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Veknoid_Outcast on 26 November 2012
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J_Allard said:
Veknoid_Outcast said:
I don't agree with everything in the OP, but I do agree paying to get access to online multiplayer and other applications is unacceptable. I subscribed to Xbox LIVE for four years: from 2008 until this year when I cancelled. And it wasn't about the money -- I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford the cost -- it was about the principle. I can play online with friends for free on Playstation, on Wii, and on PC. I should be able to do the same on Xbox.

I'm really shocked that so many are defending paying for Xbox LIVE. I can understand the argument "well it sucks, but how else am I supposed to play Halo?" I don't understand all the people defending the practice as if they were shareholders.


People will gladly pay for a service if the quality is worth the money. You don't need to be a shareholder to believe Live is superior enough to justify the entrance fee.

Your principal doesn't apply to the real world. I mean, I can watch digital TV for free. That means I shouldn't have to pay for Showtime. I can watch NFL games for free on FOX or CBS. That means I shouldn't have to pay for NFL Sunday Ticket.

The first point is absolutely true. But I don't always see posters couching their arguments in those terms. I'm perfectly willing to accept a well-thought out argument about Xbox LIVE being worth the price of admission, but sometimes people defend the cost without really giving much though to it. That's certainly what I did for the first four years.

Your NFL and premium cable analogy doesn't really work, however. Showtime and Sunday Ticket are more like XBLA games and Netflix, things that cost extra money. Xbox LIVE is more like a television manufacturer charging a fee to get the opportunity to pay for Showtime and Sunday Ticket.