Free online gaming is a must
According to an article on kotaku.com, the price for subscriptions for Xbox Live will increase starting on Nov. 1. The gold subscription (one year) will increase from $49.99 to $59.99, monthly subscriptions will now be $9.99 compared to its previous price of $7.99 and three month subscriptions will rise from $19.99 to $24.99.
I don’t know how the Xbox nation feels about this, but for me, this is where I sit back and just laugh. Obviously I am a PlayStation owner and I love the fact that I get to enjoy free online gameplay. Of course there is the option to go on a paid subscription (PlayStation Plus), but I enjoy the free service that PlayStation has to offer.
I know that there are a lot of people who do love Xbox Live and I am wondering: Are you willing to pay $10 more for your online service? I know that paying for Live allows access to Netflix and other resources. And I understand the Internet connection for games is better on Live than on the PlayStation Network, but I cannot tell the difference between the two platforms and their Internet connectivity. Both have issues from time to time, but the blame always falls on the player’s Internet router, not the console’s connectivity.
I think Sony had the right idea to keep online gameplay free for the PlayStation. But I still do not know as to why more people play online on the Xbox 360. Is it because of the “Halo” series? Or the other features for Live such as Netflix? Or is it even the internet connection (Which I believe is on the level as the online connection of the PlayStation 3)? Don’t get me wrong, there are some great titles that are exclusive to the Xbox and I love them as much as the next guy, but I don’t think anyone should be paying for online gaming, especially when it costs the same price as buying a brand new game. We’ve paid $200-$300 on the console itself already. The least they could do is give players free online gaming.
