XBOX Live is a rip-off and overhyped?

[Haruspex]

I own a XBOX 360 for about a month now (don't own a PS3 or a Wii) and today my free 1 month gold trial expired. My impressions of XBOX Live in general are quite good and the fee for gold is reasonable but it can be cheaper. As for the MS points IMO is a total rip-off. Here are some facts.

- PS3 and Wii, have free online. Especially the PSN Network is really good if you only want to play online games. Oh, and PC has free online for ages.
- I own the PC Version of Call Of Duty 4, for me Keyboard+Mouse is the way to go with FPS. Ok that's an opinion you may say, but what about the map pack that you have to pay in XBOX 360 and in PC is total free? I really laughed when i heard about the recently announced offer of the COD 4 map pack in the XBOX 360. The same goes with PSN Network of course if you have to pay for the map pack.
- If you are not live in the US you lose some of the experience of the XBOX Live. Let me explain, i can't download the free map pack of GOW because it's US exclusive. That's means i can't play with people that have the map pack. Not to mention some demos that i can't download as well some other stuff because they are US exclusive.
- I am quite surprised of what they sell in XBOX Live. Gamer pictures, themes, music etc. Ridiculous stuff. True the prices aren't high but most of these stuff should be free. A funny example in SC IV, they have the "cute" characters picture pack, the "evil", the "good", the "sexy"... What is up with that? Can at least put all the characters in one pack for a reasonably price and stop rip-off people? Yes i understand that you don't have to buy stuff that you don't want or you feel is a rip-off but still...
- In the end, I only want to play with people online and perhaps download some demos, this should be free in my opinion. Or at least they should drop the price of XBOX Live Gold.

[gennss]

i don't play online so i just keep a silver membership but if playign online is your thing you should get gold, a lot of games won't let you play with just a silver.

[RackGaki]

You are not alone in your sentiment.

It was wise of you to footnote that you do not have a PS3 or Wii, though, since their online experience is much different. The Wii online is more or less a joke, especially if you want to game online, but the PS3 lacks a little polish compared to the Xbox 360 model. Especially when developers (like Konami with MGO) are allowed to bypass the PSN altogether with their own, inferior online services.

An Xbox 360 with free online gaming, coupled with the $200 base price here in the United States, would be, hands down, the ultimate gaming console.

[MrPopo]

You sir have summed up all the reasons I refuse to get an Xbox 360. The gold membership allows you to play online, which I've been doing for decades on my PC for free. The nickle-and-diming that occurs can also show up on the PSN, but since I don't need to buy it I don't really care. But overall there is a lot of content on Live that is free for the PC counterpart, due to the Microsoft business model that seems to require charging for anything but a patch. The PSN is guilty to it of a lesser degree, but Microsoft has managed to convince most developers to only release addon content for Live, so it affects me less.

Yes, the Wii's multiplayer is extremely hit and miss (Mario Kart Wii is about the only decent one I've played), but most Wii games I'm not too interested in playing online anyway. There's the aformentioned MKW that works well, and then there's Brawl, where they severely dropped the ball. The rest are games that are more intended for a bunch of buddies in the same room, or single player. The PS3 multiplayer I can't comment too much on, as the only game I've played online is SC4, which seemed to work just fine.

I still don't buy the argument of "Live has a polished online, so you should pay for it." You know who else has a polished online? Battle.net, which is free, last I checked.

[racketboy]

I like Mario Kart Wii's online support. I have few complaints so far.
Although, I haven't tried doing friend codes yet....

[Doctor Fugue]

There are many reasons to appreciate the quality of Xbox Live, but one that often gets forgotten is that Microsoft maintains the servers for all the games. The developers only need to worry about including options for online play, while Microsoft does the dirty work. On other systems, each game has completely different implementation and you never really know how well every game will work online. Some will work immensely well, and some very poorly.

An interesting result of this (besides standardized demos, easy cross-media interaction, among others), is one of longevity. The developers/publishers do not have to maintain servers for old games; it wouldn't even matter if their company was dissolved. You can still play original Xbox games on Live, probably until the mighty MS eventually crumbles.

Of course, any time someone starts whining about how much something costs, the same explanation will do: if you don't want to pay for it...don't! Keep your money, spend it on something you prefer. Some people want five dollar coffees, I'm willing to buy five dollar/month online gaming.

[Haruspex]

There are many reasons to appreciate the quality of Xbox Live, but one that often gets forgotten is that Microsoft maintains the servers for all the games. The developers only need to worry about including options for online play, while Microsoft does the dirty work. On other systems, each game has completely different implementation and you never really know how well every game will work online. Some will work immensely well, and some very poorly.

An interesting result of this (besides standardized demos, easy cross-media interaction, among others), is one of longevity. The developers/publishers do not have to maintain servers for old games; it wouldn't even matter if their company was dissolved. You can still play original Xbox games on Live, probably until the mighty MS eventually crumbles.

Of course, any time someone starts whining about how much something costs, the same explanation will do: if you don't want to pay for it...don't! Keep your money, spend it on something you prefer. Some people want five dollar coffees, I'm willing to buy five dollar/month online gaming.

I am no expert in network stuff in general, how they are work etc. but in Soul Calibur IV for example i think that XBOX Live doesn't do a simple thing to enhance your multiplayer experience. I didn't play the PS3 SCIV version online but i think that it would be exactly the same as the XBOX 360 version because the game uses peer to peer technology.

That means from what i understand that two things are matter for lag-free gameplay

1) How well the developers optimized the code for online play.

2) The quality of connections between the two peers, as well as how close they are to each other.

So the XBOX Live servers are doing almost nothing and for that game in particular doesn't justify the price of Gold.

So IMO more games should be playable with a Silver account and drop the price of Gold.

Perhaps because i started to play online games in PC, i am perhaps a bit overreacting. Just imagine that in the PC gaming world you can find some awesome free stuff. A good example, the game F.E.A.R Combat, not only you don't have to pay for the online part for the game, but you don't have to pay for the game itself! And F.E.A.R Combat it's just an example, they are other similar free stuff in the Internet.

[nickfil]

I like Mario Kart Wii's online support. I have few complaints so far.
Although, I haven't tried doing friend codes yet....

I was just about to chime in with the same thing. For the most part i only play with random people online regardless of console. I have the same experience with COD4 on xbox that i do with Mario Kart. It puts us in a room- sets up the game- we play. I have very few problems with lag, glitches, or cheating.

Now- nintendo just needs to come out with more games i want to play online.

1) How well the developers optimized the code for online play.

2) The quality of connections between the two peers, as well as how close they are to each other.

both would be out of xbox live's hands, or any other online company though. That is just the game, or player's fault.

[Droid party]

I think Yahtzee summed up the people on Xbox live best when he called them all a bunch of screaming dickbags. I used my 1 month trial for all of a week before deciding that I wouldn't even bother with it even if it was free. Running around in Halo or GTA4 listening to these Fuckwits is not my idea of fun. I'll use my silver membership for downloading and nothing more.

[nickfil]

Halo or GTA4

well there is your problem.