Do you remember the launch of the PlayStation 3? $599. Some one could equally say that the people who bought the PS3s at launch or until the recent price drop were stupid because they were contributing to a "more expensive and customer-exploitive gaming environment". Essentially saying that if people buy consoles at prices like that than companies will jack the price of consoles even higher.

Now, I don't believe that, but your logic is going down the drain. I don't agree that playing online should be charged for on the 360, but I don't think the customers are stupid. They would like to play online and the only possible way to do that is have Gold.

People have been paying for the Xbox LIVE service sine the original Xbox and a lot of them are still members. When Xbox LIVE launched it was the best online service for any console, the same can be said for the 360. Up until recently the PS3 didn't offer nearly as many things as Xbox LIVE did. PSN may have been free since launch of the PS3, but they haven't been enjoying the luxories like the 360 owners have until very recently.

Look...perhaps Microsoft should make LIVE free now, or put it in the stages of doing so. Calling the customers stupid though is, well, stupid. The money they put into online console gaming led to the developments that set the standards for online console gaming. Free demos, themes, Movies, Social Networking, Achievements, Friends lists, Party Chat, etc. were all done on the 360 first and were available for a while before the PS3.

Does anyone feel the next gen Xbox will have free online service or think MS will continue to charge?

I've been playing online for free since way back on PC and with Steam (the PC's XBL lol), and i just feel that we shouldnt have to pay anymore then we've already been doing way back just by paying our internet bills.

To those 360 owners that have Gold membership, i hope you really enjoy what MS is offering you on XBL because thats where your hard earn money is going to.

I'm rich, so I'm a stupid jerk paying for the best console online system.


Screw the hate on XBL.... if OP was true, we would see the market reacting differently.

PS3 is currently outselling the 360 thanks to BR and a price cut (and it performed ridiculously poorly for the last years) so... can we cut the bullsh*t ??

Btw, I paid 28 a year... not 50.

One last thing, what did Sony invented/brought with PSN ? F*cking nothing....

If making lots of moneys is being held back. I don't know anything about business.

Ofcourse Online Fees are the reason why the Xbox360 has not won against the PS3. If the 360 would have free online I would have bought one. And thats the strongest selling point of the PS3 .

Not Bluray its free online. And thats the reason why the PS3 will have more sales LTD then the Xbox. I wont ever pay for online gaming except i get a real value for it. Xbox Live Gold has not even dedicatet Server PSN has them and its free. It was a huge mistake from MS I think thats the reason why it isnt on 50 million right now. And I hope they loose. If Sony wants money for Online gaming (outside of MMORPGs) I would completly switch to PC. Not because I cant afford it but it was always for free and now they charge without doing something. they want money to allow you to use the full potential of the Game you already bough

And to pirates. Pirating is bad for software sales but not for hardware sales. Thats another reason why the Xbox still has an advantage of 6.62 Mio Consoles.

I just hate the MS buisness model. Thats the reason why I dislike them.

Why would they stop charging? They have millions of people paying for Gold accounts. On top of that its growing and it'll continue to grow for the life of the 360.

If anything Sony will start charging. They are already starting some sort of online pay service. What other online services will they charge for when the PS4 rolls around?

Considering the amount of entertainment I get out of Live the yearly fee is a small price to pay. I'm not a rich man but I can easily afford a few dollars a month.

Would you prefer is MS adopted Sony's business model? Do whatever it takes to sell your console and take huge losses?

you may be right NJ5. the 360 was my first console which i bought in a large part because i thought the ps3 was too expensive. but paying for online just pissed me off and now i have a ps3 and a 360 not even hooked up. if live was free i doubt i ever would have made the switch.

Just curious thats all.  Of course they'd probably keep the service charge cause it makes them money and it seems enough people doesnt mind.  But what if MS did the opposite approach for next gen? I mean Sony took some of the market for a reason that they have free online yes? So what if MS next gen XBL was free and offered all the good contents its continually bringing in?  MS would be taking some of Sony's market and wouldnt that be a good thing for MS? 

I dont think Sony would start charging because for the moment 'free online' is a great advantage that Sony has.  And Sony does makes some money with PS Home.

That's a red herring. Sony's huge losses are not due to offering online for free.