Support NeoGAF

[Raonak]

Live will really have to step it up next generation to be worth paying for;

The vita can do a lot of stuff live does, but for free. main ones being crossgame chat and universal custom soundtracks. Plus stuff like near universal screenshot support. and doesn't need any sort of subscription.

It's very likely the PS4's os will be a lot like Vita's OS (much like PS3's was an expansion of the XMB found on the PSP) And it will likely be free too.

 

[zulux21]

Short answer: No, it won't effect it at all.

Long answer: As it stands I own a 360 but refuse to pay for live. There isn't a single game on the 360 that I want to play online that I can't play online on the PS3 or PC instead. Online is only one form of gaming though, so if the next microsoft console manages to have exclusives that interest me I will pick one up. Given how ever that they don't have a single IP to their name that they are actively making games for that I can even be bothered to care about anymore though... odds are I won't be picking up the next xbox system until very very late into it's life... I am having a strict 5 must play exclusive rule across all systems next gen though and focusing on PC games to start with since I won't need to buy a new PC to continue playing current games. I kind of figure my next gen console buys will likely go Sony then Nintendo then microsoft.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

I personally dont see Sony allowing free online next gen.

 

[Wario64]

Who says I'm paying for XBL? lol. Never dropped a penny on that service.

 

[a Master Ninja]

Definitely. Why pay $50 just for online play when I can pay $50 and get things like free games or cloud saves. Online play should be a basic feature, and they should offer compelling reasons to want a gold membership.

I know on PS3 you have to pay for cloud saves, but are cloud saves Gold exclusive on Xbox 360?

 

[Soroc]

I've already cancelled my current live account, don't see the point of having it anymore as I haven't played my xbox in forever. Between PSN/Steam/Origin I just can't get behind a paid service anymore.

So if they charged for it in Nextbox I don't think I would get it personally

 

[5amshift]

Free service is awesome. Although if I do buy both consoles next gen I may try and track down and save up the discounted Live codes people always get..

 

[Emitan]

I know on PS3 you have to pay for cloud saves, but are cloud saves Gold exclusive on Xbox 360?

Yes

 

[erpg]

I know on PS3 you have to pay for cloud saves, but are cloud saves Gold exclusive on Xbox 360?

Yep. The ony thing Xbox Live offers to Silver members that PSN doesn't is the ability to view achievements without syncing daily.

 

[DietRob]

Yes it will effect my decision I ditched live for the psn. I have a sneaking suspicion that both Sony and Microsoft will be charging for online though.

 

[SquiddyCracker]

I used to pay Live pretty much solely in order to play Halo 3 (oh how I regret that waste of money ) so I could see how some people might base their next console purchase based on it.

 

[Persona7]

I buy all consoles


every time.


I don't know if I am going to bite on any consoles on day one though, I am probably going to wait at least a year or two on the wii u as well.

 

[Kaako]

Most likely. I don't plan on buying all consoles next gen.

 

[Slayer-33]

Considering that I pay about $35 a year on average no..

I love the service I get.

 

[Amneisac]

All things being equal, I'd go for the free service.

(hoping the NiN will be free and equal)

Yeah, equal is really the problem. I still don't see the PSN and XBOX Live as equal at this point, and that's even coming from someone who spent 3 months getting a hacked Live account recovered.

Certainly I love free service, but for the (usually) $32-$40 a year I spend on Live, it really hasn't bothered me over the 8 years I've had it. It's my preferred system for playing games online.

 

[Guesong]

Not buying any consoles next-gen, except the Wii-U, and then only when Smash releases.

Built myself a nice, new PC last year. I've had enough with broken pieces of technology that just stop functioning for no reason ; I'm on my 3rd 360 and second PS3. Wii almost died but ressurected since then. And then Live not being free for some reason? No. I'm already paying too much for the actual quality those products offers, so screw it.

Steam allows me to have a bigger, more diverse library of games for a fraction of the cost of consoles games.

 

[Metalmurphy]

Yes, live or PSN for that matter.

I refuse to pay for online gaming.

 

[Gav47]

Seeing that I have a decent PC were I can play online games for free, I'll probably pick up the console that has free online play first but I'll still end up with them all.

 

[Duxxy3]

Xbox live is not worth it to me now and never will be.

If the PS4 continues with free online and microsoft continues with a subscription just to play online i simply won't buy microsoft. I play online about 3 times in a year, a subscription does not make any sense to me.

 

[Big-E]

I will go without a console unless all my friends buy one and get hooked on something and want me to jump in. Comfy couch PC for the foreseeable future.

 

[HigherLevel]

Xbox has Live(and all my friends) and Halo. I'll be sticking with that unless they go crazy and go Kinect only or something like that.

 

[ReBurn]

If the games are good I will buy it.

 

[Kyoufu]

It affected the current gen already. I have a 360 but outside of a few single-player games I never really touched the console. I invested in Live once, only to not play much on it at all except Halo and Gears. Waste of money.

 

[Dark_AnNiaLatOr]

If a lot of my friends are on it, then I would probably end up getting it on some discount. I'd never pay the $60 though. As of now, I mainly just play on my PS3. It was a really stupid decision to get live just for MW3 which I sold soon after I got it....with elite. damn, just gotta forget about that haha.

 

[Shizzlee]

XBL is one of the reasons I went with a PS3 instead of a 360 this gen. I don't game that much, but I do play online from time to time when I can. I don't do it all day, every day so I don't think that XBL would be worth paying for to me. I'd rather have my online play be free. I'll just repeat my combination from this gen (Nintendo/Sony) if their online remains free. I don't care if the features are equal, just as long as I can play online occasionally for free.

 

[Lion Heart]

I'll never buy another MS console again, unless they ditch pay to play. Its not like I used mine that much when I had it, barely anything worthwhile exclusive wise.

Its weird cause I had live the day it came out up until 2008 but I'm done with that shit. I'll go PS4/Pc or PS4/WiiU next gen.

 

[Ceebs]

Their shoddy hardware they sold me this gen will prevent me from buying another of their consoles. The Live tax does not help.

As a PC gamer who did without a console since 07, when I decided I wanted a new console for sports games earlier this month I grabbed a PS3 without even considering another Xbox.

 

[Slavik81]

Yes. I regret buying a 360. The best decision I made this gen was deciding to forgo paying for live and buying a PS3 instead.

If they continue to charge for basic online services, I will not even consider purchasing a console from them next generation.

 

[Gospel]

Xbox has Live(and all my friends) and Halo. I'll be sticking with that unless they go crazy and go Kinect only or something like that.

Sadly, I too, am a slave to the Halo :/

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Yeah, equal is really the problem. I still don't see the PSN and XBOX Live as equal at this point, and that's even coming from someone who spent 3 months getting a hacked Live account recovered.

It's going to be interesting seeing how the services develop. I'm sure Microsoft will try to up the ante again, just like they did with the 360 version of Live, but this time Sony might try to offer something unique as well. Home wasn't the best attempt, but they shouldn't be written off.

 

[Dr.Palutena]

I feel similarly. If anything the lack of compelling exclusives would more likely push me from getting an Xbox more than anything else, and if things are like they are now I definitely could see skipping on an Xbox in favor of the Playstation with some actual Japanese support, and the Wii U for having Nintendo's stuff.
.

This. While I refuse to pay for online I find the lack of exclusive experiences I'm interested in on Xbox a much larger deterrent , than that fact. Especially since I seldom play online outside of games that I have friends to play with in.

 

[CambriaRising]

Yeah, I am probably not going to get the next Xbox if live continues to split the fanbase into haves and have-nots.

Plus paying $60(70?) for a game and being locked out of a feature due to not paying a subscription just baffles me to no end.

 

[Raide]

If it has the BC I need and the games I want to play on it, then the cost of Live is not an issue.

 

[Shig]

Yeah. PS+ has offered fantastic value for the price, Live has been total shit comparatively.

I can definitely see MS having the balls to think they don't need to change anything to compete next gen. They got lucky this gen, so many people had invested so much into 360 that sales became kind of a self-perpetuating machine by the time Sony caught up and offered a good alternative. A new gen, though, it'll be a zero-sum game.

 

[GK86]

At this point, I cant justify paying for live anymore. I rarely play online anymore. I don't use any of the gold features outside of netflix. Which has become moot ever since I picked up a roku box.

Ms has left a bad taste in my mouth with crappy hardware, and nickel, and dime tactics. Not to mention, I'm not as fond of their first-party offerings as I was last gen.

If Sony gets their shit together next gen, I will be going with them.

 

[Willectro]

No, but Sony's security expertise will.

 

[elsk]

If the PS4 sounds as good as the PS3, yep, I will move to Sony next gen. It's a pain in the ass having to buy those damn xbox live cards, online should be free.

 

[Coxy]

huge turn off for me, since I not only have to pay for myself but also my gf and then dragging friends onto that system and expecting them to pay just to play with me is pretty pisspoor too

 

[Duffyside]

I already refuse to pay for Live, and really regret buying a 360 in the first place. Too many awesome games to play all of them.

So, yeah, I won't buy the next MS console.

 

[DeliciousDoc]

I rarely play online so it shouldn't affect my decision too much. It has affected my decision on where to get most of my games though. I have all the systems and the only one I regret buying is the xbox 360.

Compared to past gens, my ps3 has the fewest games and I've mostly gone portable (but not mobile phone) so I might skip on the next home consoles.

 

[Bullza2o]

I refuse to support future Microsoft consoles because of Live subscriptions. Despite MS adding a ton of apps for it, it still isn't really worth the money.

 

[Ranger X]

I don't want to pay for playing videogames online, never did and never will. Microsoft is a terrible exception for charging gameplay and I will not encourage this next gen either. I might buy and Xbox again but I can't sign up for Live that's for sure.

 

[Aretak]

I don't think it's viable for Microsoft to keep charging for Live as it is now. The value I get out of my PSN+ account compared to my Gold one is ridiculous. Just this month Sony have given subscribers about ten games for free (plus some avatars, Sonic Adventure DLC and a theme), including a brand new PSN/XBLA release in The Simpsons Arcade Game. My XBL sub finishes in a couple of months and I don't see myself renewing. It's just not worth it.

 

[IrishNinja]

buying the console? no, that's determined by the games/exclusives.

buying multi-platform games for it? absolutely, anything i might play online will likely be bought elsewhere, unless online gets botched or charged for elsewhere too.

 

[JWong]

No, but Sony's security expertise will.

Or Microsoft's lack of?

 

[CadetMahoney]

I personally dont see Sony allowing free online next gen.

They're better at competing with the value angle than trying to set up a pay wall just like MS, especially with the "free online " bullet point they shoved down ppls throats this gen.

Then again they did hype up the cell and are now ditching it like an old condom the very next gen after it's debut. So it wouldn't surprise me they go with a pay wall, but if they have any sense they won't charge for multiplayer.

 

[GavinGT]

Are we all just pretending that Sony won't charge for online next gen?

 

[WrenchNinja]

I got my 360 as a gift, otherwise I would have never gotten it. I refuse to pay for live, and if Sony or Nintendo jump on that wagon too then I'll just go the steam only route.

 

[snoopeasystreet]

No. I'm pretty sure Microsoft and Sony will both charge next gen for online multi player and the sad thing is, I'll probably pay for both.

 

[Derrick01]

Or Microsoft's lack of?

I see you're not a fan of the "if we say nothing happens enough times then everyone will believe it" tactic.