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[RukusProvider]

I'll happily pay for a superior service. Live is the main reason the 360 is my primary console and I prefer it even my PC.

 

[Durante]

I don't want to pay for playing videogames online, never did and never will.

Yeah, same here. If Sony for some reason starts to think this is a good idea next gen then I'll just stick to PC entirely.

 

[WrenchNinja]

I don't care currently because I've managed to renew Gold past 2015 because of sales.

However, Microsoft is incredibly stupid to lock apps that are FREE to use elsewhere, like Netflix, behind a pay wall. They are just pushing casuals and families to Rokus and other devices.

I tried downloading the YouTube app to see how it worked and I found that even that is behind the gold pay wall. Its ridiculous.

 

[mozfan12]

The only way I would not get the next xbox is if the used games rumor was true or microsoft goes completely kinect. Otherwise ill probably stick to Xbox/handhelds for next gen like im doing right now. I have a PS3, and its left unused for the most part, just not interested in sony first parties outside of infamous and more expiremental stuff like journey.. I simply prefer xbox's controller, achievements and live much better. XBLA has also been one of my top three favorite things from this generation. So in short, no.

 

[EatinOlives]

It'll be a big, big factor. I've been sticking closer to PC gaming recently and I don't see that changing any time soon, but if anything I'll get a PS4/WiiU for the free online (assuming the PS4 won't go for mandatory paid multiplayer, which I doubt to be honest).

I haven't turned on my 360 at all in well over a year, mainly because any multiplatform game that has multiplayer I get on the PS3, and most AAA exclusives like Halo, Gears, and Forza have a huge online component. I hate the idea of buying half a game, then pay additional cash on top of what I already paid for.

I realize that a lot of people who pay for Live only do so for retention purposes. As in, they already have the console, they've already invested a ton in multiplayer games, they already have all their friends on Live, etc., so not paying means losing all of that. I really don't want to invest money in the console just to put myself in that position where I'm forced to pay just to keep my console experience the same. I say "why bother?" and go play some more TF2 for free. The vast majority of exclusives that I can't play on the PC don't interest me all that much at any rate.

In a way I kind of regret getting a 360, but then again I really loved games like Nuts & Bolts, Viva Pinata, and Tales of Vesperia. I wouldn't want to sell the console at this point, but in terms of Microsoft getting my money for next gen, the chances are near zero.

 

[Emitan]

I tried downloading the YouTube app to see how it worked and I found that even that is behind the gold pay wall. Its ridiculous.

im surprised i can still play games on my 360 without live

 

[Flatline]

Yes, between paying for online and Microsoft treating core gamers like crap I decided that enough is enough. I'll wait of course until Microsoft announces the new console but I'm not optimistic.

 

[IrishNinja]

I don't care currently because I've managed to renew Gold past 2015 because of sales.

However, Microsoft is incredibly stupid to lock apps that are FREE to use elsewhere, like Netflix, behind a pay wall. They are just pushing casuals and families to Rokus and other devices.

goddamn. i bet wario64 is good through when games die.
and i wanna agree with you on the latter point, but a buddy of mine (former big time PC gamer) was justifying the netflix thing because he liked the overlay better, at least pre-update. he's well aware he already pays for internet, netflix, etc...i dunno, i dont like it one bit either but if people are gonna line up to pay for stuff they already have, i guess i cant get mad when someone collects? *sigh*

 

[HairyM00T]

i don't mind paying $$$ for good service, i'm mostly on psn, and it's a fantastic service which has improved the most from this gen, but xbla is a more social enviroment and that's a little better for me.

 

[see5harp]

Not really. Where there are games, I will go. I really don't even see myself switching for multi plat titles until Sony gets their OS game figured out. I still don't think they are there with the Vita.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

I have a feeling that all 3 console makers will go with subscription based online next cycle, and there is no chance that I will pay $60 a year per console for online.

 

[BUCKFUSH187]

Nope, i bought enough live subscriptions @ $28 to last me through the next 2 generations.

 

[Dug]

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.

Pretty much my situation.

 

[Thoraxes]

Yes.

I'm not buying an XBOX console again because of how horribly I was treated during when my account got hacked in that huge wave of hacks.

I never want to deal with them in that capacity ever again.

 

[EvilMario]

I don't pay for Live, and never will. And it'll probably make the Xbox the last of the 'next gen' consoles we'll buy. If everyone goes subscription based, it'll be interesting.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

As someone who refuses to pay for Live based on principle, I buy multiplatform stuff exclusively on PS3 unless the 360 version is technically superior by a wide margin and I don't care about the multiplayer.

 

[clashfan]

A subscription service will make me want to buy a console more. It just means quality.

 

[staticneuron]

It doesn't matter who, I will not pay for the ability to play games online. This is my last year of gold and it simply won't happen. The only way I will sign up for a service is if I see some real returns that I am interested on.

I love the exclusive titles but for MS I would be tempted to opt out if I suspect it will eventually come out on PC.

 

[LumpOfCole]

What good exclusives does Microsoft have now? I guess we'll see at E3 but if the PS4 is going to be easier to develop on / on par with the 360, why wouldn't one go with that?

I guess I like the 360 controller better but that's about it.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Tis a shame Microsoft charges money to access content they had no hand in making. How much of that revenue are they kicking back to the developers? Well, publishers. We know the devs are getting jack.

Oh well, such is life.

But the answer is no, Microsoft's business model for Live will have no impact on my buying decision. I don't play online much at all anyway. If it comes down to it, I can just let the subscription expire. I'm not all that interested in multiconsole ownership any longer, and Xbox is my platform this generation, so they've got that momentum going for them. If they don't do anything stupid, such as skimp on BC for whatever comes next or radically change the controller or some such nonsense, I don't really see me switching over to Sony.

 

[MikeE21286]

I'm interested to see how Sony positions the PSN next gen.

With the focus on services and connectivity next-gen, I'm interested to see how PSN can provide a best-in-class online service while keeping it free in the console space.

 

[bigtroyjon]

Tis a shame Microsoft charges money to access content they had no hand in making. How much of that revenue are they kicking back to the developers? Well, publishers. We know the devs are getting jack.

Oh well, such is life.

But the answer is no, Microsoft's business model for Live will have no impact on my buying decision. I don't play online much at all anyway. If it comes down to it, I can just let the subscription expire. I'm not all that interested in multiconsole ownership any longer, and Xbox is my platform this generation, so they've got that momentum going for them. If they don't do anything stupid, such as skimp on BC for whatever comes next or radically change the controller or some such nonsense, I don't really see me switching over to Sony.

Developers benefited from MS subsidizing the hardware to the tune of 3+ billion dollars.

 

[inf3cti0n]

Hello,




For the amount of time i use XBLG and most everyone else does 30 bux a year is laughable. The amount of back lash this tiny amount of cash gets is insane. I am sure that I am in the minority but I judge purchases by the amount of time I will use on them. The fact that I can "invest" 4 days of game time into something totally justifies the cost of the purchase of the title plus dlc and xbl.

Servers , bandwidth, etc are NOT free and needs to be paid for some how.

/soapbox

Edits for not getting banned purposes and passive spell check

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

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.

I highly doubt Sony will have free online with PS4 and I have a feeling that XBox will be even more expensive next generation. $60-$100 a year??

 

[mujun]

I'll buy the first console that comes out (not Wii U, not next gen enough to warrant a purchase as it stands now, imo) regardless of whether it requires gold (MS) or not (Sony).

What good exclusives does Microsoft have now? I guess we'll see at E3 but if the PS4 is going to be easier to develop on / on par with the 360, why wouldn't one go with that?

I guess I like the 360 controller better but that's about it.

XBLA. XBLIG.

 

[Deleted member 8095]

Nope. Won't even take it into consideration.

 

[Seul Fantome]

It makes no difference to me.

Free online play would be nice, but I’ll gladly pay if Microsoft continues to deliver an excellent online experience.

 

[enzo_gt]

Influential, yes. Decisive? No. Game library always comes first. Plus I put about an equal chance of Live MP going free as I do PSN MP going for-pay.

On top of that, I'll have to wait and see if Sony steps their game up or not and produces a competitive service for free or not.

 

[06nbarnhill]

Simply yes.

It already effected me this gen. Have a Wii, DS, PS3, and a high end Gaming PC....no 360. I hate subscriptions in general. I already have too many. Not picking up another. Live is nice but from what I have seen but nothing I can't live without or miss. Not going to pay when I can have services that are functionally pretty much identical (when it comes to features that matter to me) for free.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

It'll effect me if I don't have to pay for it anymore, sure. The only reason I have Xbox Live Gold right now is because it was given to me.

It's a scam and in my experience the only people who enjoy paying for it are those who enjoy the sense of superiority the term "Gold User" gives them over the lowly "Silver User".

It's especially gross when you start talking about "app" support, as you need an Xbox Live Gold account to use Netflix and Hulu Plus, essentially meaning you:

A) Pay for two subscriptions just to have access to one service
B) Just use the free versions of those services on other hardware

Those services being Gold is especially aggravating if you made the mistake of using your Xbox Live Gamertag for Games for Windows Live, because that means trying to watch Netflix on the Xbox while playing a GFWL game at the same time is impossible, because you can't use the same Gamertag in two different locations and you have to be connected to Live to use Gold features.

Once my Gold subscription time runs out I don't suspect I'll be re-upping unless somebody gifts me more.

I'm more worried about my Xbox Live Arcade content carrying forward, though. I have over $400 invested in that stuff, and Xbox 1 emulation on the 360 was more than a little shitty.

 

[Eusis]

Given the proliferation of F2P and social games I'm honestly not seeing WHY the other two would be jumping at a charge for online play period when there's other avenues to take. Plus I think if Sony was seriously considering it they probably missed the boat with the Vita, neveremind that Plus IS their attempt to one up Live by focusing on offering additional incentives rather than unlocking features.

 

[Fixed1979]

Undecided, but most likely I won't be getting the next MS console if Gold is mandatory for online play. I already do most of my gaming on the PS3 or PC and I'm not paying MS to play online the few times I might actually want to.

 

[Mr Nash]

I almost never play games online, and when I do it's a PC game, so it's not a factor for me.

 

[Brad Grenz]

goddamn. i bet wario64 is good through when games die.
and i wanna agree with you on the latter point, but a buddy of mine (former big time PC gamer) was justifying the netflix thing because he liked the overlay better, at least pre-update. he's well aware he already pays for internet, netflix, etc...i dunno, i dont like it one bit either but if people are gonna line up to pay for stuff they already have, i guess i cant get mad when someone collects? *sigh*

You know Netflix writes their own apps for all the consoles, right? MS likes to pretend they're making them for 360, but that's a carefully crafted illusion. Did you notice how quickly they disavowed responsibility for the new Netflix interface? The real amazing thing is that Netflix, Hulu and everyone else puts up with that shit. Their services are accessible on half as many Xboxes as they could be (only counting those definitely connected to the internet) and who knows how many millions of subscriptions that could be...

 

[CitizenCope]

I'll be back. Would rather it be free but it's a good service and only 3 or 4 dollars a month. Don't even notice it.

 

[EatinOlives]

I highly doubt Sony will have free online with PS4 and I have a feeling that XBox will be even more expensive next generation. $60-$100 a year??

What makes you think that? It's not like Sony's exactly bleeding money by having free online, considering every 3rd party has to fend for themselves for online support, and Sony's making quite a pretty penny in Home and PS+ cards, and clearly enjoys touting the PS3 as "that console with free online". Having an online multiplayer fee on the PS4 is going to have people automatically start comparing it with Microsoft's online offering, and I really doubt Sony's going to come out on top of that comparison.

I just don't see a good reason why Sony should start charging for online multiplayer when they've been able to make money from other means.

 

[trinest]

I'll get a Microsoft 780 or what ever it will be called either half way through the gen or at the end.

Nintendo takes pirority in gens, even if they do fuck you these days.

Though I'll get a new computer or tablet this year maybe.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I will use the service that my friends are on regardless of platform and pay or not.

Definitely. Why pay $50 just for online play when I can pay $50 and get things like free games or cloud saves.

The second you pay for something it no longer is "free".

I just don't see a good reason why Sony should start charging for online multiplayer when they've been able to make money from other means.

You make it sound like Sony has never previously charged for online gaming which they did.

 

[TheAtomicPile]

I will never pay for an online gaming service again. Whichever system allows me to play games online for free will likely be the first, or only, one I purchase.

I've been a Live gold member for years, but all of my favorite online games this gen were on PS3 or Wii. I would have stopped renewing my Live subscription years ago, but my girlfriend got a 360 (even though I wanted her to get a PS3 instead) specifically so that we could play stuff online together. So I didn't really have much choice there.

Hopefully, some time soon I'll be moving in with her and we can just do split-screen.

Providing that Microsoft's next system ever builds up a respectable library of exclusives, I might eventually get one, but I will not be getting Live.

 

[Eusis]

I will use the service that my friends are on regardless of platform and pay or not.



The second you pay for something it no longer is "free".

Admittedly it's still "really damn nice discount". Of course you have to hope all that stuff for free actually IS stuff you wanted to play, or enough of it anyway.

ALTHOUGH, it can effectively be turned into free if you take advantage of enough discounts. Depending on the winners for that Player's Choice thing I could see myself getting a $18 3 month membership and immediately negating the cost.

And I think the only reason the "need Gold for Netflix/Hulu!" thing works is because they're dominating for HD consoles, and had it established before the others could start doing the streaming thing. I imagine the next generation is going to require them to either give in and offer that stuff for free, especially since it's not their program/bandwidth anyway, or pursue some sort of exclusivity deal again. And if they somehow pull the latter, wow, I'd REALLY want everything to blow up in Microsoft's face.

 

[Mashing]

I think Microsoft is making a big mistake if they charge for live on their next system. They got more money than God at the company so they do not need the additional revenue.

However, if Nintendo's online ends up sucking, they can probably get away with it. However, if both Sony's and Nintendo's online is well received (and free) then it would be in their best interest to go free as well.

 

[burgerdog]

Nope. I care about exclusives so I'll buy the next gen Xbox, PS, and Wii-U.

 

[LuchaShaq]

Not until PSN doesn't take 500-1000%+ longer to download the same size file my 360 or pc does. Have tried multiple suggestions from users on sites like this about port forwarding etc and nothing has helped. This isn't even touching any other issues I have with psn which are not few in number.

Also have never payed more than 20$ for live, I make that back on xbla sales alone so live being paid doesn't bother me.

Was a ps+ member for a year as well, didn't use anything from it besides what became a 50$ copy of stacking. Complete waste of money for me.

 

[soundscream]

Don't think it matters since you paid for live on the original Xbox, and if it was an issue it would have affected the Xbox360.

 

[DidntKnowJack]

I have no current plans to pick up the Nextbox. Especially if their focus remains Kinect related. It's got very little (or anything really) to do with Xbox live.

 

[bigtroyjon]

I just don't see a good reason why Sony should start charging for online multiplayer when they've been able to make money from other means.

Because they haven't been able to make money from other means. They are still billions and billions in the red this gen.

 

[RealDeadOne]

There's no way I'm paying a subscription for online services. The only reason I would have for owning an Xbox is for Gears and Halo, and though I love those series they're not worth the price. I'd rather wait for them to come to PC (lol like that'll ever happen).

I'm planning on having a WiiU at launch and a PS4 a few years down the line but if either of them charge me for online, I'm not buying. There is literally no good reason to charge for online service except to gouge more money.

I will gladly reinvest that potential console money into upgrades for my PC.

 

[RBH]

However, Microsoft is incredibly stupid to lock apps that are FREE to use elsewhere, like Netflix, behind a pay wall. They are just pushing casuals and families to Rokus and other devices.

Agreed 100%.

 

[Orca]

I think I have four or five more years of Xbox Live paid up thanks to freebies and huge deals, so it's not a dealbreaker.

 

[Neo C.]

I don't play enough to justify Live, which is also a reason why I won't buy Nextbox: I don't like the feeling of being a second class citizen with Silver.