But hasnt he been technically paying for what others got for free this entire time. What really is the difference between most of them. I dont think xbox has any features that havent been done on PC already.

Sony is the reason MS gives you free games, thats not how it was from the start. MS tried to get PC gamers to buy into Xbox Live on PC and failed. Console gamers are going to have to suck it up unless this whole thing blows up. Well then...thats the only way Microsoft would deal with it. Microsoft isn't going to respond to a few gamers, but if the internet blows up like it has the potential to MS will really have to start thinking about what they've been doing.

No, but the mass adoption of paying for online significantly aided Microsoft, Activision and other publishers to systematically remove standalone/private servers, map making/mod tools etc... so that they could sell it to everyone, and try to force people into buying into a platform they had no desire to.  Hence my later comment about greater rammifications our actions can have upon the entire industry.  It's something Gamer's, collectively, will need to come to terms with, if we hope to steer these companies away from another bubble (there's only so much bullshit people will take).

In the past, devs released paid for DLC (Maps), because there was value to it.  Maps were good (though, private map makers tend to do better work, because they aren't time constrained), and cosmetic bullshit was dealt with by mod makers.

I'm sorry, but that is just not a good example Because ps3 users and ps4 users don't get the same games.  I'm not ignorant I just know how the world  works, who in their right mind would pay $40 for a service when you can get the exact same service free. I understand not everyone has the means, but still that's pretty messed up. 

That's like in school you have a group project and you did all the work while the other person just showed up and you both earned and "A" the person that did the work has a right to be upset. 

You're right, the PS3 and PS4 are in complete different situations. But that's why my example is perfectly valid. It makes just as much sense to compare the PC and console markets.

Gamers aren't going to pay for this kind of service on PC, there are too many quality alternatives.
Gamers on consoles can pay or not play online, there are no alternatives on their respective platforms. MicroSony knows this.

On PC, Microsoft will know that every single user using their online service bought and paid for their game and they are getting all of that revenue. On consoles a large portion of users will be renters, borrowers, and second hand owners. MS gets no revenue from these people. This is a rational way of looking at it. This is also why the PC market can have batshit insane prices on many games. And humble bundles where for a few bucks PC gamers can download what looks like 6 months worth of PS+/GwG content.

But it really just boils down to the fact that PC gamers had online play for years and years with free mods, free DLC, etc etc. When that model already exists and Steam is so large, how would that market ever accept anything else?

Exactly! I cannot believe most people didnt notice this. Microsoft forced gamers to pay for servers instead of allowing third party to pay for their own servers on their own dime. Thats what the whole argument for Xbox Live Gold was for or against in the first place.

the nature of the console and PC are so different that it doesnt seem like they can probably service both without one seemingly getting the shaft. Some people will be mad at this, but those people have to understand the things MS can do with their xbox simply wont fly on PC

cause people are ignorant and i'll be real, i was one of those people. I tend to stay away from MS consoles so i dont know too much of what is going on with them before recently. Hell i didnt even know about the whole server thing. I always asked my friends who did have xboxes what EXACTLY they were paying for. I never got a straight answer. i didnt understand why they were the only service you had to pay for even though i played essentially the same games elsewhere and they played pretty much the same.

We also have to take into account MS isnt really trying to sell xbox to PC gamers, those gamers are far more informed, but console gamers the whole nature of those machines are plug in, play and forget. You cant really blame the masses for not noticing.

When XBL first launched, it was so far ahead of anything on consoles that the price seemed fair. But now? The entire notion is ridiculous. Same goes for Sony. In 2015, it shouldn't even be a THING.

When Windows Live launched it wasnt far after Xbox Live Gold last gen. PC gamers turned it down by ignoring it and Microsoft focused on consoles because they bought into it. They pretty much brought what was free on PC to consoles and then had people pay for the servers instead of third party doing it themselves.