ok coming from a sony fanboy i think that it shouldnt be free coz MS want to charge for it its their choice i personally wouldnt pay for online if sony charged me and MS didnt id go with the 360 but thats how it is some people(10 million of them) would pay for it and MS is cashing in from it so why complain unless your actually paying for it.

I have to agree with you, but in the end it's good for us the gamers, the better PSN gets, the better and better and better and better LIVE gets! Why? Because they have to justify what we pay!

Some key features of LIVE:

-Private chat

-People talk a lot more because they acctually HAVE microphones

-Gamertag, gamerscore, achievements

-Comparing stuff with others

-MSN messenger

-Voice messages

-Etc

Coming from someone who has paid to play games online for close to 10 years now, the first being Ultima Online as well as WoW, 5 bucks a month is nothing compared to paying 12.99 for UO (When I first started playing UO it was only 10)and close to 15 for WoW(I think that started at 12 for a few months). I have never had a problem. I even paid for Live and WoW at the same time for all of my WoW tenure.

they are getting more and more alike simply b/c microsoft did it right teh first time and now the comp needs to get something established that is similar, but i agree when they are getting so close there is no reason one should be free and the other paid for

Simple question: Should MS's online service be free now? No, as it does cost money to provide it and given that they are a company in buisness to make money...

Second question: Should Sony have charged for their online from some point early on and used the revenues to make their online service comparable to Microsoft's much quicker than almost 2 years later? Sony is in business to make money as well. They were losing money big time early on and that certainly would have offset some losses.

More back on topic, I don't mind paying a yearly fee for Live, but can't stand paying fees for specific games. I think we all pay for the networks one way or another anyhow.

I don't mind when games come out with new campaigns and you have to buy a new version. But games like WoW and Age of Conan will never get my money because unless you make them your life they do not justify their ongoing cost. I think that MMOs will struggle on consoles until they come up with an answer to this issue.

for all the sony fanboys who think psn is better than live i just saw a video of the update coming and to be honest live had most off them for 3 years now, wow u can use ur ps3 dashboard in game, come on 360 had that since forever

I do agree with you, but the service isn't comparable at all. They have key differences between them.

But then again, one is payed and the other isn't :)

I just want to see the fall update of LIVE, the better the PSN gets, the better LIVE is going to be! :)

Don't you just LOVE competition? :)

that point seems to be lost on the fanboys.  Microsoft and Nintendo have brought stiff competition to the Playstation brand this gen (and vice-versa) and gamers of all types are benefitting left and right from it...

+1 Would Sony have released this if it wasn't for Live?? Probably not

Now will MS push the boundaries even further? Hopefully, I'm tired of them taking a seat back and just watching the competition catch up to them.