Live is probably one of the reasons why the Xbox can sell for such a low price. M$ knows that if they can just get the console into homes, a good portion of the customers are going to pony up the cash for Xbox Live. PSN offers most of the features that Live has but it can't possibly be nearly as profitable as XBL is. So, my stance is that, without Live, the Xbox would actually be more expensive and the online wouldn't be as good as it is right now. There would be absolutely no reason to purchase a 360 instead of a PS3 (and I think even the PS3 would be more expensive because Sony wouldn't have to match Microsoft's prices).
So, no. Xbox 360 is nothing without Xbox Live behind it. Xbox Live is nothing without the funds that Microsoft makes because of it. And, I don't have any proof but I don't think the PSN would be half of what it is if Sony weren't doing their best to keep up with XBL. So PS3 fans should actually be thanking Xbox 360 owners for making Sony improve their online and lowering their price.
