So many things wrong with OP... first of all, M$ wasn't the first of the 4 major console manufacturers to charge a subscription fee for online, you know. That distinction technically belongs to...
*drumroll*
NINTENDO!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellaview
And Sega also charged a nominal subscription fee for SegaNet back during the Dreamcast days, and the GameCube's one and only online title Phantasy Star Online II required a... *drumroll again*... monthly fee to play online as well!
PS2 was the only console of the gen to truly offer free online gaming (with the exception of FFXI which was a subscription based MMO)... but that was because there was no centralized network a la Xbox Live, and it was up to 3rd parties to set up their own servers.
M$ was the first to offer a unified online service for their console, and they did so at a time when broadband internet access was still very limited for most of the US. They were also the first to offer broadband networking capabilities and an HDD built right into the console (the DC initially shipped with only a 56k modem, and broadband was not widely supported... the PS2's Network Adapter and HDD were sold separately).
And once the 360 was launched, XBL was opened up to anyone with a console and a broadband connection without a fee... it was only required for multiplayer and later most multimedia apps. They've since updated their model so that essentially only multiplayer requires a subscription, with nearly everything else free, same as PSN.
Not surprisingly, Nintendo's online network continues to lag behind in pretty much all areas, so they'd have no justification to charge a subscription based fee... though don't think Nintendo wouldn't if they could justify it... remember, they've already done it before.
On 2/24/13, MB1025 said:
You know I was always wondering why no one ever used the dollar sign for $ony, but then I realized they have no money so it would be pointless.
