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[thelastword]

The Xbox one is out, if you want to play multiplayer on the new consoles then by all means the subscription service is a must, but why is it that paying for multiplayer still a thing on the 360?

At the time when MS announced that services like Netflix, youtube and hulu would be removed from the paywall, why couldn't they also remove multiplayer? At this point in the console's lifespan it would certainly bolster the experience for persons just adopting the console or cause persons to keep the 360 around for the occasional multiplayer session.

 

[Steverulez]

Xbox Live Gold makes Microsoft a lot of money, thats why it costs money.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Its not free because its freeeeee moneyyy!!

People should be thankful they're finally being appreciated and all the free services are now free. PSH.

 

[ricelord]

and lose free money i don't think so.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

If they made it free on 360 people would complain that it isn't free on Xbone.

 

[DedValve]

I would like this option if only to keep Gears of War and Plants vs Zombie populated in the long run.

But it makes money and no way MS is gonna pass on easy money.

 

[Tesseract]

13 month cards are like $38 on ebay

don't be such a cum chump

 

[Vitanimus]

 

[Michael Armbrust]

No, because GOLD works across 360 and XBOX ONE. Dropping paid multiplayer on 360 would just make people expect the same to happen on XBOX ONE.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

13 month cards are like $38 on ebay

don't be such a cum chump

The whole world pays $38?

 

[zma1013]

Subs would go way down if not for the main draw, the multiplayer.

 

[TomShoe]

Not happening.

 

[LiamR]

I imagine XBL Gold makes a killing for Microsoft on 360, so don't hold your breath..

 

[Doffen]

The whole world pays $38?

Just the smart part.

 

[Radec]

Business wise, who in the right mind would remove that successful paywall on the 360?

 

[Gaz_RB]

I feel your pain. After RS:Siege came out I plugged in my 360 to play some Vegas 2 terrorist hunt...

I don't see MS doing it though. They've moved on and I don't see any major changes coming to 360 anytime soon, especially with gamertags going across both systems. Luckily I'll be picking up a One for Halo and will have Gold then anyway.

 

[Ray Wonder]

It would be more likely them giving away a million copies of Halo 5.

 

[Eolz]

Console multiplayer should be free.
360, One and PS4. If you want optional services, fine.

 

[Bsigg12]

Console multiplayer should be free.
360, One and PS4. If you want optional services, fine.

Sony has seen the light of free money, there's no turning back.

 

[MaxwellGames]

The Xbox one is out, if you want to play multiplayer on the new consoles then by all means the subscription service is a must, but why is it that paying for multiplayer still a thing on the 360?

At the time when MS announced that services like Netflix, youtube and hulu would be removed from the paywall, why couldn't they also remove multiplayer? At this point in the console's lifespan it would certainly bolster the experience for persons just adopting the console or cause persons to keep the 360 around for the occasional multiplayer session.

This conversation again.. really?

Guess what, you pay for it on the Xbox One and the PS4 now. It isn't going away.

As long as it's bundled with some freebie games, I'm happy to pay the small premium.

 

[Nemecyst]

Good luck with that one Shirley. Xbox Live revenue is the blood that keeps Xbox alive. That free monthly money is the best drug. That's like asking a mobile company to take microtransactions out of their games.

 

[Anion]

If the xbox one had a majority of the x360 population, I could see this happening. But I believe it is ~5-6 mill vs ~80 mill

 

[Tagyhag]

Multiplayer should be free, period.

 

[Alchemy]

Multiplayer on the 360 will go the way of the OG Xbox's service before it ever goes free.

 

[King_Moc]

But they need that money to make sure that Playstation owners can't buy COD dlc for a month!

 

[tokkun]

-Microsoft does not want to incentivize people to stay on the 360.

-Microsoft wants existing 360 owners to think "Well, I'm already paying for XBLG, so if I pick up an XB1 I will get online for no extra charge, rather than paying 2 subscriptions if I get a PS4."

 

[The Lamp]

It's not free because people convinced both Sony and Microsoft last gen that they didn't care about free, they'd rather throw money every year for p2p multiplayer. At least this gen were getting more dedicated servers.

 

[PeskyToaster]

My Xbox Gold just expired because I'm on PS4 now and entertainment apps are free. I may have kept it going solely for the apps and extremely occasional multiplayer but their loss I guess.

 

[PAULINK]

The whole world pays $38?

if you pay msrp for live then you're doing it wrong and should be ashamed.

 

[Doominated]

Why not just make the console and all its games free too while we're at it?

Shit, lets make cars free too.

 

[coolasj19]

If they did that then I would wait until multiplayer was free for Xbox One before I bought one. Sets a bad precedent (for MS making money).

 

[thelastword]

Why not just make the console and all its games free too while we're at it?

Shit, lets make cars free too.

Yeah, because no other system has free multiplayer, such a farfetched concept am I right? Of course MS will be leaving money on the table if they do, but for the age of the console it would be a nice incentive after all the bad PR they've suffered recently. In business, what's so wrong about giving something back to amass more in the longrun, that may very well be goodwill, but at least a potential XBONE owner may say "hey MS is not totally anti-consumer afterall" and please bare in mind that the competition does offer free multiplayer in comparison.

For the person who mentioned that there's an install base of 80 million 360's, how many of those 80 million consoles are even plugged in, how many are subbed to live? The figure sounds nice, but so many 360 owners have also moved on due to the new generation, quite a few to the PS4 as well. Xblive as a business plan made bank for Microsoft last gen, but I don't see 360 only owners keeping their subs running just to play the odd multiplayer session on that console.

 

[ChipotIe]

Sony has seen the light of free money, there's no turning back.

I wouldn't consider it free money. As a person who's benefited from free online play this entire time on PS3 I was still one of the first to subscribe to PS plus because the benefits are well worth the money and I don't feel cheated or taken advantage of in the slightest. I think they are providing a perfectly valid service.

 

[Zil33184]

It should have been free on 360 since day one, but no one clued into that. At least with next-gen consoles persistent online services are included in addition to PS+ style content and deals.

On the other hand, there's no chance in hell Microsoft are insane enough to voluntarily cut online revenue from the one Xbox that sold well. Pretty much everyone would cancel their gold subscriptions if online were free on 360.

 

[-MD-]

I remember when I paid money to play my games online.

 

[Rickenslacker]

It should be free everywhere, but so long as they can get away with charging it they will.

 

[Gospel]

"All of these guys still paying for that service?"
"Yeah"
"Alright, let's make it free."

-said no one ever. or maybe once.

 

[statham]

deja vu

 

[Tesseract]

considering how turdy psn usf4 is compared to 360, i'd say it's a worthy investment.

lol

 

[thelastword]

On the other hand, there's no chance in hell Microsoft are insane enough to voluntarily cut online revenue from the one Xbox that sold well. Pretty much everyone would cancel their gold subscriptions if online were free on 360.

You really believe so, then why aren't PS3/PS4 owners cancelling their plus subscriptions due to free multiplayer on the PS3? At this point, all the consoles offer games for free with the subs, just that one offers more and better games, I see that more as the driving point tbh.

 

[Omnii-chan]

You realise that if Xbox 360 multiplayer went free, Microsoft would shut down LiVE for it sooner?

I'd rather pay a subscription and the service continues. Hell, I'd do it for original Xbox.

 

[thelastword]

You realise that if Xbox 360 multiplayer went free, Microsoft would shut down LiVE for it sooner?

I'd rather pay a subscription and the service continues. Hell, I'd do it for original Xbox.

You never paid a cent for online on the PS3 and that's still up, do you believe PS3 online will shutdown before 360 online? There's no saying what MS will do here. For what it's worth, the xblive service is a p2p service just like the psn, it's not like the 360 had a multitude of dedicated server games in comparison.

 

[Nags]

I remember when I paid money to play my games online.

Sounds like PS3 and Vita are perfect for you.

 

[Mulgrok]

Never paid money to play online, and can not fathom why people would when you can get free multiplayer on PC.

 

[thelastword]

considering how turdy psn usf4 is compared to 360, i'd say it's a worthy investment.

lol

USF4 360 is not as purdy for everyone, it's a mish mash of bad netcode and an unfinished upgrade at the moment. Fyi, I just finished a session moments ago. This is the only game i'm playing on the 360 right now, it's sad that if I want to put it down for a few and come back to it later I'll need to re-sub live just to throw some hands online.

That's the thing about live though, the games for gold is not why you purchase it unlike PS+, so you always have to tell yourself to keep playing online whilst you are subbed and not waste that money. With the PS3, you could get back to the online portion at anytime without further or a continuous investment, it sucks actually.

 

[Pseudo judo]

Yeah, because no other system has free multiplayer, such a farfetched concept am I right? Of course MS will be leaving money on the table if they do, but for the age of the console it would be a nice incentive after all the bad PR they've suffered recently. In business, what's so wrong about giving something back to amass more in the longrun, that may very well be goodwill, but at least a potential XBONE owner may say "hey MS is not totally anti-consumer afterall" and please bare in mind that the competition does offer free multiplayer in comparison.

Bad PR doesn't mean t makes good business sense to throw away money. As mentioned here already, there are several places where 13 months of live costs $40.

Either you haven't done the math or you're debating from a point of pure self interest.

 

[Darmik]

They will make it free eventually. When they do this, you know they will shut it down the following year.

 

[Solidsoul]

I don't see how 360 should be treated any differently than Xbox One. It's the same compelling service on both platforms, games are still coming out for 360 and people are still playing older ones.

It really bugs me that so many people like to treat last gen consoles like something less deserving of attention. We are here to play games folks, doesn't matter that a new systems out, the old ones are still relevant!

 

[Simply Sami]

The Xbox one is out, if you want to play multiplayer on the new consoles then by all means the subscription service is a must, but why is it that paying for multiplayer still a thing on the 360?

At the time when MS announced that services like Netflix, youtube and hulu would be removed from the paywall, why couldn't they also remove multiplayer? At this point in the console's lifespan it would certainly bolster the experience for persons just adopting the console or cause persons to keep the 360 around for the occasional multiplayer session.

You clearly didn't learn business.

Why would they make 360 multiplayer free when it has like millions more subscribers to it that Xbox one?

You do know more people play on 360 online than Xbox one?

So why would MS get rid of that profit?

 

[Atomski]

They will make it free eventually. When they do this, you know they will shut it down the following year.

Xbox Live was never free before it was shut down on the OG Xbox.. I dont see why this would be any different. May as well suck as much free cash as they can before flipping that death switch.