Xbox Live adds 6 Million members in a single Year, is the hate unjustified?

[Michael-5]

J_Allard said:
It's not interference.. it's part of the service. Developers know this going in and plan accordingly. I think this is honestly why some games on PS3 do not have things like cross game invites and simple things like the ability to mute people. On PS3 these must be designed and put into the game by the developers themselves. On 360, Live takes care of it.

You asked why MS charges you to use what "already exists". I am just letting you know why. It's expensive. And they don't view the MP and Live separately as you are doing. Nor do the developers or people who use the service. I guess if you're used to PSN (or the PC to a lesser extent) where it's more of an "every game for itself" type environment where quality and features vary wildly game to game, Live is just one package. Now you can blow that explanation off but it won't change it from being right. And you can disagree but just understand you're looking at it the wrong way. Feel free to continue insulting and trying to belittle, just lets me know I am right. No point responding to this thread anymore, toodles.

Cross game Invites/Chat were not originally integrated into PSN, and are very difficult to add into PS3's infrastructure. However as someone with a 360, and formerly had 2.5 years of Gold, I can say that I almost never used Cross Game Invites/Chat, and if it means saving $60 a year, I can easily do without it. This is a very, very minor feature to many.

As for the rest of what you're saying, that's complete garbage. Microsoft doesn't improve the servers for 3rd party games, 3rd party developers have to make their own servers, and their own online interface. Profits from XBLG do not go and help out with developers costs, and they do not make the service any better. The money goes straight to MS, and MS does nothing to improve the online connection/quality of service.

dsgrue3 said:

J_Allard said:
I could say the same about you.

Sorry if you don't understand that what MS does is not cheap. I mean, there's a reason it was an investment in billions. There's a reason so many companies shut their servers down after a few years :)

Right, but the difference is you're arguing something I never disputed. Namely, that it costs a ton of money to setup the servers for matchmaking and live itself.

I'm saying the multiplayer component is there regardless of MS interference. 

How does Allard not understand this?

e.g. Lost Planet used to be free for XBL Silver members. It's still free for PC and PS3 gamers. Since MS made an update removing free access to "Games for Windows" games, the quality of online matchmaking has not improved at all for Lost Planet. Games drop just as frequently, Japanese gamers still bring in lag, and nothing at all has changed. Where has my money gone? Why isn't the money I pay for XBLG improving the service?

dsgrue3 said:

ironmanDX said:

That's what this thread is. A ridiculous argument over $3 a month.....

I see this argument often. It isn't the price, it isn't even the total concept of Live. The package of features itself isn't the issue.

The issue is paying to play online. MS does not have dedicated servers for retail games - although I'm told they have ones for XBLA ones. All MS does is enhance architecture already setup by devs. Devs use p2p or their own dedicated servers for the multiplayer component so why is MS charging you to use what already exists?

Exactly!

Why do I have to pay Microsoft for playing 3rd party games on 3rd party servers? Why do I have to pay to integrate Kinect, or have more adds or useless features on my console? Why can't I play 360 games online for free, like I used to in 2008?

J_Allard said:
Because those games use MS servers for matchmaking and the Live features. You know, the very things that make Live online play so much better. Servers and infrastructure that MS invested billions into.

Where are these servers for retail games like Lost Planet? For retail games, MS does absolutly nothing to improve game connections. 3rd party devs design their own P2P systems, and they recieve not funding from XBL to do this.

Why are 360 owners paying to play games online, when the service is just as good on PSN?

Allard I know you've been arguing that XBLG goes into funding XBL title updates and XBL Arcade games, but most 360 title updates are crap (all they are are ads, or integrations for Kinect), and not everyone who pays for XBLG play Arcade games. Why should people pay for features they don't want/use?

dsgrue3 said:

J_Allard said:
 Not seeing your issue.

I noticed. It's like talking to a brick wall.

Vegeta.....let's go SSJ on his ass.

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Oh wait, I'm not Goku anymore. Well my Thundershock attack...is actually pretty disturbing.