Last week was one of the best weeks Playstation Plus members have ever had.
Sony released several high profile games for free at once, including the all new Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown.
I look at that, and what Sony's been doing with their Playstation Plus service, and it makes me wonder just what we're paying for over on Xbox Live.
For years they've had gamers paying for the "privilege" of playing their online games, even though the vast majority of them are peer-to-peer, not on dedicated servers.
So just what are we paying $60 a year for?
Exclusive demos and betas? Maybe, but Playstation Plus offers that.
Cloud Saves? Microsoft was getting our money for years and didn't offer Cloud Saves until Sony started offering them with Playstation Plus. Before that, it took them several years to stop forcing gamers to buy Memory Units to transport their saves, and let them use their USB sticks instead.
Party chat? This is one of the few areas where Microsoft has the clear advantage. Being able to chat with up to 7 of your friends at once across all games and apps is something all systems should have.
Voice Messaging? Again, having the option to send a voice message instead of typing out one is great.
How about text chat and text messaging? No advantage there, PS3 also offers those, with the added ability to send pictures that aren't taken with a special camera.
So aside from party chat, which wasn't part of the original Xbox Live service before the 360 by the way, just what are we paying $60 a year for?
Access to digital entertainment?
Apps such as Netflix, ESPN and HBO GO, all of which you already have to pay for access to anyway, get more support from Microsoft than their own Community Games. If you're not a Gold Member you can't access them, or play the games you paid for.
Along with our $60(originally $50, before ESPN) a year, there are advertisements on every blade of the dashboard except "Settings". Obviously those ads bring in revenue. That revenue should be used to improve whatever we're paying for, and provide exclusive content to those of us who pay for it, but really have you seen anything worthwhile from Xbox Live lately?
Maybe we're paying for the right to use an outdated system of bartering?
If you want to buy games or DLC for games, you have to buy Microsoft Points. In most cases, you end up buying more points than you need, which of course will more often than not lead you right back to the Marketplace to (hopefully) find something else you want to buy.
At the end of it all, you're usually left with a few points that you can't really use anywhere else. It's a carnival type system that has been called out by many for years. Microsoft claims to be phasing it out, meanwhile they're giving away 1,000,000 points and "paying" Xbox Live Rewards members 20 points a month to take quick surveys. Somehow I don't think that system is going anywhere come January 1st, 2013.
So what are we really paying for?
If all you want to do is play your games online, Sony and Nintendo don't charge you for that privilege. Microsoft does, and likely will continue to do so until enough people complain about it. Thing is, so many people are content to pay for Xbox Live even though they shouldn't have to.
When you pay for Playstation Plus, it's because you want more games and features to improve your service, it's not because you want to unlock the online feature of the game you just bought.
If you agree with this post, take a moment(or many, as their customer service sucks) to call Microsoft's 800 number and ask them what we're paying for. Maybe they'll be able to tell you.
No comments:
Post a Comment