Time was, all you could do on Live was play multiplayer games. Maybe one or two other little things (I don't remember the early days very well) but really, multiplayer was about it. You paid 50 bucks for that. You now have access to:
Voice chat
Party chat
Video chat
Avatars
Downloadable content
Multiplayer gaming
Parties
Netflix movie streaming
Sky Player
Xbox Live Arcade point results
Facebook
Twitter
last.fm
Zune
Furthermore, it's been almost 8 years since Xbox Live was launched. I'm no economics major, but (someone correct me if I'm getting this wrong) the US has experienced inflation rates of about 20% since 2002. In 2002, you paid 50 bucks to play games with friends. In 2010, you pay essentially the same rate (taking inflation into account) and have access to some of the most popular web content out there.
In those terms it doesn't seem so bad. I agree that if it was 50 bucks yesterday, and then they add a bad feature and charge 60 bucks, it doesn't seem worth it. When you take into account that subscription fees have to increase over time anyway, though, and you look at everything they've added for that same fee since the beginning of the service. . .*shrug*
Voice chat
Party chat
Video chat
Avatars
Downloadable content
Multiplayer gaming
Parties
Netflix movie streaming
Sky Player
Xbox Live Arcade point results
last.fm
Zune
Furthermore, it's been almost 8 years since Xbox Live was launched. I'm no economics major, but (someone correct me if I'm getting this wrong) the US has experienced inflation rates of about 20% since 2002. In 2002, you paid 50 bucks to play games with friends. In 2010, you pay essentially the same rate (taking inflation into account) and have access to some of the most popular web content out there.
In those terms it doesn't seem so bad. I agree that if it was 50 bucks yesterday, and then they add a bad feature and charge 60 bucks, it doesn't seem worth it. When you take into account that subscription fees have to increase over time anyway, though, and you look at everything they've added for that same fee since the beginning of the service. . .*shrug*
New X-Box Controller, and raising X-Box live prices
- 31/08/2010 07:33:03 PM
630 Views
Live prices piss me off
- 01/09/2010 12:39:47 AM
406 Views
Yeah, PSN might not be as good as Xbox live, but the price is right
- 01/09/2010 06:18:12 PM
408 Views
Meh. I don't see why they have the option to twist the pad and make it crappy again. Explain please. *NM*
- 01/09/2010 01:08:30 AM
177 Views
Maybe they wanted to have the same form factor for people who liked the old d-pad?
- 01/09/2010 06:18:54 PM
395 Views
That controller doesn't look all that different to me.
- 01/09/2010 01:46:47 AM
400 Views
The raised prices are BS
- 01/09/2010 04:56:55 PM
464 Views
That's the stuff that evens out the console vs gaming PC pricing, IMO.
- 01/09/2010 07:52:19 PM
395 Views
It helps if you look at it from the beginning.
- 02/09/2010 12:01:21 AM
385 Views
Since 2008 we've been flirting with deflation. 
*NM*
- 02/09/2010 12:34:42 AM
188 Views
*NM*
- 02/09/2010 12:34:42 AM
188 Views
Yes, but since 2002 we're still up, non? 
*NM*
- 02/09/2010 01:20:58 AM
179 Views
*NM*
- 02/09/2010 01:20:58 AM
179 Views
Truth, but it doesn't justify a price hike now, per se. *NM*
- 02/09/2010 04:14:31 AM
192 Views
Perhaps I'm being stupid, but why not?
- 02/09/2010 05:34:21 PM
397 Views
You're forgetting the take into account the decreased costs per user of the core features...
- 02/09/2010 09:58:26 PM
408 Views