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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Microsoft: XBL Increase Covers Exclusive Map Packs and Games

Eurogamer

Microsoft has explained the recent hike in Xbox Live subscription costs and pointed towards Xbox 360 exclusives as justification that gamers are getting their money's worth.

[...]

When asked to justify the increase at a time when the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network offers its core online services free, Davison pointed to Xbox 360 exclusives.

"In 2002 it was strictly multiplayer gaming," he said. "Now we get those Call of Duty map packs before anybody else does. We've got Gears and Halo, of course, as exclusives. We continue to get exclusives on the service as well. And we've gone from 400,000 members in our first year to 25 million.

"So during that time, we've definitely got to fund it, and we want to add more and more and more. ESPN is a great example. No extra charge for Xbox Live Gold members. But we want to continue to bring that content in. We also want to continue to innovate on all dimensions, whether it's social, entertainment, or gaming. So there you go."

At E3 2010 in June Microsoft announced an "exclusive multi-year agreement between Xbox and Activision" that will see Call of Duty add-ons and map packs appearing first on Xbox 360 for the next three years. The extent and duration of the individual add-ons' exclusivity wasn't discussed.

Last year Microsoft announced a tie-up that saw the first two downloadable add-ons for Modern Warfare 2 appear exclusively on Xbox 360 for 30 days each.





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You get to pay ten dollars more to buy overpriced map packs first and watch espn.  I'd make a snide remark but it won't stop anyone from gladly lapping this up.



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Time for hype

It has always been stated that XBL Gold money was used for their expensive network expansion. Nothing is new here.



Tease.

Squilliam said:

It has always been stated that XBL Gold money was used for their expensive network expansion. Nothing is new here.


Paying Activision to not release map packs on PC/PS3 = expensive network expansion?



Cod Maps = 1200 still beats ALL Records on Xbox Live -> OVER 2.5M in 1st Week... InSane... Serious...



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I prefer not to have the cost increase, but this is the first price increase since LIVE's inception, I believe. I was surprised how long it took then to raise it. The improvements to the service and dashboard are always welcomed, and the slight increase in cost is disappointing but not backbreaking.  I'm sure you will still be able to pick it up for around $30-$40 dollars from various deals during the year. I still expect to pay only around $3.00 a month for the service. 

The exclusivity reason for the price increase is lame, we know the price increase is due to additional cost and improvements to LIVE. They added more and wanted to keep the same profit margin or gain some if possible. I think ESPN has a lot to do with it. Too bad they didn't make it tier based so you do not need to pay for the options you do not want/need.



I'm suddenly very proud of the recent expiration of my gold membership.



MS's reasoning here is bad. The only reason XBL gold subscribers get map packs sooner is because MS pays publishers for an exclusivity period. This costs money and is being passed onto the customer even though it is MS, not the customer who benefits from withheld DLC. Hilarious



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ESPN itself is worth the money.

of course this stands true until PS3 gets ESPN for free.



espn wont be free on ps3 if it ever comes to the system because sony will make it for psn members only. i think sony will move more towards the way xbl is structured with its psn service. i will be getting xbl gold very soon and i am very content to pay the price for the great service i am getting in return.



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