There is a certain set of standard talking points when getting into a debate about the Xbox One and PS4. It’s the Xbox that usually attracts the lion’s share of criticism between the $100 price disparity, Kinect and being somewhat underpowered compared to its rival.
However, there is one more issue that’s rarely discussed where Sony has an increasingly important advantage. PS Plus vs. Xbox Live Gold.
Yes, it’s true that the services have become more similar with this new console generation. Sony now requires Plus for multiplayer games, and Microsoft MSFT -0.13% has started to offer free games for Gold members. But Sony allows players to access PlayStation’s multimedia apps without a subscription. Microsoft requires Gold.
The problem is that this policy creates a paywall that charges Xbox customers an extra fee to access many apps that already have a paid monthly subscription themselves. It’s not just $8 a month for Netflix NFLX -1.22%, it’s $5 a month for Xbox Live Gold as well on top of that.
New gaming head Phil Spencer was recently asked about the problem on Twitter, and seemed open to changing the policy once he’s settled in. Here’s the exchange:
@Th3CoreGamer: “now that you’re boss, we can start blaming you for Gold 2 play and apps behind the xbox live gold paywall right? sorry phil”
@XboxP3: “Yep, blame away. I’ll get my changes to plans in place soon, but in the meantime pile on.”
@Th3CoreGamer: “like this response.. i hope its not for show.. surprise us phil”
@XboxP3: “In today’s world show would last about 10 minutes. Not saying everyone will love everything, but we have plans.”
Many have been quick to point out that these sort of changes to Xbox Live Gold have been hinted at or promised for a while now, but I have a feeling that Microsoft will move toward making this a reality rather quickly. First, from everything we’ve heard from Phil Spencer since he took over Xbox, doesn’t seem to be messing around. Second, Microsoft is facing increased competition from gaming and non-gaming devices that offer access to all these kinds of apps without a paywall subscription like Gold.
Yes, there’s the PlayStation, but there’s also Roku, Apple AAPL -1.76% TV, Chromecast and now of course, Amazon’s FireTV. All of these devices provide access to these apps for only what the app costs. Microsoft stands alone in hiding all of them behind the paywall of Gold.
Most Xbox owners look at Gold as simply just a part of owning an Xbox at this point, as their auto-renew has been turned out for most of the last decade. But Microsoft is very obviously limiting themselves by hiding all these much-desired apps behind a subscription service. If they truly want the Xbox One to own the living room, loosening these restrictions would put them on more of an even playing field.
Eventually, services like Plus and Gold may feel outdated altogether. Everyone pays to have internet access already, but an additional fee to be able to access online play for games may be rejected by consumers if Sony or Microsoft blinks, or new competitors force them to change. Now we can even get in bizarre situations where you’ll have an internet bill, an Xbox Live subscription and an Elder Scrolls Online monthly access fee. Three different layers of paying for the ability to play a game online.
