Money isn't the issue. I'm sure everyone can afford it(even though for many it means one less game they can buy a year)

It's obvious why people "piss and moan" about it. I dont think I need to say it since its common knowledge at this point.

No, we can thank Facebook/Twitter for that. MySpace if you want to get more technical.

Xbox Live isn't as community-focused and social as you say it is.(In fact Wii U is much more community focused w/ Miiverse and its free!) It's exactly the same as PSN, but has cross game voice chat. That's it. It's nowhere near the level of Facebook or even MySpace in terms of social aspects. 

PSN demos don't generally have demos since they are short games. It's been proven that games without demos sell better. It's why you didn't see a Tomb Raider or Bioshock Infinite demo and you probably never will.  

I will laugh so hard when sony admits at E3 online gaming won't be free anymore. And btw microsoft is changing their tier system. They are holding consumer focus groups all around Europe just to get the consumers minds what should change about the tier systems.

I wouldn't expect a poster like yourself to give MS any sort of credit for bringing sociability to consoles and making it a selling point but your denial doesn't change it from being factual reality. XBL is seen as something cool, something you gotta get to connect with your friends and stay in touch and its viewed that way because of the emphasis on social features and design. And now of course Nintendo and Sony are going the same route. Not a coincidence.

I'm not talking about retail games, I am talking XBLA and PSN titles. I can just rent a retail game with no demo available. I cannot rent a PSN title that has no demo. On Live I don't need to rent an XBLA to try it, every single one comes with a trial version. And now PSN is apparently going to follow suit. Another good change brought about because of Live.

PSN - allows for online play.

XBL - allows for online play.

What is there to be jealous of?

No, the fact of the matter is PS3 owners know how to think for themselves before mindlessly purchasing a console that charges you to play online as if that is somehow an acceptable thing.

That's great about every XBLA game getting trials. But all these games also require an internet connection to work so they're unplayable during maintenance and such unfortunate events. Not to mention the server costs all these trials cost Microsoft. I guess those Gold subsrptions are getting put to SOME use. I'll give credit where credit is due though. 

Thats just your opinion. I reality, XBL is a roadblock. It prevents people from playing online games or enjoying Netflix when these services are offered for free on other platforms. I'm sure Xbox Live has been very proftiable for Microsoft, but there's no way you can justify a paywall as anything but anti-consumer. 

I still don't get what's so social about XBL. What am I missing here? Is there some Miiverse-type thing I don't know about?

It's all about cross game voice chat. You gotta keep up with the times bro!
Playing Minecraft while hearing someone rage on Black Ops 2 is the most enjoyable thing in the world! 

Oh god, I knew I must have missed something. Clearly XBL is a superior service and we should simply throw money at MS every month/year for providing it all because of cross game voice chat and match-making!

Come again? I can play all of my XBLA games without an Internet connection unless it's an online-only title like Battlefield 1943. You really think all XBLA games require an Internet connection? LOL.

I agree that Netflix and other apps that are free on other platforms should be available to Silver members. But online play? No. MS invested billions making Live as great as it is and there is nothing anti-consumer about making people pay to use their servers.