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Xbox Tax Hike

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 6:06 pm
by Kaito-kun
In these times of economic struggle the Chancellor of the Ex-Box-er (See what I did there? With puns that good I could work for The Sun!) have decided that the annual (Or monthly if you do it that way) Xbox tax (Also know as the Xbox Live Gold Subscription) is going up come this November.

Considering that all of Microsoft's rivals (Steam, Nintendo, Playstation) all offer free online gaming and matchmaking do you feel this is a step in the right direction or even worth paying (even) more for? Discuss!

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 7:53 pm
by Matty
hang on, did i read that right?
and the additional services available to Gold subscribers in 2010, such as ESPN (have to pay to use it/subscribe?), Facebook, Twitter, Netflix (again you still have to pay dont you?), Last.fm and Video Kinect (AKA video chat, which is free opn msn,skype etc etc), a $10 price increase still represents an incredible value to consumers
those in bold are free on the internet, why should it be considered good that someone doesn't charge extra to use your internet to access a site that is free on any pc thats connected to the internet?!??!???

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:15 pm
by Kaito-kun
Matty wrote:hang on, did i read that right?

those in bold are free on the internet, why should it be considered good that someone doesn't charge extra to use your internet to access a site that is free on any pc thats connected to the internet?!??!???
Matty meet Microsoft, Microsoft, Matty. Hell, we won't even get Eeee-Esss-Peee-Ennn anyway. (That's some kind of sports broadcast, right?)

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:47 pm
by Gavvie
In the UK, it's only a tenner, right? £10 increase after what, 5 or 6 years? Not too bad.

Look at what Sony are charging you £40 for, right now. Other than the free games that you're not allowed to keep when your subscription runs out.

And..are we sure that Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm are free? Last I checked, you still have to pay for the Internet, don't you? And I'm sure that's more expensive than £40-50 a year...

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:59 pm
by Matty
ok then

heres £50

go get live and use it without an internet connection ;)

all those may require an internet connection but you can use libraries/schools etc for free

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:09 pm
by Kaito-kun
Gavvie wrote:In the UK, it's only a tenner, right? £10 increase after what, 5 or 6 years? Not too bad.

Look at what Sony are charging you £40 for, right now. Other than the free games that you're not allowed to keep when your subscription runs out.
At least you have a choice with PSN+: standard PSN still lets you access all of the services on offer, Xbox Live Silver on the other is pretty much useless: you can't even play games online, which, in my opinion is the main reason I connect my consoles onto the webernet.
Gavvie wrote:And..are we sure that Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm are free? Last I checked, you still have to pay for the Internet, don't you? And I'm sure that's more expensive than £40-50 a year...
Yes, but you don't need an extra £5 a month on top of your ISP bill to pay for it.

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:13 pm
by Tru
I wasn't planning on carrying on my Gold sub after it ran out a second time anyway, but this gives me an added incentive. Most of the bonuses the US get are way better than what we have, and services like Facebook and Twitter are mostly pointless anyway.

Sony might charge £40 for PS+, but you don't need that to play online.

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:32 pm
by Gavvie
OK, Major Nelson has confirmed what the price increase means for the UK. In short - not a lot.

If you want a 1 month subscription, you'll have to pay £1 more than you normally do. That's £6, as opposed to £5.

If you want a 3 or 12 month subscription - you're paying no more. Still stays at £15 for 3 months, or £40 for 12.

Still complaining? :p

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:53 pm
by Kaito-kun
Gavvie wrote: If you want a 3 or 12 month subscription - you're paying no more. Still stays at £15 for 3 months, or £40 for 12.
Annual is staying the same? Fair do's. *No longer cares*

Although my points in my previous post remain valid.

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:55 pm
by Rayne
Gavvie wrote:In the UK, it's only a tenner, right? £10 increase after what, 5 or 6 years? Not too bad.

Look at what Sony are charging you £40 for, right now. Other than the free games that you're not allowed to keep when your subscription runs out.

And..are we sure that Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm are free? Last I checked, you still have to pay for the Internet, don't you? And I'm sure that's more expensive than £40-50 a year...
A tenner increase for what? The same shitty online play?

Sony don't FORCE you to pay anything, if you do you get an absolute truckload of content for the price you pay (it's only for a select group of consumers, not the PS3 vets...).

XBL has always been a complete rip off. Offering online shit we get for free on every other system, trying to justify itself with crap features that shouldn't be on a games console. I paid £7.50 for 3 months of gold because I wanted to play Halo again, they can go get fucked if they want any more off me.

Edit: Xbox Live Silver? That's just an advert for Gold, you can't even send other members messages :/