (that we also paid for) to play a game that can be near exclusively online based in some instances.
It's a fucking scam. It's like buying a meal from a restaurant and when it's delivered to your table you have to pay for the right to eat it. And when you complain the waiter says, "well sir you have to pay my salary for delivering your food and we are even throwing in these leftover bread rolls from last week for free. Good deal right?"
...Except most of the time there is no waiter and you are just shouting your order and picking it up yourself but still required to pay that fee... but damn if those stale rolls don't hit the spot.
Yea, you make a good point about how it feels like you are being locked out of something that you ought to get for free (considering previous generations). But the service they provide is an infrastructure that allows these companies to have their games online, they are still paying to have these titles work on their infrastructure where as steam would be more of a initiation to another creators infrastructure. I'm guessing that's how they view it... but I agree it is lame you have to pay for that, I'm sure they could figure a way around it.
But for THAT to be the motivating factor to not play on consoles has just been odd to me since there are so many other financial barriers you have to jump through, yet the cost of online is brought up the most.